“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
~ Maya Angelou
The end-of-year countdown has begun! Calendar year transitions may bring up complex feelings along with packed schedules. As we navigate holiday goals and daily responsibilities, AmazeWorks hopes to provide support, inspiration, and gratitude.
In this combined November/December newsletter, you’ll find a belonging-focused gift guide, journal prompts to inspire action, immigration resources, and more. 🌈
In the overwhelm of holiday season, it can feel arduous to align giving decisions with our values. So we made it easy for you with this gift guide! Not only do these gifts put belonging in children’s hands, but they also support a nonprofit improving the world of education when our schools need it most.
Put your dollars towards your values with a gift that supports a nonprofit and an independent publisher. Created with Lerner Publishing Group, the Friendship Across Differences book set shows children the power of friendship to create a more peaceful world.
Persona Dolls are a unique classroom tool for social-emotional learning. They enter classrooms as friends, sharing stories and asking for advice to help students develop empathy and respect across differences. Plus, they’re on sale through the end of the year—$50 off! Now is the best time to introduce a classroom to a new friend.
Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate the launch of Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs! On November 1, over 100 passionate community members and readers joined to revel in excitement and gratitude for these biographical poems.
We heard authors Sun Yung Shin and Mélina Mangal and illustrator Leslie Barlow read from the book, share insights about its creation, and offer further wisdom about children’s literature and storytelling. The opportunity to gather in celebration and hear directly from the creators of such a momentous book is truly magical. Together, we will spark more revolutions made of love. ❤️
Special thank you The Loft Literary Center for partnering with AmazeWorks, and Black Garnet Books for providing (and selling out of!) our books.
In a world that inundates us with information, we invite you to take a beat. These journal prompts encourage pause for reflection, investigating our relationships with and barriers to responsiveness and action. They can also spark a quiet revolution of love, the kind that begins within us and moves outward into our communities. Choose 1-2 prompts from the list below and spend a few minutes considering what informs our social justice approaches and how love shows up in that work.
Each of us plays an integral role in cultivating empathy, understanding, and a steady commitment to justice. We hope these questions help guide your path forward, inspiring action that grows from a revolution of love and a vision of collective liberation.
We carry the weight of injustice together. We rise together, too. ❤️
We’re thrilled to celebrate our Education Director Melissa Andersen for her chapter in the new anthology, Rising Above: Our Transformational Journey to Wholeness after Breast Cancer, led by Gillian Lichota, founder of the iRise Above Breast Cancer Foundation. In this powerful book, women share reflections on their experiences with breast cancer. Melissa’s beautiful and bold chapter is called “Becoming the Soil the Seeds Need: A Journey Through Cancer, Prairie Fires, and Learning What It Means to Be Fully Human.” In 26 pages, she explores her emotional spectrum from grief to gratitude, loneliness to abundance, despondence to joy—all the complexities of her diagnosis, sickness, and ongoing recovery.
Anthologies are perfect for challenging the single stories we create for experiences outside our own.Rising Above helps us expand our understanding, build empathy, and develop tools to support loved ones with breast cancer. Learn more about the book in the 100th podcast episode of “Test Those Breasts.”
We’re over the moon! 🐄🌙
Utepils Brewing is hosting a donation event for AmazeWorks on Wednesday, 12/17 from 6-9pm. $1 from every beer purchase will support AmazeWorks. 💗 Plus, they’ll have trivia from 7-9 and an Amazing Momo food truck from 4-8! You don’t want to miss this opportunity for fun that uplifts belonging in education. Join us!
We have big news! For the first time ever, our curriculum guides are available in our website shop. 🥳 Enhance reading lessons in your classroom with these comprehensive tools, featuring 20 different picture books. Lessons include background info, discussion questions, journal prompts, extension activities, & more.
Thank you for raising $17,301 for belonging this Give to the Max season! We had 90 donors show up for AmazeWorks, proving that we are enough to keep belonging alive and thriving. ⭐️