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Cherished Friend
It's hard to believe that it was a year ago this month when I opened an email informing us that 60% of our annual funding had been terminated.
Like many organizations across the country, People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos was left wondering what that loss might mean - not just for our organization, but for the communities we serve.
Looking back now, I realize that while we spent time worrying about what we might lose, we couldn't yet see what we were about to gain. We gained a deeper understanding of our community.
We learned just how many people would show up.
Community partners found ways to sustain programs they believed in. Foundations, public agencies, and other funding partners searched for creative solutions when familiar sources of support for our program disappeared. Individual donors surprised us with extraordinary generosity and encouragement.
People stepped forward in countless ways.
This spring, author Susan Choi generously donated her time for our Notable Words benefit, one of many examples of people coming together to support the work of People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos.
Facilitators continued bringing literature and discussion into communities throughout our region with unwavering commitment.
And participants kept showing up.
Some arrived carrying burdens far greater than our own: older adults struggling with isolation and illness, individuals rebuilding their lives in recovery, people returning to their communities after incarceration, and members of immigrant communities facing profound uncertainty about their futures. Yet week after week, they continued to come together to read literature, reflect, listen, and share.
All this reminds us that People & Stories has never been sustained by funding alone.
It is sustained by people who believe in the value of literature, that every voice deserves to be heard, and that meaningful discussion remains essential to healthy communities.
A year later, the funding has not been restored.
The challenges created by that loss remain very real.
And so does our determination.
Every week, people continue gathering in senior residences, recovery and reentry programs, libraries, prisons, and community organizations across our region where opportunities to engage with literature and one another are often limited.
As I reflect on the past year, I find myself returning to the same thought. A year ago this month, many of us were focused on what might be lost.
Looking back now, what stays with me most is not what was lost.
It is what was revealed.
The generosity, resilience, and belief of so many people who stepped forward when this work needed them most.
A year ago, we worried about what we might lose.
What we gained was something far more valuable than we could have imagined.
Warmly, and with many thanks,
Debra
Debra Lampert-Rudman, M.Ed.
Executive Director
debra@peopleandstories.org
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