Embrace Communities

04/15/2026

We are so thankful for our partners in the Appomattox area who have joined forces to help support Holliday Lake State Park in the restoration of their pollinator garden as an Earth Day event. How will you celebrate Earth Day this year?

This Earth Day community members worked together to create a pollinator garden!

03/19/2026

Brittney and Tess are two Longwood University students working toward change in Prince Edward County. While attending Prince Edward High School, they noticed a lack of transitional support for students for life after high school. They are working with community partners to change that.

Brittany is one of the community dreamers who will be joining us next Tuesday, March 24th, from 11:00-1:00pm for our Farmville Community Cultivator Meet Up. If you are interested in learning more about the hopes and dreams of community members like Brittany, please join us. This gathering is being hosted by Farmville Parks and Recreation.

02/16/2026

The youth of Prince Edward County have a question that is relevant to everyone everywhere: "DO YOU HEAR US?"

This post captures a three-year roller coaster ride from great heights to heart-stopping lows. Youth-driven development is never boring!

I hope you will take a few minutes to read their story and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Field Notes from Farmville, Virginia Post #1

02/16/2026

We will be in Richmond, Virginia, this Wednesday, February 18th.

The Pace Center on the campus of VCU is hosting a Regional Meet Up for ABCD practitioners from across the region and those interested in learning more about ABCD from 12:00-1:30.

I hope you will join us for lunch, learn about Pace's amazing ABCD work, and stay for our Regional Meet Up.

Let me know in the comments or via chat if you can make it, and I will make sure to be on the lookout for you.

You can learn more about my travels here: https://open.substack.com/pub/mccaig/p/the-sabbatical-is-over-but-the-journey?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

02/13/2026

We tend to focus on those things in our community cultivation efforts that work, but for every successful effort, there are multiple dead ends. In this post, I want to take you on a journey with Torrie Patterson, a community cultivator from Farmville, Virginia, and introduce you to one of the most amazing young adult leaders I have ever met, Brittney Davis.

I have been accompanying them both in their community strengthening efforts for three years, and like all development efforts, we have had our successes and our challenges.

I hope you will honor us by reading our story, sharing it with others, liking the post, and leaving a few words of reflection or encouragement.

If you want to read more stories of ordinary community members choosing to be the change they want to see in the world, I encourage you to subscribe to my Substack publication. This year, I am following 12 community cultivators and hope to bring you their stories as they unfold.

Field Notes from Farmville, Virginia Post #1

01/12/2026

Wendy’s most recent post captures the first key learning in her year-long journey of discovery. If you are interested in using an ABCD approach in your faith community, we encourage you to check out this post and the inspiring work of Wendy’s most recent post captures the first key learning in her year-long journey of discovery. If you are interested in using an ABCD approach in your faith community, we encourage you to check out this post and the inspiring work of Christ and St. Luke's.

My journey in training faith communities in Asset-Based Community Development spans two decades, thousands of congregants, and hundreds of pastoral leaders. If I am honest, it has been a challengi...

11/18/2025

In honor of our 20 year anniversary, Embrace awarded the largest number of community cultivator awards in our history. One of those micro-grant recipients was Suzanne Bonefas from the Association for Regenerative Community who co-created a new learning cohort called Culture Shift that explored the intersection of ABCD and Permaculture. In this post, Suzanne and Wendy share some of the key learnings from this inaugural cohort.

Earlier this year we shared in this post that we are going to be following along with three of our amazing network members as they embark on new and exciting regenerative culture projects. In the v...

11/05/2025

As we shared last week, Wendy McCaig is hitting the road for a one year journey of discovery. Learn more about the proposed travel path and how to connect along the way.

I have lived in my dream home here in rural Virginia for five years now. My plan was to use this place as a launch pad – a place where I could spend my time writing, hosting retreats and connectin...

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween! Here is a fun post to get us into the spirit. This travel story takes us back into past as we seek to lay the ground work for what is emerging.

Happy Halloween! Here is a little post to get you in the spirit. When I was a young girl, my parents lived in a huge old Victorian home, complete with two balconies, an interior basement, an outdo...

10/31/2025

This year Wendy McCaig is hitting the road in search of community unity stories. Learn more about this new adventure in the post below.

My profile here on our Mighty Network, says “I’m a Dream Releaser and when I grow up, I want to be a butterfly who pollinates with powerful stories of community-driven change.” I think I am finally...