On behalf of the entire New Leaf team, I hope you’re all taking very good care of yourselves during this unprecedented time. I know that many of you are experiencing high levels of stress around the health, safety and financial security of yourselves and your loved ones, and we are sending out warmest wishes to you all.
In this newsletter, I wanted to share a brief update on how things are going at New Leaf, including how we are navigating the uncertainty ahead. Our team has been working hard to map out plans as things continue to develop and our general mindset is to hope for the best while preparing thoroughly for the worst—all the while practicing what we teach (taking time to breathe, reflect and take care of our individual and collective well-being).
As of March 16th, due to school and facility closures, as well as for the health and safety of all, 100% of our frontline youth programs were cancelled for the foreseeable future. In the short term, we immediately pivoted to create some online resources for youth and parents to access from home, and we’ve shared these out widely through our networks. We have also been invited to partner on an event put together by our friends at The Forgiveness Project to support youth and other people who are incarcerated (check out the details). In the upcoming two weeks, we’ll be outlining a more detailed 3+ month plan to continue to support our audience (youth, educators, and parents) through creative online initiatives that allow us to continue addressing the impacts of stress and trauma through meditative practices and education.
If you have the means to support our work in any capacity, donations of any size will be accepted here, or consider joining us for our online training starting April 27th—sliding scale spaces are available!
We are so grateful for all of our loyal supporters and we’ll continue to keep you posted on developments as they unfold.
Sending out much warmth and big thanks to you all,
Laura Sygrove
Executive Director