Dear Friends of Irreducible Grace (FIG's),
We hope that you all and the communities you are connected to are as well as possible. Thank you for all of the calls, e-mails, and donations over the last two months. The IGF Board and I would like to let you know that we are doing as well as we can during these uncertain times.
Since the pandemic hit, we had to learn quickly to live out our 2020 strategic focus through virtual methods, including the following focus areas with updates:
Increasing our workshop capacity through recruiting and training new Workshop Facilitation Team Members. Update: We are working with the City of Saint Paul’ Right Track program to bring on four new youth members this summer through virtual training and work assignments.
Partnering with community organizations to bring mind, body and healing from trauma to our greater community. Update: We are offering weekly mindful movement, breath work, and somatic healing skills through videos constructed by our young people and distributed on our social media platforms. This work helps us to keep providing stipends to them.
Implementation of IGF Kids: Focused on mind, body, and healing from trauma practices to help young children build resilience in emotionally stressful situations. Update: we are currently developing animation shorts to launch our healing tools work with younger children.
In addition, we are continuing with our weekly Self-Care Sundays, via Zoom to provide time and opportunity for our young people to sustain their health and wellness development, to heal from trauma, to stay connected and build community. Thanks to YouthPrise, we recently received an emergency response grant that will enable us to provide food, rent, and transportation support to 30 young people in need.
Last week, it was announced that IGF is the recipient of the 2020 Bethel University Community Partner Award. This award is for a community-based individual or organization that has enhanced the quality of life in the community in meaningful and measurable ways and has engaged in the development of sustained, reciprocal partnerships with the college or university, thus enriching educational as well as community outcomes. We would like to thank Bethel University for their continued partnership and support. Thank you for sticking with us and supporting us from near and far. We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers as we emerge into our new public reality. Yours always, Darlene
Finding the Pause
Episode 4: Humming
Each Monday, IGF releases a new video as part of our Finding the Pause series. This week Tearra talks about the benefits of humming and how it can be used to reduce anxiety and stress.