The Launch of I.D.E.A. and our Commitment to Action

Terri Wingham is the founder and CEO of A Fresh Chapter, a cancer survivor, and someone who believes that we are not defined by the most difficult aspects of our story.

Written by Terri Wingham | July 15, 2021

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou 

I wish I’d done better. 

I spent most of my life never thinking about whether I had privilege. Even while meeting people from different cultures and building the foundation of A Fresh Chapter, it didn’t cross my mind that I was missing the boat in terms of really learning about the diverse lived experiences of others. Yes, I was always truly interested in their stories, but did I really stop to think about the challenges they faced that I couldn’t begin to imagine inside my white, heterosexual, cis-gendered skin? No. Not nearly enough. I didn’t realize how much I saw the world through the prism of my own experience. 

This was before I fell in love with someone from a different culture and began to build a life with him. Before a lazy sunny afternoon walk in North Vancouver was overtaken by eight police officers accusing him of stealing a cell phone at knifepoint. Before George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were murdered. Before a long overdue racial reckoning swept through the United States. Before the bodies of 215 indigenous children were found in a mass grave on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. 

Like millions of others – last year pushed me out of my bubble and compelled me to follow diverse thought leaders on Instagram, devour podcasts, and read books like How the Word Is PassedA Reckoning With The History of Slavery Across America by Dr. Clint Smith. (Check out this conversation about the book on Brene Brown’s podcast: Unlocking Us). 

But now what?

What happens beyond reading and learning? What does action actually look like? In an increasingly complex world, how do we find ways to make an actual impact? 

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past year and it’s something we at A Fresh Chapter have talked a lot about as a team. How can we do better? What does better even look like? 

Last summer, we launched an AFC Live Series intended to challenge our community to have some candid and impactful conversations about race. We’re so grateful to our co-hosts Dwayne, Latoya, and Shanette for spearheading powerful dialogues and bringing their perspectives to the conversation at a very vulnerable time. This year, informed by all we’ve learned and humbly aware of how much more learning there is to do, we want to do more. We want to find a way to build the most inclusive and diverse community possible. A community that stays true to our mission of helping people navigate the complicated emotions of cancer and gain the tools to thrive – even in the midst of adversity. A community where everyone feels like they belong.

With this in mind, we have launched our new Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (I.D.E.A.) Team. We could not be more excited to partner with the 12 alumni who have generously agreed to share their unique lived experiences, perspectives, and voices with the team. Together, we will design new AFC programming and focus our outreach on new communities. We’re also partnering with Julye Williams from Project 2043 who will be delivering a 4-part training series to our I.D.E.A. team and our staff this summer. We are excited about the ways in which this training will equip us to better show up for our whole community.

There is still so much to learn and so much to do. We will continue to have blind spots and not get it right, but we’re going to keep showing up, and keep trying to know better. Because we are committed to doing better. 

If you have suggestions or ideas for how we can ensure that AFC is a space where no one is defined by cancer and everyone feels like they belong, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at terri@afreshchapter.com

 

 

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