Our Mission
Photo by Eric Horne
Harraseeket supports programs that make it easier for Northern Virginia communities to help young people imagine their future, and act on what they imagine. These programs involve mentoring and at-work experiences, and reach youth and young adults inside and outside their communities, including underserved high school students.
What We Believe
A group of us embarked on this journey with a vision: That relationships of inspiration and guidance could be cultivated between community members and young people.
This would extend beyond just work and careers— to value systems, obligations to self and others, and choices we make about living in service to the world. Here’s where we started…
We Saw A Problem
Young people lack adequate access to the wisdom and experience of others to help them imagine their future.
Advice from parents, friends, guidance counselors, teachers, books, articles and videos sometimes is more practical than thoughtful.
Adults are often limited in the time, attention and focus they can give to listening impartially, free of their own agendas when discussing the path they believe a young person should take.
Many young people don’t appreciate how much they can learn and benefit from impartial, agenda-free, nonjudgmental guidance. We asked ourselves: How can they be encouraged to seek it out?
And An Opportunity
Communities can be ideal for supporting young people, and many are looking for better ways to do it.
Community organizations, particularly worship communities, want to support young people in and beyond their own community.
We believe young people can find — and be encouraged to find — nonjudgmental “guides on the side” among members in communities
Instead of simply being “told” what to do, imagining one’s future should be an active, participatory exercise with the help of a largely untapped asset— the wisdom and experience in communities.
How We Work
We offer the tools and resources — through what we call Career Pathways Programs — to help community organizations offer young people access to their wisdom and experience. Harraseeket’s role therefore is to support these community organizations as they help young people.
Career Pathways Programs can be designed to fit the unique needs and circumstances of each community.
Why “Harraseeket”?
Pronounced “hair-a-SEEK-it”
“Harraseeket” (pronounced “hair-a-SEEK-it”) is inspired by the name of the river that empties into a beautiful, fully enclosed harbor in South Freeport, Maine, where Steve Parker, one of The Harraseeket Foundation founders, grew up. The name is probably the mispronunciation by White settlers of an Abanaki dialect whose meaning some have suggested is either “river full of obstacles” or “river of many fish.” We think both meanings fit well into the mission!