Faces of FCSS Laura
Laura Wellmann,
Individual and Community Capacity Builder
Town of Canmore FCSS
In this position, I support individual capacity building through 1:1 solution-focused counselling sessions to help folks identify SMART goals and provide accountability support to meet those goals. This work is deeply empowering as it places the individual in the ‘driver’s seat’ and focuses on resilience and skill building to promote individual capacity to cope with complex and dynamic life journeys.
Additionally, this position also supports community capacity building with focused support and activation in the Bow Valley Non-Profit Sector. This includes support with status applications, visioning and strategic planning, workshop development, and creation of collective events for the sector to connect, learn, and build networks. This work also includes leadership support for the creation of working groups that advance identified community needs. For example, the Bow Valley Safer Spaces working group emerged as a solution to an identified need for a Community GSA. This working group emerged as an evolving response to this need and is comprised of local organizations and public members who are keen to create more inclusive and affirming spaces for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Community Capacity work is deeply rewarding as it directly supports the unique needs of the community with the flexibility required to transform how Community organizes around and attends to various needs.
Why did you get involved in FCSS?
Before working as an FCSS staff member, I worked alongside FCSS as a community partner on a variety of projects and initiatives, and I always admired the leadership and strategic capacity-building efforts the local office provided in the community. I deeply appreciated the call-and-response nature of their leadership- hearing what community and organizational partners were saying about gaps in service provision and supporting the work in filling those gaps, whether it was via direct service delivery or capacity building initiatives to convene community supports in filling identified needs. When the opportunity to join the Canmore FCSS team arose, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to be part of this dynamic team!
What have you learned in your role with FCSS?
So many things….I have had the opportunity to practice integrity, with ongoing opportunity to continually show up for community with openness and genuine intent to listen to understand; to amplify and give space for voices that often are marginalized and underrepresented, and to show up authentically and model such leadership to others. I have learned that we work better together, that silos serve no one, and that deeply meaningful work operates at the speed of relationship. I have learned that when we are in service to our community, we build the foundational networks that are long-lasting and serve as the future foundation upon which all other opportunities can grow. I am repeatedly filled with gratitude for the opportunity to be part of the fabric of this deeply meaningful, foundational, and transformative work in Community.
Faces of FCSS
If you want to be featured, or have someone you think should be featured, as a Face of FCSS, contact: communications@fcssaa.org
FCSSAA
The Family and Community Support Services Association of Alberta (FCSSAA) was founded in 1981, as a member-driven organization dedicated to bringing Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) programs from across the province together. We provide the platform for our member programs to connect and collaborate, so they can maximize resources and speak with an informed, credible, unified voice to all stakeholders.
