Agency for Change : A Podcast from KidGlov

Changemaker Emily Koopmann, Executive Director, Belmont Community Center

• KidGlov • Season 1 • Episode 248

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What does it actually take to nurture a thriving neighborhood? The Belmont Community Center has been answering this question for 88 remarkable years, transforming Northwest Lincoln one connection at a time.

Executive Director Emily Koopman guides us through the center's extraordinary journey from its humble 1937 beginnings in an abandoned church to the vibrant community hub it is today. 

This deep legacy of trust allows the center to "pivot at every corner" to address ever-changing community needs. From early childhood classrooms and after-school programs to hosting AA meetings and family celebrations, the center provides both critical services and a neutral space for bringing diverse stakeholders together. Through it all, their collaborative philosophy remains constant: "It's not the Belmont Community Center doing the work—it's WE who are doing the work."

Welcome to the Agency for Change podcast.

Emily Koopmann: 0:01

If you're not part of the solution, you're probably part of the problem.

Announcer: 0:07

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we'll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lyn Wineman: 0:31

Hey everyone, this is Lyn Wineman, president and Chief Strategist at KidGlov. Welcome back to another episode of the Agency for Change podcast. Today, our guest lives and breathes the spirit of community building, and her work proves just how powerful that spirit can be. You know, here's a question what does it actually take to nurture a neighborhood? For 88 years, the Belmont Community Center has been answering that question, one connection at a time, and today we're talking with Emily Koopman, their executive director and community champion, about how deep roots and big dreams are transforming Northwest Lincoln, Nebraska. This is a story about what happens when people come together and why community still matters. Emily, welcome to the podcast.

Emily Koopmann: 1:31

Thank you very much. Glad to be here.

Lyn Wineman: 1:35

I am so excited to talk to you. I can just tell from our pre-conversation here that we're going to have some good energy today as we talk about Belmont Community Center. And can you just start by telling us more about the center?

Emily Koopmann: 1:48

Yeah, absolutely, the Belmont Community Center actually started in 1937.

Lyn Wineman: 1:54

Wow, that's a few years ago, 1937.

Emily Koopmann: 1:58

Yes, we celebrated our 85th in 2020, 2021, somewhere in there. The math isn't the math thing for me, but it's all right. Someone told me 88 years today when they did the math, and so I love that. We started in a little abandoned church in the neighborhood, and then this building we're in currently was built in 1955 and was built just off the generosity of Lincolnites. So the laborers union, the bricklayers union we have these cards that say this electrician donated two hours. So really, people just came together, they fundraised, they built this space. Retired Doane professors were the inspiration for this place and specifically to make sure that there was a space for youth to gather and to be in the neighborhood together.

Lyn Wineman: 2:45

So that's an incredible, credible legacy, Emily. I mean 88 years when you think about that history. I mean what kind of impact does that legacy have on your work today?

Emily Koopmann: 3:00

Yeah, I mean honestly it is quite the gift to me, right, because there is 88 years of trust, of familiarity, of fondness People have a fondness for this building and for this neighborhood and to be able to come in then and kind of jump into a shared experience with so many other people, generations of people, to be able to jump into that shared experience really just impacts the way that we can work in this neighborhood and the ways we can pivot to meet the needs of our neighborhood. I mean that is literally our mission is to address the cultural, social, economic, educational needs, recreational needs of our community and so being able to just pivot at every corner and say, oh, this is what the community needs and these are the resources we have and these are the collaborators we can find, those are the ways that we get to serve our community and solve problems alongside our community every single day and have that done off of 80 years of trust and belief in one another between the neighborhood and this institution.

Lyn Wineman: 4:07

Yeah, you said the word pivot in there a couple of times too, and I think that probably has a lot to do with the longevity of the organization. But yet that core mission of bringing together and serving the community, I bet, has just been that thread that's gone through all 88 years. So as I think about community centers, I think about you bringing schools, families, businesses, organizations together to really support that neighborhood. I'm really curious what does that look like today, Emily?

Emily Koopmann: 4:43

Yeah, I mean it looks one it looks like critical services and programs. So we have two early childhood classrooms, two preschool classrooms. We have school age programming, so before and after school programming, we're getting ready for all day summer camp programming. We have programming on days when the school is not in session. So there's critical services like child care happening, but also the critical services of being a structure in our community that can host a wide variety of things.

