See also Design Document.
-
Mission: The Community Home Dining Initiative aims to foster unity and understanding among diverse community groups by facilitating shared small group meals. The program is designed to help the community connect on a personal level, fostering relationships that transcend labels and preconceptions, allowing people to see each other as individuals. The program stresses curiosity over closed mindedness.
-
Inclusive Outreach with Intentional Leadership: The heart of this program is to bring people together who might not otherwise come to the table. It is not only for those already seeking connection, but especially for those who are hesitant, isolated, or skeptical. Success depends on strong, intentional leadership from each participating community to extend invitations with compassion and persistence, helping individuals feel welcome and safe enough to say yes.
-
Building Trust: Trust is a foundation of this initiative, established through a structured referral system, safety measures, and clear community guidelines. The program ensures a safe, welcoming environment through structured referral-based trust, safety measures, and clear community guidelines. See Trust Through Ratings and Trust and Safety.
-
Organizational Support: This program is built around communities and organizations. It encourages people from various religious, civic, and educational organizations to connect on a personal level, promoting dialogue, trust, and mutual respect. While the idea starts with us in Winchester, Virginia and the Valley Interfaith Council, our hope is to create a framework and technology that transcends our community that can be replicated in any community. See How the Program is Organized.
-
Focus on Social Connections: This initiative is centered on creating organic social connections and expanding community networks through shared meals. What happens at these meals is up to each individual host. Other than providing a place and time for people to connect in a safe environment, the program has no other goals. This is different from other meal-sharing programs that focus on structured discussions around political, financial, or cultural topics. See Possible Discussion Frameworks.
The name, “I am Here” Communities, comes from the Hebrew word Hinenei. Connect with interesting people, join an “I am Here” Community Dinner near you, if one doesn’t exist near you, start an “I am Here” Community. The idea is that I am present, I show up, I am here, I am Here. Hillel asked:
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
Our answer to this is Hinenei.
The “I am Here” model is designed to be scalable and community-led. It includes three key levels:
-
Communities: These are geographic areas (e.g., Winchester, Charlottesville) where the program is active. Anyone can start a local “I am Here” Community and become its Community Organizer.
-
Organizations: Within each community, faith-based, civic, or educational institutions (e.g., churches, synagogues, mosques, Rotary clubs, schools) can affiliate with the local program. Community Organizers will recruit organizations to participate.
-
Friends: Individual people who join the program—either through an organization or directly—are called “I am Here Friends”. IAH Friends can sign up to attend meals or volunteer to host. For the purposes of clarity, Friends who are signed up with the “I am Here” Communities will be referred to as “IAH Friends” or just “Friends” (note capitalization), not to be confused with a personal friend.
-
Growth: While the initial IAH Friends originate from their organizations (for reasons of trust), any IAH Friend can invite a personal friend (with the host's approval) and these personal friends can become IAH Friends. Hosts and Community Organizers can also invite their own personal friends to become IAH Friends.
-
Supporting Restaurants: Supporting restaurants share our vision and offer private or semi-private rooms for Hosts to use. This allows for greater community integration (dining in public) but also so that anyone can host without the need for opening up their home.
This structure allows the program to grow community by community, while keeping participation local, trusted, and relational.
-
Initial Community: The founding Community is Winchester, Virginia as coordinated through the Valley Interfaith Council (VIC) and the VIC’s member organizations.
-
Additional Communities: We will expand to include additional organizers from civic organizations such as Kiwanis and Rotary, as well as Lions Club and Civitan Club. Furthermore, educational institutions like Shenandoah University and Laurel Ridge Community College will be invited to participate, expanding the program’s reach to students and academic communities.
-
Hosting: IAH Friends can volunteer to host meals, specifying the date, time, number of guests, an optional note about the food (e.g. potluck, vegetarian, cultural dish), and an optional theme (social or any of Possible Discussion Frameworks). Meals can happen in IAH Friends’ homes, at participating restaurants, or as organizationally-supported events in shared spaces.
-
Event Notification: Once a meal event is scheduled, the program will notify all IAH Friends about the available opportunity without disclosing the IAH Host’s identity, organizations, or connections. The IAH Platform will attempt to invite random IAH Friends across organizations to create a diverse group and expand the invites as necessary to fill the event.
-
Guest Selection: IAH Friends can request to join a meal event, and IAH Hosts have the discretion to accept or decline these requests. Rejections do not reflect on the IAH Hosts rating; repeated rejections are reviewed by the Organizational or Community Organizer.
To make shared meals accessible and inclusive for all, “I am Here” offers three primary hosting models:
-
Home-Hosted Dinners: Hosted in the home of an IAH Friend, this is the most intimate and personal option. The host provides a safe, welcoming space, often with a potluck or home-cooked meal. This option fosters deeper personal connection and cultural sharing.
-
Restaurant-Supported Dinners: Held at participating restaurants that support the program’s mission, these meals allow for community visibility and reduce the burden on hosts. Restaurants may offer private or semi-private dining areas at reduced cost or as a donation.
-
Organizationally-Supported Dinners: Two or more partnering organizations (e.g., a mosque and a church, or a college club and a civic group) co-host a dinner at one of their facilities. Leaders from each organization coordinate the meal, and each group brings members to the table. These events target 20 participants and are excellent for community bridge-building.
