The toothbrush story: Join us today and make a lasting difference
We are kicking off our Annual Appeal this week.
We need to raise $30,000 through community donations. We’re 52% of the way there!
Can you help us meet our goal? All donations you make today will be doubled thanks to a generous group of donors.
A note from our Executive Director on the vision for the next chapter of Community Mindfulness Project
We aim to make mindfulness as accessible as a toothbrush - something people can easily use every day to care for themselves.
We use the metaphor of a toothbrush because, for the majority of us, brushing our teeth is a ritual we offer ourselves to ensure our own good health. We invest time to engage in it because we know we are better off when we do, both in the short term and in the long term.
For most of us, the toothbrush is affordable and easy to use. It’s not beholden to insurance, a copay, or an annual appointment. We can easily take it with us.
Mindful meditation, like the toothbrush, is a portable, affordable and flexible tool to support our health. It has been linked through decades of research to physical and mental health benefits, as well as many emotional and social benefits that support community resiliency. But it has not historically been accessible to all. We’re changing that.
We continually engage through deep listening with community members to identify barriers to access and work in partnership to strip each of them away.
Barriers that have historically reduced accessibility to mindfulness include:
Language: historically predominantly in English, and often in language that can culturally feel “othering”
Physical ability: encouraged or assumed must be seated on the floor
Time: taught on multi day retreats that require time away from work and caregiving obligations
Cultural considerations: taught in a religious tone despite its secular nature
Financial resources: fees for access to sessions and travel/housing for retreats
Transportation: offered in remote, hard-to-access locations
We partner with Community based implementation partners (schools and nonprofits) to reach people where they are, in plain clothes, & plain language, seated on chairs, in trusted community spaces.
Our direct services and workshops raise awareness of meditation and mindfulness, and how they can support well-being; share simple, easy-to-understand, trauma-informed instruction on how to use a wide range of meditation and mindfulness practices to live more healthfully; and, just as importantly, honor people’s agency in choosing whether and how to use them.
YOU MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.
Your support, your donations, your help spreading the word allow us to continue to have the vision that this tool can benefit our communities, our children, ourselves today and for years to come.
DONATE TODAY
Thank you so much for your ongoing support,
Ella Saunders Crivello
Executive Director
Community Mindfulness Project