We have a baseball field, a basketball gym, a room where AA meets twice a week and other organizations use our space for their programs and services. People use it for baby showers, graduation parties, all sorts of things, right, so we get to bring people together in ways that are just doing our job. But then also, yeah, you know, kind of layering onto doing our job is being able to have conversations, building connections, knowing lots of people and being able to connect and again, just be that kind of catalyst for collaboration, and sometimes it's also just being able to be that space or those people who can help do some perspective taking. I mean it would be not true if I didn't bring up conflict resolution, right.

There’s a lot of people and problems and and ways in which we all have to work together between different systems, between being neighbors, between parenting in the same community. I mean there's just lots of areas where misunderstanding would happen. And so it's nice to be kind of part of that multi-sector engagement and lots of folks feel very connected to lots of folks and kind of do that kind of deep trust perspective taking work.

Lyn Wineman: 6:27

You can be that, really that neutral space that facilitates positive conversation. I really, really love that, Emily. I'd like to build on that because I think one way to really demonstrate impact in a way that makes it so relatable is through storytelling, and I'm wondering if you could share a key moment that you can recall, when the community came together with a shared goal towards or in the Belmont Community Center.

Emily Koopmann: 7:02

Yeah, I mean we get to again we get to have a lot of collaborators, so our work is our work, but we don't do our work by ourselves by any means. And so a huge part of what we do is be involved in our neighborhood, be involved in our school neighborhood advisory committee, and so that includes organizations here on the Belmont campus that are really close by, and includes residents, it includes neighbors, it includes faith organizations, and so I have seen that group of folks in the evenings, with pizza, with childcare provided, be able to come together and connect and solve problems together or reimagine things in our neighborhood. So an example of that is you know, we thought that they were going to have to close our pool for an extra week in the summer because they couldn't find lifeguards. And man people hit the streets. We found those lifeguards.

And it not only starts at finding the lifeguards and finding those people right, but then coming back to the group and saying, okay, but why aren't we finding lifeguards? Oh, maybe it's because we haven't had swim lessons in our neighborhood since COVID. You're not really building in this trajectory of lifeguards from right here within our neighborhood. How do we have that conversation? And so again, it's not. It wasn't just solving the immediate problem, which this group did, absolutely solve the immediate problem but also going back and saying how do we advocate, how do we build things up, who do we need to talk to and collaborate with and being able to solve those problems together? Because Parks and Rec, who runs the pools? They got a lot of pools open, they got a lot of places to be, but we know as well, right, we can be doing these things.

And so, yeah, that was just a really cool thing. And then again with that group we've been able. We're on our third summer now of the Belmont Community Summer of Fun. So every year since 2023,. We have created this summer lineup of free events yoga in the park, kickball days, music, bingo. We've done a fun run. We always do an end of the school year party and a back to school year party. We've done live music. We're doing improv this summer. Yeah, lots of opportunities, free opportunities. And again, those opportunities, though, are created and inspired by community feedback. It's all of us coming together and saying what do our kids like, what do we like, what do we think our neighbors will like? How can we all get together? Where are we going to host it? Who's going to be there? Who do we know who does something like this and will come in? And I love it because people in the neighborhood get to connect, be involved, enjoy something right here where they live. But also, I've seen really cool where we have sunset yoga and and man, we're bringing all the yogis to Belmont. Come on up to Belmont. You know, not not often do people travel to us. So we love to see that to bringing people into our neighborhood and saying like, yeah, it's beautiful here. We got sunset, yoga, we got a park, we have big block parties, all the things you know. 

Lyn Wineman: 10:03

You know. It occurs to me as you're talking, as you're sharing these stories and these examples community is much more than a geographic location, isn't it? And I bet you've seen that time and time again.

Emily Koopmann: 10:15

Yeah, and I mean, we see it, we see it again, just in the sense of we love being able to walk to each other, we love the close knit, but we also love coming in, people coming in. We love to go out and explore and I think that's something we have been really talking about as we do some redevelopment work is just how do we gain access to other parts of our city and how do they gain access to us as a part of a broader? As we become stronger as a neighborhood, how do we become stronger than as a city?

