2020 in Six Words:
We couldn't do it without you.
To be honest, we’ve started this year-end wrap-up more than once, and every time, made it no further than a blinking cursor at the top of a blank page. After a year like none other, it’s hard to know quite what to say. “Have a happy holiday season” feels insufficient; “thanks for fighting through a global pandemic to serve the community while also engaging in a continued racial reckoning” feels closer to sufficient, but a blog post also doesn’t seem like quite the right vehicle to deliver that message.
Rather than using more words to try to express everything this year has meant, both individually and as a collective, we’ve taken inspiration from this New York Times op-ed* and instead offer you just six words each to summarize our experiences of 2020:
Methinks I’ve outgrown being an introvert.
Lisa Clark, Executive Director
It really does take a village.
Rest is part of the work.
Kerry McHugh, Program Officer**
Time alone is being with everyone.
Paul Serini, Board Chair
Now is the time for kindness.
James Serini, Board Member
Strength in kindness; courage in fear.
Kevin McHugh, Chair, Advocacy Committee
We still didn’t have enough time.
P. Alex Serini, Board Member
Working it out, working at home.
Susan Serini, Board Member
The dogs have never been happier.
(Submitted by Alex on behalf of all dogs everywhere, we think.)
And last, but certainly not least:
We couldn’t do it without you.
All of us.
We have said before that as funders, we are unable to work towards our own mission without the very real, very hard work of all of you: the people working day in and day out to meet our community’s (growing) needs, dedicated not just to addressing the symptoms of the many inequitable systems in which we all operate, but to changing them for the better.
So thank you: for sticking with it, for doing the work, for being engaged, for showing up, for sharing your stories with us, for your dedication and your passion and your commitment. We’re honored to be working in community with so many of you, and while the year ahead will be full of many challenges we can’t even quite predict yet -- we look forward to facing them with you.
Wishing you peace, moments of joy, and a chance to pause in this unusual holiday season, and good health in the year to come.
The Board & Staff of The Helen J. Serini Foundation
*With thanks to Phil Li of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation for sharing the concept of the six-word memoir in a peer forum, which inspired this approach.
**When you are the person responsible for updating the website, you get to put two six-word memoirs in the content.
***We'd love to hear your six-word memoirs, too! Drop them in a comment below or shoot us an email, and if we get enough responses, we'll share them in January.