A Note from Cristabelle...
I am so excited to share an announcement with you today: Hope After Head Injury is expanding into a new nonprofit organization called Hope Survives! 🎉 *cue my tears as I type this😭*
If you are reading this, it means that we have most likely met or interacted in some way: whether at a brain injury conference, through the zoom support groups, on the Facebook live chats, through advocacy efforts, or maybe you came across my podcast! And if you're reading this - it means you are a much needed part of this community of hope - and I am so grateful for YOU.
Why “Hope Survives”?
The depths of pain that brain injury survivors and families experience cannot be understated. In just one moment, life as you know it can change completely, and it is overwhelming. Family members aren't sure where to turn, survivors feel misunderstood, and it's hard to see through the fog of just getting through the day to day... not to mention, trying to navigate the medical system, all the while unable to really process your own emotions about everything that is happening.
This is where Hope Survives comes in: filling in this gap and providing a space for every survivor and family member to be seen, heard, and loved.
I wasn't sure how to even write this email because it is so overwhelming to me that it is finally happening… (!!!) This has been over 10 years in the making. It was 2012 when I first started Hope After Head Injury as an online support community, and there have been so many setbacks and re-injuries in my own brain injury journey over that time. I have continued to work towards creating support opportunities for survivors and families over these years, and I have tried to be as consistent as possible in leading these groups while navigating my own healing journey.
Starting this nonprofit was not a quick decision: it has been many years of consideration, intentionality, prayer, seeking advice from anyone I could possibly think to ask… so I couldn't be more humbled and thrilled to finally share with you that we are launching as a brand new nonprofit called Hope Survives in 2025.
This will mean… continuation of the current offerings (zoom support group, Brain Injury Bible Study, Hope Survives Podcast) but also new time zone options, new programs, and MORE community support & resources (that we can't even officially announce yet🤫)!
It also means that we will need some help getting started… and I'm excited to share that my friend Kevin McDonald's nonprofit, RESTART (you may remember his interview on the podcast this season!) is supporting us to launch our first fundraiser this holiday season!
It's been a long time coming…
To be vulnerable, part of this decision was due to my own brain injury journey. My personal experience is where my passion comes from… but it also means that I'm still living with my own symptoms.
Our Hope After Head Injury community has grown so much organically, which is so beautiful. It also means that this is a deep need and is resonating with so many of you. But some of you may not realize that most of this has been run by myself! It was clear this had become too much for me to handle on my own, especially with my TBI symptoms & flare ups. I genuinely want to apologize if you ever tried to contact me and I never answered your email… please know that I really try to stay on top of things but when I have symptom flare ups, I often fall very behind - and I never really have successfully caught up entirely. (Side note: if you have tried to contact me and did not receive an answer, I'm so sorry… please send it again: I really want to hear from you and am trying very hard to stay on top of things now!)
One of the great things about turning this into an organization is that we now have an amazing team behind what we are doing, and we get to do it together!
We have an incredible founding Board of Directors, who each have a passion and connection to brain injury: Tonya Nagle, Patti Shutt, Tameka Wolfe, Cyndie Braden, and Dr. Michelle Eisenmann.
(more info to come soon!)
YOU can be a part of our growing team as well! We will have many avenues for you all to get involved, attend our new support programs, and/or volunteer! More will be coming on this as we continue working on establishing the nonprofit.
In the meantime… stay connected!
1. Our two zoom groups will be meeting this month:
- Hope After Head Injury Support Group meets Tues. Dec 17 @ 7pm EST 🧠More Info & Sign Up for Support Group
- Brain Injury Bible Study - Faith-Based Support Group meets Sat. Dec 21 @ 11am EST 📖More info & Sign Up for Bible Study Zoom
2. New episodes are out now for Hope Survives Podcast
Listen on all podcast platforms or watch on YouTube!
3. Please consider sharing this fundraiser for the new nonprofit.
We need your help to expand hope & community! We want to keep every program FREE for survivors & family members, which means we need funding to help make it happen: our goal is $3500 by December 31. Every donation makes a difference!💙 Link to share: bit.ly/RESTART4Hope
If you have ever been impacted by our support groups or podcast, we would love to invite you to share with your friends & family - and people can even make donations in your honor. 🙂 You’ve been such a big part of this journey, and we’d love your help in spreading the word about our holiday fundraiser. We are very excited and ready to start this new chapter of hope and support!
Would love to connect with you on social media (instagram / facebook)- and I will be in touch more throughout this month to let you know how to stay connected and help as we continue building Hope Survives. 🙂
If you're still reading… thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are not alone on your journey. There is always hope. Please feel free to reach out ([email protected]) if you have any questions or want to share anything with me!
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