Lyn Wineman: 10:46

I really love, Emily, hearing your perspective on building community, and I want everyone to just hold on to that thought for a minute where we just take a short time out here. I have something that I want to share. I recently wrote a book called Untangling Spaghetti a Branding Fable. And no, it's not a cooking story. It's a story for leaders who are doing meaningful work but sometimes feel stuck in that messiness of messaging, outreach and identity and, just like Emily and the Belmont Community Center, are untangling complex community challenges. This book is about finding clarity, purpose and momentum. You can find Untangling Spaghetti on Amazon or at kidglov.com/untanglingspaghetti. Alright, now let's get back to the conversation with Emily, because, Emily, I really want you to switch gears here and talk a bit about your career path, what drew you to this type of work and what keeps you passionate about it.

Emily Koopmann: 12:05

Yeah, good question. I think that part of it is, and this is what maybe this is me being around kids all the time, but it's just what I like to do. I'm doing pretty well at something that I like to do, something that I can tell that I'm good at, you know. And so you got to kind of find those things that you like to do that you know that you're good at. And it's funny, because I first went to college to get a business degree, I was like I'm going to get a business degree, I'm going to go make so much money, I'm going to go just wherever I want, you know, much freedom with all my money.

Lyn Wineman: 12:39

Yeah, that doesn't always work out the way you think it's going to and it doesn't bring you the happiness the way you think it's going to right.

Emily Koopmann: 12:47

Right. But then I look back and I say, oh, I studied marketing and economics. I've clearly always cared a lot about people and about the choices we make and about why we move the way we do in the world. And after I got my undergrad I went and studied at seminary. So, again, I clearly cared a lot about why do we make the decisions we make, why do we process information the way that we do, and what motivates us to be out there making choices and being together and then to come back and do this kind of community and youth work. I'm like, oh, that makes a lot of sense. I've always wanted to know about people and now I just live my life knowing and learning about people every day and figuring out what that means for the betterment of just how we thrive together.

Lyn Wineman: 13:32

I love that answer so much. Emily, I ask that question a lot and whenever I ask that question, I picture the person I'm talking to in grade school on the playground going my name's Emily and I want to be an executive director of a community center when I grew up, right like that never happens, but yet it feels like if you were going to plan out the pathway for somebody who's going to be the executive director of a community center, it'd be exactly the path you have taken, but yet you kind of happened upon it because of your likes and your interests and your talents and your skills, and that's what's brought you here today and I can just feel from your energy that this work brings you great joy and I think that's such an incredible gift to you, but also a gift to those who you serve and work with as well. So that's fantastic. So, Emily, what's on the horizon for Belmont Community Center and the Belmont neighborhood?

Emily Koopmann: 14:29

Yeah, I mean we are very close right now to finishing a project to install air conditioning in our gymnasium. For 70 years that we have had this building, never air conditioning People have been sweating it out. I tell people that sometimes when the kids play in there in the summer, we have to sit them down and let them just play with Legos, like on the gym floor, because it's too hot to be outside and it's definitely too hot to run in this room.

We just continue to take care of this building. You know, like I said, it's used by so many people, it's treasured, it is looked at with such fondness and memories for generations of people. So always on the horizon around here is how to take care of this space. We also have just really great partnerships and collaborations that we are coming upon.

We hosted a roller skating night the other night so it's like being able to again just pivot, do, do what the community sees or wants. 55 people came out to roller skate and roller blade and so, looking at those kinds of collaborations, we're part of a ERN and a business network here because, again, there's multi-sectors to community. We love families, we love kids. Those are the critical services we do. We love youth sports, those kinds of engagements, but connecting to businesses here in Lincoln, connecting to the business community, and then also we've had a great collaboration with the organization We Can Do This and they've been feeding kids on the weekends out of our building. 

Being able to just expand those again, those critical services that really create a more just, intimate opportunity for us to connect as neighbors and as friends and as people. We just always have good collaborations on the rise, building upgrades on the rise. You know those are always the dreams and schemes around here. And then obviously, great programming you know great programming and opportunities for kids to just be themselves. That too, we love kiddos, just experience their neighborhood, their strengths, their interests in our presence. 

Lyn Wineman: 16:36

You used an acronym that I want to dig into ERN. What is an ERN?

