StepUP Navigation
Take a peek or jump in with both feet

What Are You Looking For?

Explore what matters to you right now

⚡ Got 5 Minutes? Start Here
Pick a Focus Area
▼
Addiction Recovery and Harm Reduction Affordable Housing Adult Education and Literacy Air Quality and Industrial Regulation Animal Welfare, Protection and Advocacy Arts, Culture and Creative Expression Bail Reform and Pretrial Justice Bridging Across Difference Career and Technical Education Child Protection and Family Justice Civic Dialogue and Depolarization Civic Literacy and Education Civic Rituals, Holidays and Public Memorials Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination Clean Energy Access and Sustainability Clean Water and Sanitation Access Climate Justice and Environmental Resilience Collective Impact and Network Organizing Community Health and Preventive Care Community Wealth Building Creative Economy and Cultural Workforce Criminal Justice Reform Cross-Sector Civic Innovation Culturally Responsive Curriculum Data Equity and Community Mapping Data Privacy and Digital Rights Digital Equity and Internet Access Digital Literacy and Online Safety Disability Justice and Accessibility Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Early Childhood Development Elder Abuse Prevention Elder Care and Aging in Place Environmental Health and Pollution Prevention Faith and Interfaith Collaboration Family Stabilization and Parenting Support Financial Literacy and Asset Building Food Justice and Sustainable Food Systems Food Security and Hunger Relief Freedom of Speech and Expression Frontline Community Environmental Justice Gender Equity and Safety Government Accountability and Transparency Higher Education Access and Affordability Homeownership and Wealth Building Homelessness Response and Prevention Human Trafficking Prevention Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Services Indigenous Rights and Sovereignty Infrastructure Investment and Equity Institutional Culture Change Intergenerational Programs Internships, Apprenticeships and Fellowships Judicial Reform and Court Access K–12 Public School Equity Land Use, Zoning and Development Justice Language Access and Multilingual Services LGBTQIA+ Rights and Inclusion Living Wage and Job Access Long-Term Disaster Recovery Maternal and Infant Health Equity Media Literacy and Disinformation Mental Health and Emotional Wellness Mobility Justice Narrative Strategy for Systems Change Neighborhood Resilience and Identity Pandemic Response Philanthropy Transformation Policing and Public Safety Policy Advocacy and Campaigns Power-Sharing and Participatory Governance Predatory Lending and Debt Justice Prison Reform and Incarceration Alternatives Public Benefits Access Public Space and Community Design Public-Private Partnership Design Race, Class, and Social Equity Redistricting and Representation Reentry and Reintegration Support Reparations, Truth and Reconciliation Reproductive Health and Rights Restorative and Transformative Justice Root Causes of Poverty Rural Equity and Community Access School Discipline Reform Small Business and Cooperative Development STEM Education and Science Advocacy Storytelling and Narrative Power Student Debt Relief Substance Use Prevention Tax Equity and Public Investment Tenant Rights and Eviction Protection Transportation Access and Equity Trauma-Informed Care and Healing Justice Universal Basic Income Universal Healthcare Access Urban Farming Urban Greening and Green Infrastructure Veteran and Military Family Engagement Veteran Transition and Support Services Voting Access and Election Integrity Worker Rights and Fair Labor Workforce Training and Upskilling Youth Leadership and Voice Youth Wellness and Support Services
LEARNING CENTER THECHANGELAB LEARNING CENTER THECHANGELAB

Convergence Compass Learning Program

Dialogue and Bridging Workshops

Learn proven, science-based skills to navigate differences, build trust across divides, and solve problems together. From self-paced online courses to intensive facilitation training, these programs equip you with tools to bridge political, cultural, and ideological divides.

Three leading organizations offer workshops and training at every level—from 5-minute practices to multi-month fellowships.

Read More
EVENTS, PARTNER SPOTLIGHT THECHANGELAB EVENTS, PARTNER SPOTLIGHT THECHANGELAB

Compassion Week 2025 - Celebrating 10 years

Welcome to Compassion Week 2025 - Celebrating 10 years!

This year marks a special milestone—our 10th anniversary of coming together for a full week of inspiration, knowledge-sharing, dialogue, collaborations, and hands-on activities. What began as a simple idea has grown into a vibrant tradition, connecting hearts across Greater Houston by showcasing and sharing tangible examples of Houston’s compassionate culture through various partner and network offerings.

Compassion Week 2025 NOVEMBER 10-16

Save the date for Compassion Week 2025 and it’s core message of SMALL ACTS. BIG CHANGE, highlighting the aspiration that each of us can be a force for good. Our small actions rooted in care and love ripple outward to transform the world, starting right where and how we are. Our theme invites us to explore how everyday gestures—rooted in care, courage, and connection—can spark powerful transformation, rippling outward to create lasting change. And it begins with us, right here, right now.

Whether through learning, practice, service, storytelling, or other types of shared moments, Compassion Week 2025 celebrates the tools we each carry to build a more compassionate world, one act at a time.

PURPOSE OF WORLD KINDNESS DAY

Compassion Week coincides regularly with the week in which World Kindness Day falls, a global day, introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world.

The purpose of this day, celebrated on November 13 of each year, is to help everyone understand that compassion for others is what binds us all together.

Read More
LEARNING CENTER, SPOTLIGHT THECHANGELAB LEARNING CENTER, SPOTLIGHT THECHANGELAB

Civic GYM

"This experience is exhilarating. It's like going on a rollercoaster that looks scary, but after you go through the drops and loops, you're like 'I want to do that again!' The Civic Gym is like that but without the long lines."

— Civic Gym Student Participant

Read More
THECHANGELAB THECHANGELAB

The Afiya Center (TAC)

We started in 2008 because Black women in Texas were getting HIV at very high rates. They needed help. Over time, we grew to help with many kinds of health problems.

What is Reproductive Justice?

Reproductive Justice means you get to make your own choices about your body and your family. You can decide if you want to have kids or not. You can decide when to have them. You can raise your kids in a safe place.

Black women created this idea in 1994. They knew that health care connects to other problems like racism and poverty.

Health problems that hurt Black women most:

  • Black women often go to hospitals that give worse care

  • Racism affects Black women's bodies and makes pregnancy more dangerous

  • Texas laws make it hard to get abortion care when women need it

  • Many people judge women with HIV, so they don't get help

  • Not enough doctors understand what Black women go through

Read More

SUBMIT A RESOURCE