Purpose and Value Statements

OVERVIEW

In this activity, we are going to write purpose and value statements for your program.

When crafting the statement, the more specific the better!

If the purpose could apply to any group or project (things like “make the world better”) then the statement is probably too general.

OBJECTIVES

• To identify the purpose of the land education program

• To identify the core and shared values

SUGGESTED SUPPLIES

• A worksheet

• Pen/pencil

• A recording device (phone, recorder, etc.) (optional)

• Chart paper/marker/tape (optional)

STEP-BY-STEP FACILITATION GUIDE

1. Participants will be given a worksheet with the following prompts:

• COMMUNITIES: Who is this program for? What relationships matter in this program? What should those relationships look like?

• ACTION: What brought you to this program? What do you hope to learn or do together? What are the important characteristics of this program? What would the best version of our program look like?

• IMPACT: What do you hope the impact (short or long-term) of the program will be? What changes for the better do you want to see happen? What are your desires for the future or theories of change?

In pairs or small groups take 10-20 minutes to respond to these questions meaningfully.

2. Ask participants to use what they’ve already written -- words, phrases, ideas -- to create a few lines that answer the following question: What are the purposes and values of this group? Offer some opening phrases to help them begin, e.g.:

• In/through this program, we…. / We believe… / Our purpose… / We value…

3. There are different ways to share back the purpose statements. One way is to have participants join another pair or small group to combine their statements and create longer statements. These co-created statements can be posted around the room for everyone to look at. Alternatively, all the individual purpose statements can also be posted around the room and reviewed. Another option is to invite everyone to share what they’ve written, and to audio record the readings. This creates a recording that can be listened to again at a later date. In either case, consider returning to the purpose and value statements later in the program as a way of seeing what was/wasn’t captured or what has changed.

4. After everyone has heard the purpose statements, discuss what were shared values and ideas that came up. Also discuss what ideas were different or conflicting. The goal is not to resolve differences, but to talk through what they mean and to discuss the process of reflecting on the program’s purpose and values.