From our own Julie Helwege-Eberts:

What’s not to love about April? Spring is here, flowers are blooming and the birds and the bees – ahem, I heard a rumor that April was named after Aphrodite.

In addition, April birthdays get diamonds for presents (Sigh, April isn’t the month of my birth – I’m disappointed; my husband is thrilled), and apparently, April is a great month for meteor showers. Who knew? I didn’t.

I also can wait for all that lies ahead with Lace on Race in April – a few teasers:

• Dignified Learning Presentation
• Hopes and Vision Series
• Cautionary Tales and Lessons Learned

But first, let’s talk about March. As Lace said in her most recent video, thank you for your support. This community funds the Lace on Race Center for Racial Equity, and it’s your contributions that allow us to operate; engage with community partners; produce and facilitate content, coaching and consults; and live out loud the values we purport in lessening and mitigating the harm endured by Black and Brown people perpetuated by white people and white supremacy.

I’m thinking about this space right now and our community as a beautiful, open, countryside café, where we locate ourselves, engage each other with kind candor and Hesed love, pivot to race, manage our slosh and root-out supremacist and racist behaviors.

Inserting shameless plug: If you haven’t spent time at our new Lace on Race Café and engaged in the Bistro, you’re definitely missing out – www.laceonrace.com.

So back to last month… I would describe March as a bounce-back month – we almost doubled our revenues from February. Yet, we were still ~$3,000 short of our monthly budget.

So let’s continue to explore this as it’s how we roll here:

• How do you think anxiously awaiting final numbers each month feels for Lace? 
• Is a month-to-month financial contribution *roller coaster ride* living out our collective Praxis in eye to eye and shoulder to shoulder walking? 
• How/Why does mishegoss like Holly, Jim, Kate and The Christian Left impact our finances?
• Why do we continue to need monthly reminders to financially engage?

Our Western Star is the sustainability of this space, and we need to be consistent and reliable as a community in our financial commitments, regardless of the lumpy crossings we face. 

I’m reminded every month of my own engagement and the importance of paying for labor extolled and education received from Lace and other BIPOC leadership – it’s a critical part of my Praxis and North Star living. Anyone participating in this community – following, lurking, reading, engaging – is extolling labor and receiving education from Lace.

My April challenge to myself and this community is that we build off the momentum of this initial “bounce” and prioritize hitting our financial target this month. 

So, the APRIL ASK – What can you do to make this happen?

For sustainers, if you have not completed your April commitment, now is the time. For sustainers in training, same goes.

It would be my greatest pleasure to visit again with you in May to celebrate what I loved most about April (HINT: not diamonds or the birds and the bees) —–

HITTING OUR $12K MONTHLY GOAL! 

This is just the meteor shower we need to ensure our North and Western stars continue to shine brightly. #12k #makeithappen

Financially Contribute via PayPal

Join us in the Bistro for a discussion!