Finding Belonging Through Community
Sierra Jones created her own life-coaching business, The Black Spiritualist™, because she understands that finding balance in life is important. Through her company, she helps others build principles of self-care and wellness into their daily lives.
The foundation of her beliefs and compassion is rooted in her Catholic school education. It’s why Sierra chose to send her two children, Tony and Brooklyn, to St. Therese Academy in the fall of 2021. Tony started in first grade and Brooklyn, who was also accepted into the Fulcrum Foundation Becraft Scholars Program, enrolled in kindergarten.
“Being raised in the Catholic Church taught me how to treat people,” Sierra said. “I wanted my kids to have those foundational core values for how you treat yourselves and others.”
Sierra herself attended St. Paul School when she was younger, but her family has a rich history at St. Therese. Sierra’s grandmother has been a parishioner at the church for 61 years and worked as an administrator at St. Therese Academy for 33 years.
“I’ve seen such growth in my kids since they started at St. Therese,” Sierra said. “The St. Therese community has shown me that I made the right choice enrolling my kids in the school. It’s so clear that they care.”
The dual communities provided by St. Therese and the Becraft Scholars Program have become an unexpected blessing. “The Becraft Program made me feel so supported,” Sierra said. “Alana, the program director, checks up on you as a parent, but also in your personal life—as a person, a friend, and a community member. It’s nice to have that.”
Community is important to Sierra. “Community means a place where my kids and I can belong and be our whole selves—where we can flourish and thrive; share and connect; feel supported and also support,” said Sierra. “A diverse community creates awareness of different cultures that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. When we can create collective spaces with mindful, compassionate experiences, we can enrich our lives.”
Sierra strongly believes that sharing knowledge is an important and inherent part of belonging to a community. That’s why she partnered with Alana Bell, the Becraft Scholars program director, to help run a family engagement night for Becraft families in November. Sierra led the families through a mindfulness and meditation exercise, sharing tips for how to introduce these techniques to children.
“I was honored to be asked to share those gifts,” Sierra recalled. “The collective sharing of knowledge is how we build connection within a community. What’s ordinary to some can be extraordinary to others. That’s why community is so important.”
To learn more about the Becraft Scholars Program, contact Alana Bell, program director, at alana.bell@fulcrumfoundation.org.