Jose Elizalde

Before I went to First Steps, I was a community organizer with Lacasa, Inc. I was familiar with the neighborhood associations and online neighborhood groups, so I knew that doing a group on Facebook would probably get attention.

Inspiration for Goshen Sings came from what is happening in Italy and how people in quarantine can still enjoy music and the arts in the midst of the crisis.

Goshen enjoys the arts. There are many artists in our area and it’s all across the board, from painters to musicians, bands, potters, sculptors. When you think Goshen, you think the arts. It just felt like the right thing to do, to create a Facebook group that would allow people to share their talent, their music, their art.

Goshen Sings is evolving. Initially, I wanted all the people in the group to just sing a song or sing a few songs together at 5 p.m. and at 7 p.m. But I realized that 5 p.m. might not be the perfect hour for people. As a former community organizer, I allow the group to dictate and say what really is the need of the community. So I’ve opened it up for people to simply share videos, share the performances. People can record a video or go live any hour of the day, so if mornings are a better time for you, by all means go live and share your talent.

As for what makes Goshen special, I think it’s a combination of the diversity that we have with the willingness to welcome the stranger, to embrace the arts, to just be a good neighbor.