The Power of a 10-Year Promise

In a World of Fleeting Connections, One Program Is Betting on the Long Game

On a recent visit to Baltimore, I attended an event for an organization called Thread. Over the years, I have visited many community programs seeking to build relationships, but the depth of the relationships I witnessed at Thread was unusual. It wasn’t just a surface-level connection; these folks really knew each other and were deeply invested in one another’s lives.

Thread’s model is a radical departure from traditional mentoring. Rather than the standard one-on-one approach, they surround a single struggling student with a ‘family’ of up to four dedicated adult volunteers. This family shows up for everything that is needed. And I mean everything: tutoring, help with college applications, packing a school lunch when food is scarce, showing up at the police station when a student is arrested, talking through breakups and fights, and so much more.

The Gift of a 10-Year Commitment

In an era of short-lived connections and short-term fixes, Thread makes a ten-year promise to every student to always be there for them.

The founder of Thread, Sarah Hemminger, told me the story of a young man, Devin, who was in their first cohort of students. After graduating from high school, he moved away and eventually fell out of touch. Years went by without any outreach or response from him. Most people would have given up on Devin, but not Thread. “We never give up on our students,” Sarah told me. So she kept reaching out every week with gentle messages reminding him that she was always there for him whenever he needed her. Some years later, when he was facing a difficult time and needed someone to talk to, Devin remembered what Sarah had said. So he reached out. When he did, Sarah responded. There was no guilt or lectures. There was just unconditional love and the quiet assurance that she would always have his back. More than twenty years after he first met Sarah, Devin is now the managing director for Thread.

Losing Our Anchors

Longevity in relationships is a beautiful gift - especially because so much of our world feels transitional today. People move and change jobs more often. AI chatbots are increasingly replacing people as the go-to place for emotional support. Everyone seems caught up in the chaos of to-do lists and life responsibilities which too often edge out the people in our lives.

Our relationships are our anchors. And without these anchors, it is hard to find our way through all the ups and downs of life.

While it’s true that many of our traditional anchors are fraying, we have the incredible opportunity to become anchors for one another. Hope lies in the fact that a long-term commitment is a choice we get to make every day. Like Sarah, we can be the voice that remains when everything else feels overpowering and temporary. By extending a hand, we create a refuge of belonging that can weather any storm, proving that even in a “here today, gone tomorrow” world, some things are still built to last.

Forging Deep Connections That Stand the Test of Time

At some point in our lives, many of us have been lucky to have someone like Sarah in our life - someone who was there for you with patience, kindness, and love. Whether they were in our lives for a brief time or for years, their presence meant everything.

Here is a small step you can take today: Identify one person in your life who has drifted away. Send a simple message—no guilt, no questions—just to let them know you are thinking of them and that you are still there. Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is let someone know they have a permanent place in our lives.

Who was that person in your life who was there for you no matter what? Think about how they showed up for you. Think about how they made you feel. Share your thoughts in the comments.