Emily Koopmann: 16:42

Yeah, so it's. It's the elite referral network and they're small groups of businesses that are meeting together through the organization, through the ecosystem and so. But what I see in those groups is that people really want everyone to flourish. I like that vibe. That's good vibes for a community center gal like me. So again, it's nice to be a part of the business sector and be a part of those groups and to engage in the business community, because again I see space where all flourishing is mutual. That's kind of I didn't make that up, it's in a book called Fairy but just making sure that all flourishing is mutual for those in our community. And again that goes in so many sectors and in so many ways.

Lyn Wineman: 17:26

It makes me think of the saying a rising tide lifts all ships right, and it seems like you're doing that very comprehensively. I wanted to ask about one more thing. I know that you're playing a key role in the Belmont Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan, which makes total sense to me hearing everything you've talked about, but what does your role look like in that effort, Emily?

Emily Koopmann: 17:50

Yeah, I mean, on the boring end, I send the emails, right, I order the food, I send the emails, I make sure some things are lined up. On the fun end, I get to connect these folks who are experts in city planning, in architecture, in placemaking, and I get to connect them with opportunities to do their work in ways that engage the community, in ways that we're already engaging. So we had our final open house, our final community open house, this last week, at the same time we were having our end of the year Belmont block party. So already 600 some people are showing. I mean, I bought 800 hot dogs and only took 25 of them home.

I think something that I'm learning working with you know, professionals working with city planning departments, is that it's hard for those folks to just come in, just plop themselves kind of in the neighborhood and say, hey, this is some really cool work, it is really cool work, but who's going to listen to them? They're new here, we like you, but you got to get to know us a little more, you know. And so being able to be that person to say like, hey, this is when we have community meetings, this is when we're already having big events, you can jump on board and then how to create some creative inclusion opportunities in that.

So during our second community open house during this redevelopment plan, we're able to have students build a city. They built a huge city out of recycled material. All week long during spring break they built a city and they had different entities come in. So the fire department, police department, folks came in from NeighborWorks to talk about housing and different types of houses we see in our community. We had city council come in, just all sorts of people to say, you know, these are the different parts of our city and you got to think about putting a fire station over here and one over here on this side of the city. And so, as we do this neighborhood redevelopment, kids are also creating opportunity to say, like this is what it would look like police station with a rooftop pool. They created so many soccer fields and what was cool is that when we talked about, when we talk at our stakeholder meeting with adults who are involved in this process and part of the neighborhood, they are talking about soccer right, and then when the kids built the city, they are putting in soccer fields.

So it’s great to see that overlap happening and again create those really innovative ways to include lots of voices in a plan that's going to affect everyone, everyone, you know, everyone who's living here and walking around here, shopping here, working here, going to school here. I think we've done really good work to try to get as many of those voices as possible in this process and I again, I just get to be the convener of that to say like, hey, this is a good time, this is where we're gathering, this is what we're doing, this is who you want to talk to, you know just, and then being able to say you know what, let me find out. That's my other line, and all this, let me find out. I don't know all the answers, but I probably know where to go and how to find the answers for somebody and get people involved.

Lyn Wineman: 20:50

That's amazing. I wonder if you've inspired a future mayor, a future city planner, a future city council team with that summer camp that you did. I think that's fantastic. So, Emily, for our listeners who really want to spark deeper connections in their own communities because we have listeners across the city, across the state, across the country you know, what advice would you give people who want to get into that type of work?

Emily Koopmann: 21:23

I think, when it comes to just engaging in your neighborhood, engaging in the place where you live, whether you're again as a resident or someone who works in the area, or you bring your kids to school in the area, or whatever the case may be, you know, I think the thing is it doesn't have to be hard, but it might be a little bit. It might be hard. I went to a morning group this morning and I didn't know anyone there and I, you kind of have to talk yourself into those opportunities, right, and I'm so glad I did, because when I was there, someone else in another group said you know I didn't mean to overhear, but you know I wrestle with those same questions as well, and it was nice to be like, oh good thing, I put myself in this position to find other people, and it doesn't have to be something you're wrestling with, right.

