Women of Color Leaders Need More Than Sleep. They Need Healing and Self-Care.

S.E.L.F.F. CARE GRANTEE CELEBRATION!

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!

A heartfelt gratitude goes out to the incredible women who braved the challenging weather conditions to join us and support our fantastic SELFF Care Grantees during our celebration.

Less “have I worked hard enough to deserve rest?” and More: “have I rested enough to do my most meaningful work?”

Saw that quote on IG and well…FELT.

Last summer I began a journey of incorporating self care into my life intentionally, as part of a pilot cohort launched by @trhtchicago powered by @thechicagocommunitytrust

One thing I’ve learned about self-care (and releasing myself from “superwoman” syndrome) is that it needs *structural* support:

A scaffold of accountability partners; 

a village of familial help; 

an understanding that distancing from hustle culture can be the NEW business “as usual.”

Now have I done the best job building these structures for myself? Debatable. But then again, ironically…this isn’t work to be done alone…

@jtothenell

Before the end of Women’s History Month I have to shoutout and show love to Pilar Audain of @trhtchicago. I met Pilar last year as a grant recipient of the SELFF Care Sabbatical. Pilar is an advocate for self-care, racial healing, and community transformation in Chicago. She created the SELFF Care Sabbatical to honor Black and Brown’s women’s labor and to encourage us to take permission to rest and be well as we are caring and leading others. Pilar is a part of my wellness transformation over the past year. I was invested in mentally, physically, and spiritually for the first time in a long time. Pilar texted me, emailed me, and genuinely checked on me to ask how I was doing how I was being throughout my sabbatical which is something I don’t always receive from others as l outpour and give to others. Pilar reminds me that there are people who we don’t always see who are pushing for deep, intentional transformation that has the power to impact us 10 fold. Pilar you are a light, a warrior for wellness, and a blessing. Love you sis!

@sistaafya

Supporting Exemplary Leaders & Freedom Fighters !!

Greetings of love, peace, and wellness!

The devastating health and economic impact of the pandemic on Black and Latinx communities are particularly severe for the women of color leaders and freedom fighters who have been busy coping, pivoting, and re-directing significant aspects of their lives under tremendous, unprecedented amounts of stress…all while raising families, fighting to keep their doors open and keep food on the table. The SELFF Care Sabbatical will support women of color leaders to step back from the challenges, exhaustion, and stresses of work to rest deeply, cultivate real healing, and reconnect to their vitality and balance. This opportunity affords women of color leaders to recharge and empower the leadership throughout their organizations as they take a vital step back from their day-to-day work to pursue a self-directed course of learning, travel, observation, and reflection. The result will be stronger and more resilient leaders who are better prepared to meet the unsustainable stress and overwhelming demands of rising community needs, inadequate budgets, and understaffed teams.

Congratulations to the 10 amazing leaders and freedom fighters on the front lines of care in their respective communities! They will each receive $5,000 in unrestricted funds, become part of a community of care that centers on healing and restoration, and help co-create the self-care movement-building strategies needed to make long-term change possible.

  • Ariel Bland, Project Purity
  • Aya-Nikole Cook, Haji Healing Salon
  • Camesha Jones, Sista Afya
  • Celia Colón, G.O.D. (Giving Others Dreams, Inc)
  • Darryca Brim-Mims, Focus Fairies Mentoring
  • Dionne Victoria Milton, The Healing Academy
  • Gloria Smith, The Black Star Project
  • Janell Nelson, Englewood Arts Collective
  • María Velazquez, Telpochcalli Community Education Project (TCEP)
  • Rosa E. Martínez Colón, Instituto ANCLA
cct.org/s.e.l.f.f. care sabbatical:

Women of Color Leaders Need More Than Sleep. They Need Healing and Self-Care.

Solidarity Heals

is a cross sector, community-driven process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.

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