Two Decades of Connection & Collaboration
Did you know that Holland has a long history of neighbors, churches, and organizations working together for the good of our city?
At 3Sixty, we are honored to stand in a long tradition of neighbors, churches, and organizations working together for the good of Holland. Our city’s neighboring movement did not start overnight; it grew over decades through the faithful work of residents, pastors, and community builders who believed that transformation begins with listening to neighbors and building relationships.
In 2005, Jay Van Groningen, then working for CRWRC (now World Renew), a Christian Reformed Church global relief and development organization, helped launch a national effort to strengthen neighborhoods from within. CRWRC had just received a National Direct AmeriCorps Grant and recruited a training cohort of 20 full-time AmeriCorps volunteers who were placed in neighborhood-rooted sites across the United States.
One of those 20 sites was Heights of Hope in Holland, Michigan. Tracey Forbes (Hoesch) served as their AmeriCorps volunteer while on staff with Heights of Hope’s food pantry and youth ministries at Calvary Reformed Church. Shortly after completing CRWRC’s ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development) training, Tracey moved into the SOAR neighborhood and spent a year listening to her neighbors, helping them start activities and programs that built stronger relationships and a deeper sense of community.
By forming the SOAR Neighbor Team, a group of resident representatives from each street or cul-de-sac, Heights of Hope soon shifted its approach to be more neighbor driven and led. When Tracey’s two-year term as an AmeriCorps volunteer ended, Heights of Hope continued in the program with Wassana Davis as their next volunteer, who also completed ABCD training.
Jay coached Heights of Hope through all four years of their involvement in the AmeriCorps program, through 2009, seeing firsthand how the ABCD model could transform organizations and neighborhoods alike.
In 2008, Jay moved into Holland’s 18th Street neighborhood and began building a similar effort there. In 2009, he invited twelve local pastors to a luncheon, seeking their partnership and recommendations of volunteers who cared about their neighborhood. From that gathering, a team of seven residents began organizing what would become Westcore Neighbors, which officially formed as a nonprofit in 2010.
Around the same time, CRWRC underwent its own transitions. With the AIDS pandemic in Africa and the economic downturn in North America, CRWRC launched Jay’s North America team as an independent entity, the Communities First Association (CFA). With initial funding support from CRWRC, CFA became its own 501(c)(3) in June 2010 and continued operating the AmeriCorps program through that year.
During those four years, Jay recognized the strength of AmeriCorps in helping neighborhood nonprofits and congregations adopt ABCD principles, but also the challenges they faced in sustaining that work. Many small organizations were vulnerable to staff turnover and shifting funding priorities that pulled them away from neighbor listening and organizing. What became clear was the need for a regional intermediary, an organization that could help neighborhood efforts stay connected, supported, and aligned with ABCD values.
In 2010, Jay approached Good Samaritan Ministries with the invitation to take on that intermediary role, to serve as a regional trainer and coach for neighborhood connectors and organizations across West Michigan. Good Samaritan agreed and hired Judy DeYoung as a regional ABCD coach. Judy supported Westcore Neighbors, maintained her relationship with Heights of Hope, and helped organize the Washington School Neighborhood, which officially launched around 2011. Good Samaritan also served as a financial and grantmaking partner to help WSN hire and coach its first connector.
By 2012 or 2013, however, Good Samaritan Ministries’ focus shifted to launching the Circles program, helping individuals transition out of poverty, and their capacity to fund and coach neighborhood connecting work declined.
Still, the groundwork had been laid. The three neighborhood organizations, Heights of Hope, Westcore Neighbors, and Washington School Neighbors, continued developing their neighbor-led initiatives and deepening their connections.
A few years later, 3Sixty emerged in Holland’s Eastcore neighborhood as part of this same movement, born from the same DNA of neighbor listening, connection, and community-driven transformation. Over time, 3Sixty grew from a neighborhood-based effort into the organization it is today, one that continues to support, convene, and champion neighborhood work citywide.
Today, 3Sixty serves as a City Catalyst, helping connect neighbors, organizations, and leaders who share a vision for a thriving Holland. We carry forward the legacy of those who came before us, believing that when neighbors know and care for one another, entire communities can be transformed.
This history of Holland’s neighboring movement was shared by Jay Van Groningen and 3Sixty Executive Director, Jake Norris.