It's been a while since we posted! That is because (as you know) there has been a pandemic going on throwing all of us into uncharted waters. With all that has been going on, I'm thankful to report that we've been able to continue engaging in community work without having to miss a beat. We definitely have many updates and interesting things to chat with you about! Some of it you may have gotten an email about or seen on our Instagram or Facebook. We'll be discussing those things over time. Today, we have a very specific and exciting message to relay.
On behalf of everyone in The Wellness Collective community, we would like to welcome Brian Nuckols as our inaugural member of the Community Bank!
Brian is an amazing contributor to community focusing on mental health and addiction recovery. He has been hosting a really special group for years for Neighbors living with addiction to engage in peer support around addiction and mental health. Brian is extremely committed to supporting the improvement of mental health for our Neighbors and community at-large. For that reason, he has chosen the Mental Health Branch as his home in the Community Bank! We interviewed Brian and this is what he had to say:
Q: Why did you join the Community Bank? A: I joined the community bank because I’ve seen what’s possible when people join together to support each other in community. Even though there’s a lot of needs right now, we have everything we need. We just have to come together and organize. Q: What value do you see The Wellness Collective has on the overall community? A: The community bank is building a social infrastructure of care and support. Traditional systems were not designed to care and support us and the community bank is filling that gap. If we build a social infrastructure we can channel our natural motivation to help in a sustainably and efficiently. Q: What do you hope to give and receive by being a member of the Community Bank? A: I hope to give enthusiasm, dedication, a willingness to show up, and money. I hope to receive hope, a closer connection with my neighbors, new friends, laughter, and the sense of satisfaction I get when I see the community coming together to help. Thank you, Brian, and welcome to the community :)
If you've been rocking with us for a while, you are aware of our overall mission to be architects of community infrastructure that is controlled by the people. In our exploration of what it looks like to be infrastructure rather than program, we developed the Community Bank.
It's clear that we are just getting started here. Some of you have been supporters of the community via The Wellness Collective since the start. Some of you joined us recently in your personal quest of making a direct and substantial difference for real people. I want to thank you all for the ways that you have poured in, offered suggestions, referrals, bore witness, rolled up your sleeves, added our neighbors to your nightly prayers, and all the other ways that you have contributed to the betterment of our collective wellbeing.
If you are interested in taking your efforts a little further, I want to encourage you to join Brian in becoming a member of the Community Bank. We've all seen the true magic of minimal community participation. We invite you to do the exciting and transformational service of community.
As long as we are all doing a little, that is all it takes to be the change we all yearn to see. In fact, it will be our collective commitment that will be the changing of tides. Can you imagine it? We are on a mission to bringing back community. Will you join us? You can learn more about the Community Bank on our website or by emailing us at thewellfolk@gmail.com.
Make sure to tell Brian hey, once you've joined :)
-- The Wellness Collective