Eight years ago, Collective Impact was a new national movement – it was an idea focused on the concept that “together is better.” KConnect ultimately began as a dream to bring change to Kent county. With the help of FSG, a national consultancy, and feedback from the community, our prenatal to career common agenda and roadmap began to take shape. The newly created Common Agenda & Roadmap ultimately paved the way for the early formation of KConnect, it’s structure, including the vital support of the backbone, and the initial work that needed to get underway. Most importantly, it cast a compelling purpose and vision for KConnect’s work – that purpose and vision is really what we’re presenting below – the end in mind.

What is our ultimate call to action? In the end, it is to improve the experiences of children and families – to eliminate systemic barriers, end the cycle of generational poverty through increased access to quality education, community and family supports and to dissolve the unacceptable disparities that are so visible and persistent across our continuum of focus.

That is our end in mind; it’s our promise. It’s the hope for positive change and possibility that brings us together. So how are we going to get there? What is the next phase of our journey? What are the hurdles? How are we going to authentically engage community? How do we acknowledge power dynamics and maintain a collective approach? These were the questions that inspired us to grab our marker and go to the whiteboard! What resulted was a drawing that we called “KConnect’s End In Mind Journey Map”.