DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Laura from Change Incorporated
Welcome to our Donor Highlight Series! As we get closer to fundraising season, we want to highlight stories of impact. This year has been intense for many, and we are no exception - but we've also been able to lean on our mission. We would like to hear from the community of donors that keep us going - and help us keep the figurative lights on!
Donor Spotlight!
Laura and the Leadership Team of Change, Incorporated (Laura’s the one in the middle with glasses)
What is your favorite music album/book of all time? Why?
What a difficult question! As a diverse team of therapists, our tastes in music and books cover almost everything. If there is a common denominator to be found, it's turning to music, lyrics, or words that impact us both in their own right, and in the ways we can take them in translationally -- we can adapt the narratives to fit the circumstances of our lives, leading us to feel empowered, comforted, challenged, or just plain ol' entertained. However, far be it from us to not suggest at least a book or two that we feel is fundamental to us! On Being a Therapist (by Jeffrey Kottler) and The Gift of Therapy (by Irvin Yalom) are among our favorites that encapsulate who we are and why we do what we do.
How have the arts made an impact in your life?
Our team of therapists includes artists of all types -- academicians, writers, musicians, painters, performers, and more. In fact, most of us think of therapy itself as our art -- no two therapists on our team do it alike, each bringing of us bringing our own unique style, personality, framework, formative experiences, and formal education. So, the arts are a consistent presence in our community as an embodied reality for us as individuals in our personal lives and for us as a team of counselors within our therapeutic work. It also informs the way we organize our space -- our offices contain artwork and books and poems and trinkets that are special and meaningful to us in what they convey or represent. It's difficult to quantify the impact it has in our lives because it is so all-encompassing -- both as an organization and as individuals, most of us don't know what it is to have a day without music or words or images within our personal lives or our professional lives or setting. Perhaps that is the real impact of the arts - it's impossible to envision a world without them.
Which one of The Listening’s events or programs are you the most passionate about? Why?
The Listening's Battle Symphony Peer Groups, most definitely! Having the opportunity to talk to a variety of people in therapy, patterns begin to emerge. It doesn't take long to notice themes of real or felt disconnect within our clients and between themselves and their worlds. In other words, while clients typically find understanding and acceptance in our therapeutic relationship, they often struggle to find a support system that "gets" them. A group of supportive and caring peers can be a game changer, such to the extent that finding more social support is often an explicit goal within therapy and one that clients tend to underappreciate until they've truly experienced the power of community.
Groups like Battle Symphony decrease isolation, shame, and stigma, and increase our ability to accept ourselves and others with compassion. This compassion is what moves us to new choices, new narratives, and new hope for our future.
If you could describe yourself/your organization as a musical instrument, what would it be?
Change, Inc. is an orchestra. We have strings, we have wind instruments, we have percussion. We even have section leaders and a conductor. Any one of us is an instrument capable of making music, but working together, we create something intentional, something beautiful, and something all the more powerful.
What social issue are you personally most passionate about?
We focus our outreach and financial support in communities that our direct therapy services don't reach such as food-instability, education, housing, child trafficking, and veteran support. Though we are still dedicated to those issues, witnessing the racial injustices and subsequent protests of the last year have heavily influenced our community engagement focus. The wounds of racial injustice have been present for generations, and we felt compelled to do more: to learn more, support more, and listen more.
If you had a room full of people willing to listen to you, what would you say?
Lasting change doesn't happen quickly, smoothly, or easily, but it does happen. The process will at times feel exhilarating, frustrating, depressing, scary, infuriating, hopeful, and much more, so try to be present and patient with each part of it. In doing so you have the opportunity to change yourself and your community. Keep going.