A community is not something you join once. It is something you do together.
The word itself tells us how. A community is made of people who share the work and share the gifts. When a young person in Santa Clara County moves into a home, every person who shows up becomes part of what holds them there.
No one builds a life alone. A young person needs more than one program or one person. They need many people, each holding a piece.
Shared duty
Belonging comes from taking part. Everyone who joins takes on something real: a meal cooked, a lease signed, an hour given, a door opened.
Shared gifts
The same word means duty and gift. Young people are not only recipients. Every young person has something to give, and a community makes room for it.
The Rhythm of Community
Belonging is built by showing up again.
A community lives in its rituals: the things we do together, on purpose, again and again. Rituals turn strangers into neighbors, because they promise that people will be there next time too. For young people who have learned that people leave, that promise is everything.
We gather.
Our community dinners bring young people, staff, and neighbors to the same table (County of Santa Clara, n.d.).
We cook.
Community Commons Kitchen workshops turn a shared meal into shared skills.
We welcome.
A home is ready on move-in day, set up by people who wanted it to feel like home.
We stay.
The connection does not end when a young person moves on. Neither does the invitation.
Find Your Place
Every role is a piece of the whole.
Choose the way that fits your time, your skills, and your resources. Many people take more than one.
Give
The Open Door Fund
Keep homes ready and people in place all year long. Every gift, of any size, goes where the need is greatest.
Many employers give a grant to the nonprofit where their employees volunteer, often called Dollars for Doers. Ask your employer whether it has a volunteer grant program, log your hours with Razing the Bar, and we will confirm them.
Put your name behind the moments that hold this community together. Businesses, teams, and congregations can sponsor a community dinner, a series of Community Commons Kitchen workshops, or a season of gatherings.
Own a unit in San José or Santa Clara? We hold the lease, pay the rent, and answer the call when something needs attention, so a young person has a home that lasts.
Offer an internship, a first job, a job shadow, or a tour of your workplace. We match opportunities to each young person’s own goals, and stay beside them while they take them.
Home essentials help a young person settle in on day one. Write to us before you drop anything off, so we can match what you have to what a home needs right now.
We match what you offer to what young people need right now.
Get ready
Roles that involve time with young people begin with an orientation and a background check.
Keep showing up
Come back. Consistency is the gift that matters most.
Our promise to young people. We never ask young people to tell their stories, pose for photos, or perform gratitude in exchange for help. You will meet them the way neighbors meet: as people, on equal footing.
Razing the Bar, Inc. · 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
16. Join Us!
Get Involved
Join Us
Give Now
For Us. By Us. With Us.
A community is not something you join once. It is something you do together.
The word itself tells us how. A community is made of people who share the work and share the gifts. When a young person in Santa Clara County moves into a home, every person who shows up becomes part of what holds them there.
Find Your Place
community
from Latin communitas, fellowship, from communis, shared by all
+
To be communis is to be one “who partakes in the duties.”
Sources: Online Etymology Dictionary, n.d.-a; n.d.-b; n.d.-c
What the Word Teaches Us
Three things a community holds in common.
No one builds a life alone. A young person needs more than one program or one person. They need many people, each holding a piece.
Belonging comes from taking part. Everyone who joins takes on something real: a meal cooked, a lease signed, an hour given, a door opened.
The same word means duty and gift. Young people are not only recipients. Every young person has something to give, and a community makes room for it.
The Rhythm of Community
Belonging is built by showing up again.
A community lives in its rituals: the things we do together, on purpose, again and again. Rituals turn strangers into neighbors, because they promise that people will be there next time too. For young people who have learned that people leave, that promise is everything.
We gather.
Our community dinners bring young people, staff, and neighbors to the same table (County of Santa Clara, n.d.).
We cook.
Community Commons Kitchen workshops turn a shared meal into shared skills.
We welcome.
A home is ready on move-in day, set up by people who wanted it to feel like home.
We stay.
The connection does not end when a young person moves on. Neither does the invitation.
Find Your Place
Every role is a piece of the whole.
Choose the way that fits your time, your skills, and your resources. Many people take more than one.
The Open Door Fund
Keep homes ready and people in place all year long. Every gift, of any size, goes where the need is greatest.
Give Now →
Share your time and skills
Bring what you know to the people building their lives:
Write to us at information@razingthebar.org
Make your hours count twice
Many employers give a grant to the nonprofit where their employees volunteer, often called Dollars for Doers. Ask your employer whether it has a volunteer grant program, log your hours with Razing the Bar, and we will confirm them.
Confirm your hours at information@razingthebar.org
Double your gift
Many companies match the gifts their employees make. Ask your human resources team, and use our details on the form:
Send match forms to information@razingthebar.org
Sponsor a gathering
Put your name behind the moments that hold this community together. Businesses, teams, and congregations can sponsor a community dinner, a series of Community Commons Kitchen workshops, or a season of gatherings.
Talk with us at information@razingthebar.org
Lease a home
Own a unit in San José or Santa Clara? We hold the lease, pay the rent, and answer the call when something needs attention, so a young person has a home that lasts.
Write to us at information@razingthebar.org
Open a door to work
Offer an internship, a first job, a job shadow, or a tour of your workplace. We match opportunities to each young person’s own goals, and stay beside them while they take them.
Write to us at information@razingthebar.org
Help make a house a home
Home essentials help a young person settle in on day one. Write to us before you drop anything off, so we can match what you have to what a home needs right now.
Write to us at information@razingthebar.org
Give a car a second road
A vehicle can carry a young person to work, to class, and to the people who matter to them. Tell us about the vehicle and we will follow up.
Write to us at information@razingthebar.org
How to Begin
From first message to familiar face.
Write to us
Tell us what you would like to do at information@razingthebar.org.
We find the fit
We match what you offer to what young people need right now.
Get ready
Roles that involve time with young people begin with an orientation and a background check.
Keep showing up
Come back. Consistency is the gift that matters most.
Our promise to young people. We never ask young people to tell their stories, pose for photos, or perform gratitude in exchange for help. You will meet them the way neighbors meet: as people, on equal footing.
Share the work. Share the gifts. Take your place.
Give NowWrite to Us
Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Who stands with them.
Every person and partner around a young person, and the part each one plays.
Our Approach
How we work.
The principles behind every home and every relationship.
Our Impact
What the numbers show.
The outcomes we measure and report every year.
References
County of Santa Clara. (n.d.). Nonprofit leader transforms adversity into mentorship for foster youth. https://news.santaclaracounty.gov/nonprofit-leader-transforms-adversity-mentorship-foster-youth
Online Etymology Dictionary. (n.d.-a). Community. https://www.etymonline.com/word/community
Online Etymology Dictionary. (n.d.-b). Common. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=COMMON
Online Etymology Dictionary. (n.d.-c). Munificent. https://www.etymonline.com/word/munificent
Razing the Bar, Inc. · 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.