Sometimes it's just I really like this thing and I want to find other people who really like this thing and they're out there. But you do have to do have to put your brave face on, and I try it a couple of times and not every time is it going to go great Cause we're all kind of worried about it. We're all trying to figure out how we connect with each other and what to say, and some people are really good at it. My dad, he'll talk to you, even if you have your AirPods in. Nobody wants that, you know, but he is the one who will talk to someone on the train or and we really appreciate the people like that but also the people who just struggle to even get out and feel like, where do I find these people? That, too, should be applauded, because it takes all of us to come together and to get to know one another.

Lyn Wineman: 22:55

I love the idea of putting your brave face on right. I think that's a good way to say it. So, Emily, for our listeners who want to learn more, where can they find information about the Belmont Community Center? Maybe they want to donate to you. Maybe they want to see the schedule for the Summer of Fun, which sounds like a great thing to do.

Emily Koopmann: 23:16

We have a great website, belmontcommunitycenter.org, and we're super active on Facebook, instagram. I'm going to say LinkedIn as well, but also hopefully, by the time this airs, I've updated my LinkedIn because I'm only like part professional. My marketing shout out to Sweet Boy Marketing. We have a parent of a student here in Belmont who started her own business. She's a resident in the community, started her own marketing business and so if you think our Facebook or Instagram or all the things look great, it is because of Sweet Boy Marketing and yeah, you can find out all of our events on there, all of our collaborators, and when we're doing events it's just super organized and well out there in the world. But yeah, I'll update my LinkedIn.

Lyn Wineman: 23:58

That's the first thing everybody's going to go look at. By the way, we'll have all those links on the kid glove site in the show notes as well for anybody who wants to connect and didn't get those written down. All right, Emily, I'm going to ask you my favorite question Next. The listeners know I am inspired by motivational quotes and I would love an Emily Koopman original quote to share with our listeners.

Emily Koopmann: 24:26

Yeah, well, I mean, I'll tell you maybe two. One. This probably only applies when you're here at the BCC, but there's oftentimes where I tell the kids you know, this is not the Lyn Center, it's the community center. You know, we all need subtle reminders that we live amongst each other, that we live in community, right, and I'm glad you're here, but this is the community center, it's for all of us. We're all trying to make it work. You know, that's probably just a good general thing to keep in life in traffic. You know, at the grocery store, this is not the Emily grocery store.

Lyn Wineman: 25:00

I love it. That is so good. I've never heard anything like that before. That's amazing, Emily. I love it.

Emily Koopmann: 25:08

And I would say. My other one is one that my mom used to say a lot, and you know, if you're not part of the solution, you're probably part of the problem. I don't think that needs to take like big grand steps. Solutions aren't big grand things sometimes. Sometimes it's just thinking about something in a different way, sometimes it's making very small efforts so that at the very least, you're not part of the problem. Just don't be, part of the problem. Right, there's plenty of solutions out there.

Lyn Wineman: 25:35

That's amazing, Emily. I have loved this conversation so much and, as we wrap up our time together today, I'd love to end with what is the most important thing you'd like people to remember about the work that you're doing.

Emily Koopmann: 25:49

I would say the most important thing is that we aren't doing the work. We are doing the work. I don't know if they'll be able to catch that on the audio. Yeah, I'm trying to say, but it's not the Belmont Community Center doing the work, it's we who are doing the work. We don't exist. We almost feel like we exist because other people are connecting and finding those ways to flourish together, and so it takes all of us. We're just happy to be a part of it. We're happy to again be able to pivot as the part of us. We get to be just so flexible in what we do and doing our part in the neighborhood. And so I think that is another, maybe important takeaway is, like you know what come to us, tell us, tell us what you think, ask us for, tell us your great idea and let's see how we can make it work. You know.

Lyn Wineman: 26:41

Yeah, Emily, I think that's the perfect ending to this conversation because I believe that thread of community, that thread of we, the capital W-E, you know, has really been part of the whole conversation today and I so appreciate that. I'm going to say, Emily, I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more places like the Belmont Community Center doing the good work, and I really thank you for taking time out to talk with us today.

Emily Koopmann: 27:12

Yeah, this was a joy. Thank you so much.

Announcer: 27:16

We hope you enjoyed today's Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities or to nominate a changemaker you'd love to hear from. Visit kidglov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch, as always. If you like what you've heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe and share. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.