A greater sense of belonging is the solution to nearly all of your problems, as it’s our underlying motivator for almost everything we do. Want more engagement from your people? Build belonging. Retain your members? Build belonging. Fall back in love with your sense of purpose? Belonging. Plan an event that people can’t stop talking about? Offer unlimited ice cream. …Just kidding. Build belonging.

It’s no secret that we’re experiencing a loneliness crisis in our modern world, and while buzz words like “community” and “inclusivity” hover in almost every future-of-work conversation, few have tangible solutions for integrating these concepts into our individualistic societal structures. In fact, according to Deloitte, 79% of companies acknowledge they have a belonging problem, but only 13% feel prepared to address it.

Enter: The Uplift Center, your #1 belonging buddy, here to support you with practical tools to foster belonging at your events (and teach you how to do the same!) to create engagement for the long haul.

Eli Walker's experiences and trainings focus on optimizing live experiences for engagement by leveraging the power of play, because participatory moments of human connection in the “here & now” are the only circumstances in which belonging can be sparked.

Working with Eli, sometimes this looks like adding interactive yoga parties to your events, sometimes facilitating games and [non-cheesy] icebreakers to spice up otherwise stale networking gatherings and sometimes it means working with leaders directly to advise on best practices for enhancing human-centered touch-points within your meetings or conferences by designing a belonging roadmap or “script” for your run-of-show.

However you choose to work with The Uplift Center, Eli will help you and your people feel uplifted and centered—(ahem, like they belong)—during your events through laughter, playfulness and unexpected moments of connection, setting up the conditions for lasting engagement long after the event is over.

At the heart of The Uplift Center’s philosophy is the idea that belonging isn’t a happy accident—it’s something we cultivate with intention and a solid grasp of our own story.

Belonging isn’t just about fitting into a group or space; it’s a dynamic, ever-evolving process of aligning our inner worlds with the outside. It’s less about finding your place and more about creating it, continuously re-centering yourself through the encounters you have—whether with people, communities, or your passions.

Belonging isn't a destination, but rather a journey of constant adjustment, where the boundaries we meet shape us and deepen our connections. It’s about recognizing the shared stories we have with others and the world around us, turning those often invisible threads into real, meaningful interactions.

The Uplift Center's philosophy highlights belonging as a key to building true connections and engaging meaningfully with our communities. It’s about making those invisible threads of connection visible and using them to enrich our modern, digital-first lives.