Hands of Peace

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

We serve American, Israeli and Palestinian youth, beginning with their participation in our Summer Program at ages 15-17 and continuing with alumni programming as they age. We also serve community members who support these youth as host families, volunteers and donors.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

We specifically solicited and used feedback in 2020 to drive a Reimagining process. Based on the feedback, we are shifting the emphasis of our older alumni programming to include more skills-based programs rather than simply continuing dialogue. We also implemented an Alumni Advisory Council, and have invited alumni to become a part of all decision-making committees and our Board.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners, We published the key points that we hear through various feedback avenues.,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

Yes, as mentioned above, we are now asking alumni to participate in or take the lead in planning alumni programming so that it meets their needs and so that they can gain leadership experience in the process. As an example, with two alumni on our Community Circles Committee, and one of them as chair, our community education events have been rescheduled to make it easier for alumni to attend virtually and we always look for ways to have alumni serve as group moderators, presenters or interviewers.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, Because our participants begin as teens, they move a lot so we are constantly updating contact info.,