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<<First Name>>,

We are so excited to finally be launching our newest program, THRIVE. Austin Justice Coalition has partnered with a transforming, woman of color led organization - The Amala Foundation - to dream up and offer you THRIVE: A Decolonizing Wellness Fellowship. If you’ve already heard about it and you’re ready, go ahead and apply now!

THRIVE is a year long fellowship that politicizes the burnout of people of color working within the grassroots movement or nonprofit sector. It offers participants the opportunity to build a community of care and receive therapeutic, culturally rooted treatments and teachings with a healthy dose of political education.

If you haven’t heard about THRIVE, get with the program: THRIVE is a challenge. THRIVE is about rejecting burn out culture within social justice work. It’s about reclaiming and decolonizing our mental health and wellness. It’s a community-centric practice that is designed for us, by us. It offers participants the opportunity to build relationships, process social justice work trauma, and gain the tools and knowledge to decolonize the concept of wellness through a variety of sessions rooted in political education & discourse, practice, mindfulness, movement, and culture. We created THRIVE because our health, wellness, and ability to THRIVE is political.

In the face of global recuperation from the pandemic, the years-long stress, grief and suffering, and employer expectations to continue producing with the goal of striving toward pre-pandemic “normalcy,” we have the opportunity to refuse. We have the opportunity to do better. We have the opportunity to not* do business as usual.

Every day, our people who are working for social justice are fast-tracked on the path to burnout. It is always our job to navigate the impacts of racism from within our own organizations and places of employment while simultaneously answering the call for our leadership, "doing the work,”and surviving. Yes, we are resilient, we are strong, and we are also literally sick and tired. We deserve to THRIVE. NOW.

Check out the attached program brochure to read more about THRIVE’s offerings, schedule, staff and more. We’re really looking forward to working with you! Read what some of the AJC and Amala staff have to say about THRIVE:

“After my sabbatical - my first real break in over seven years- I can personally attest to the need for us to have dedicated resources for our well-being. Our leadership, input, collaboration, and consultation is constantly being extracted from us and we don't even realize how exhausted we actually are. I am lucky to have had a sabbatical and now I think everyone else deserves one too.” - Chas Moore, Executive Director of Austin Justice Coalition

“More often than not, our people working in social justice spaces are celebrated for what they can produce without a second thought the physical, mental and emotional labor the work can cause for us. The idea of recuperation and rest shouldn't just be pain management for when we are running on fumes. We designed THRIVE to pour back into people because if nobody else got us, we got us”. -Annelese Jones, Program Director at Amala

<<First Name>>, I’m telling you, this is the bandwagon to hop on. Go ahead and get well with us. Our time is now, we deserve to THRIVE together, today. I’ve even gone ahead and put some next steps together for you:

• Read through the THRIVE program brochure

• Register for the applicant webinar on Monday, March 28th at 6pm

• Apply for THRIVE

• Share this with your people

• Get ready to THRIVE

With enthusiasm for your wellness and in solidarity,

Rockie Gonzalez (she/her)
Deputy Director
Austin Justice Coalition