What does belonging look like for you?
SUMMARY
What is it?
A community experience for practicing belonging.
What do we practice?
The muscles/capacities of belonging.
What does a community bring?
Its own people, stories, arts, relationships, and gifts.
What will I experience?
An intentionally created journey in which I’m invited to participate rather than merely observe.
Host Singing Our Way Back to Each Other
Music, Story, Community Singing, and Belonging
Bring your community together through original music and the arts, storytelling, reflection, and shared song.
Each gathering weaves original songs and real-life stories with community voices—and, when possible, a locally formed Together We Community Choir. The result is more than a performance: it is a participatory experience that invites people to slow down, listen deeply, and begin finding their way back to one another.
Access & Support
Hope Beyond Borders is a gift of Storytrail Foundation.
Our goal is to make the Hope Beyond Borders framework, music, tools, and learning resources available to communities without cost whenever possible.
Storytrail Foundation is a volunteer-led, 501-3-c IRS-approved nonprofit. Hope Beyond Borders is not designed as a commercial touring program or consulting business. It is part of our mission to help communities create experiences in which people can practice belonging together.
That means communities are welcome to use:
The Living Framework,
planning and facilitation resources,
music and choral arrangements,
rehearsal and accompaniment tracks
Experience-building tools
andconversation and consultation with the Hope Beyond Borders team
There is no required fee for these resources or for our guidance.
If a community is able and wishes to make a donation to Storytrail Foundation to help the work continue and reach other communities, we are grateful. A donation is never a condition for receiving help.
Create It Locally
We hope most Hope Beyond Borders Experiences will be shaped by the people who already live there.
A community might bring together local musicians, artists, storytellers, students, choirs, Peace Heroes, nonprofit organizations, educators, cultural leaders, and neighbors.
We can help you think through the Experience, use the Living Framework, identify the belonging capacities you want to exercise, select or adapt resources, and develop something that reflects your community rather than ours.
You do not need Jerry Leggett or a traveling HBB team in order to create a Hope Beyond Borders Experience.
The structure travels.
The experience belongs to the community.
When You Invite HBB Artists to Participate
Some communities may want Jerry Leggett, musicians, storytellers, or other Hope Beyond Borders collaborators to participate personally.
We are happy to explore that too.
There is no fixed performance or appearance fee required by Hope Beyond Borders. When travel is involved, however, there may be practical expenses such as transportation, lodging, local musicians, technical production, rehearsal space, or other direct event costs.
We work with each community to find a realistic approach. Those costs may be covered through donations, sponsorships, grants, ticket income, local partnerships, or other community support.
Limited financial resources should not be the reason a community cannot begin.
Talk with us. We will see what is possible.
Help Keep It Available
Hope Beyond Borders grows through generosity.
People contribute songs.
Artists contribute gifts.
Communities contribute relationships.
Volunteers contribute time.
Partners provide spaces and resources.
Donors help make the next Experience possible.
If you are able to support the work financially, your gift helps us keep the music, framework, tools, consultation, and other resources freely available to communities that want to practice belonging together.
What a Community Brings
Begin with what is already there.
You don't need a large production, a professional choir, or a particular kind of venue to create a Hope Beyond Borders Experience.
You need people who care about bringing their community together—and a willingness to create an experience in which people can practice belonging.
A few things help:
A local host or small coordinating team willing to bring people together
A welcoming place where people can gather comfortably
Human stories and community voices worth hearing
Music and the arts that invite people to listen, participate, feel, imagine, and create
Meaningful questions that open conversation rather than demand agreement
Local relationships and community partners already doing important work
Ways for people to participate, rather than simply sit and watch
An invitation toward something next—a relationship, an act of care, a community project, another gathering, or something no one has imagined yet
Start with the people, stories, gifts, relationships, and resources already present in your community.
Hope Beyond Borders provides the framework, music, planning tools, and guidance to help you shape them into an intentional experience of belonging.
Music Can Be a Powerful Place to Begin
Singing Our Way Back to Each Other is the flagship musical expression of Hope Beyond Borders.
A community may invite local musicians, songwriters, choirs, dancers, poets, visual artists, storytellers, theater artists, or other creative voices into the Experience.
Some communities may choose to form a Together We Community Choir—a welcoming, intergenerational group built around a simple belief:
Every voice matters.
The choir might gather for one Experience, continue singing together, or become part of something the community carries forward.
But a choir is an invitation, not a requirement.
The same is true of any individual piece of the framework.
A Kit of Parts, Not a Formula
Hope Beyond Borders offers several building blocks:
STORY • SONG/ART • QUESTION • PEACE HERO • COMMUNITY PARTNER • ACTION
A community might use all of them.
Or begin with a few.
How to Host a Concert
1. Start with a Conversation
Book a free consultation to explore your idea and see if it’s a good fit.
2. Confirm Your Date
Secure your date with a 50% deposit through the donation page.
3. Bring It to Life in Your Community
Choose a venue, invite your audience, and shape the experience in a way that fits your community.
Community Choir Option
In some communities, local choirs or vocal groups join the program, creating a shared musical experience that deepens connection and engagement.
Jerry can provide original songs with SATB choral arrangements in advance for rehearsal and performance.
If this is something you’re interested in, just mention it when you reach out.
About Jerry
With over five decades of touring, Jerry Leggett has performed in all 50 states, blending folk, rock, and storytelling into a style that feels both timeless and immediate.
He is the founder of the Storytrail Foundation and creator of Storytrail Garden in Tubac, Arizona - a space dedicated to honoring everyday Peace Heroes.
His work has always centered on one belief:
the most important stories are often the ones we almost lose.
One Question Guides the Evening
Who is your Peace Hero?
A Peace Hero is someone who inspires you to make things better - often someone whose voice isn’t always heard, but has something deeply important to say.
These are the people on the margins, the quiet leaders, the ones whose everyday courage and compassion shape their communities in ways that often go unnoticed.
It’s a simple question - but it often opens the door to stories that might otherwise go unheard.
Start the Conversation
If you’re considering hosting a concert, the next step is simple.
Let’s talk about your space, your community, and what this could look like for you.