“I am Here” meals are built around relational trust and community diversity. Guests may be invited through three models:
-
Randomized Diverse Groups: Most meals are filled through the IAH Platform’s invitation system, which promotes interaction between people from different organizations, backgrounds, and beliefs.
-
Organizational Groupings: In this model, specific groups partner to host and populate a meal—such as a synagogue and a church, or a university club and a civic organization. Organizers aim for balance, often with each group contributing a similar number of attendees.
-
Continuing Cohorts: After a successful dinner, some groups may wish to continue meeting together as a standing cohort. These “friend groups” can schedule recurring meals to deepen their relationships and continue the spirit of shared dialogue.
-
Mutual Ratings and Reviews: After each meal, both hosts and guests will provide feedback on their experience. This ensures accountability, encourages courteous behavior, and helps identify trustworthy IAH Friends. Positive reviews build an IAH Friend’s credibility, while repeated negative feedback may lead to removal from the program.
-
Public and Private Feedback: IAH Friends will have the option to leave public reviews that others can see, as well as private feedback to program organizers regarding any concerns. This dual-layered approach allows for open praise while also addressing sensitive issues discreetly.
-
Endorsements and Community Recognition: IAH Friends can earn endorsements from Hosts and other guests. These endorsements act as a signal of reliability and can help new IAH Friends gain trust in the community. Friends with consistently strong ratings may receive the "Good Friend" status.
-
Reporting Issues: Hosts can notify organizers about any IAH Friend concerns, ensuring timely intervention when necessary. Patterns of poor behavior or policy violations will be addressed through a structured review process to maintain program integrity.
-
Trust Through References and Referrals: Trust in Friends will be established primarily through references from existing IAH Friends. Each Friend must be referred by a known and trusted individual from an affiliated organization. This social vetting ensures that every Friend is connected to an established network.
-
Host Training and Safety Guidelines: While Hosts do not require extensive vetting, they will be provided with a safety guidelines document and an optional training video to ensure a positive hosting experience. This will cover basic hospitality, dietary accommodations, and safety considerations.
-
Group Safety in Numbers: To enhance security, all meals must have at least eight Friends to avoid one-on-one interactions. Additionally, to create a welcoming and balanced environment, each meal must include at least three women to ensure safety and diverse representation.
-
Real Identity and Transparency: Anonymity will not be allowed. All IAH Friends must provide real names and profile pictures to foster trust and accountability.
-
Secure Communication on the Platform: Initial communication between Hosts and Friends will occur within the program’s secure messaging platform, ensuring that interactions remain documented and traceable until both parties are comfortable proceeding.
-
Agreement to an IAH Friend Policy: All Friends will be required to accept an IAH Friend Agreement, outlining expectations for respectful behavior, Host responsibilities, and adherence to basic community guidelines. Hosts will be allowed to specify personal house rules (e.g., "no smoking," "no shoes inside," "no weapons") for their events.
-
Food Safety Awareness: Hosts will receive guidance on basic food safety protocols, including safe food handling and allergen awareness. While this cannot eliminate all risks, it demonstrates a proactive approach to safety and legal protection.
-
Reputation and Review System: A structured rating and review system will allow Friends and Hosts to provide feedback on their experiences. This will help maintain community standards, highlight positive experiences, and flag any concerns that need attention.
-
Civic Dinners (Inclusivv): While Civic Dinners no longer exists as a supported platform, Jenn Graham from Civic Dinners has offered (as a starting point) to collaborate on this new program by reviewing this document and sharing their experience. inclusivv.co/civic-dinners
-
PlateCulture: A platform that connects guests with local hosts for home dining experiences, promoting cultural exchange and understanding. facebook.com/PlateCulture
-
The People's Supper: A nationwide initiative that organizes community dinners to rebuild trust among people of diverse identities, ideologies, and backgrounds. thepeoplessupper.org
-
OneTable: The One Table program is built around Shabbat dinners and has successfully hosted 100,000 meals. Their technology and experience is worth partnering with. onetable.org
-
Jeffersonian Dinners: A structured dinner format inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s tradition of gathering diverse thinkers for intimate, topic-driven conversations. jeffersondinner.org
-
Make America Dinner Again (MADA): A program to bring people across the political spectrum together over shared meals to humanize discussions. makeamericadinneragain.com
-
Interfaith Bridges: A program that brings together people of different faiths for dialogue-driven meals. buildingbridgestogether.net
-
In the Footsteps of Abraham: An interfaith initiative that brings Christians, Jews, and Muslims together for dinner-based conversations focused on shared values and traditions. The program emphasizes dialogue, hospitality, and cross-cultural friendship. Information about upcoming gatherings can be found at muslimcoalitionct.org/interfaith.
-
Legal Agreements and Waivers: All Friends must agree to waivers and behavior expectations upon signup and again before each meal. This offers protection to IAH Communities, Organizations, and Hosts.
-
Safety and Trust: Consider optional background checks for Friends, but evaluate legal implications carefully.
-
Cultural Sensitivity: Provide Hosts with guidance for dietary and cultural accommodations.
-
Technology Platform: No existing platform perfectly matches the need. OneTable might be close, but a custom platform may be required.
-
Technology Implementation: If needed, a prototype will be built using Drupal, potentially with free hosting from Acquia, Pantheon, or Platform.sh. Domains registered: iamhere.social and iamherecommunities.org
-
Promotion and Outreach: Promote broadly across faith and civic networks.
DRAFT v2 Mar 23, 2025