Perseverance, 3 years of salary and 150 letters for the people of Ukraine

Perseverance = quality most demonstrated by the Alpha yard team over the past year (in Mariette’s dictionary of terms)

When Donovan reopened last March, the Alpha yard folks returned to our circle with a new project idea: a support event for the people of Ukraine.  The war had been declared about a month earlier and it was all over the news.

Then… the event, originally planned for the end of May, was rescheduled to early August, then to October, then to November 29th.  The repeated disappointment and frustration of the team were palpable.  As the cancelations and postponements accumulated, the team took a step back to ask themselves if these meant that this event was not meant to happen.

Every time, they confirmed that they were committed to this event.  “The yard wants this.  We want this.  The people of Ukraine deserve this.”  This commitment was not coming from a place of force: striving to make it happen, attached to their original idea.  It was in alignment, with clarity found in reflection.

That clarity, alignment and perseverance bore fruit on November 29th when the team held their “Walk & Roll” Ukraine support event.  First, the event participants walked or rolled (there are many wheelchair-bound folks on Alpha) around the yard, encouraged by the band, granola bars, cookies and lemonade.  They had created support signs, saying things like “You are not alone” and “We stand with you” in Ukrainian.

The participants also raised $1000 for three selected nonprofit organizations that support the Ukrainian people on the ground!!  To put this amount into perspective, prison residents earn between $0.08 and $0.37 per hour.  Therefore, with an average pay of 16 cents/hour, their $1000 donation is three years of worth of salary!

For the team, it was essential that the yard’s support extend beyond financial, to include emotional and psychological support through letters for the Ukraine people.  It was an amazing sight: at any given time, three to five people were on their knees at the letter-writing table – or leaning over it – to write heart-felt letters to people we don’t know on the other side of the world.  Some letters were shorter; some more detailed about the writers’ own experience of overcoming.  Some in an English that is mainly phonetic; some in eloquent prose.  Some writers copied the phrased in Ukrainian the team had prepared.  All of the 150 letters contained an outpouring of love.

Now, the donations have headed to the respective nonprofits.  The letters are on their way to Ukraine.  We’ve received the pictures of the event to share.