Idea Salon Recommendation #1: Community Leadership Committee

My next few blogs will be dedicated to ideas that surfaced during Rock Recovery’s first Idea Salon (see 11/28 blog for details). The first idea I’ll present (and I welcome comments) is that of creating a Rock Recovery Community Leadership Committee. The primary goal of the committee is to share Rock Recovery’s message of hope & healing. The secondary goal is to raise support for our first recovery house.

Each member of this leadership committee would serve as an ambassador to a specific community of his or her choice. For example, a leadership committee member with a heart for Asian Americans may focus on educating that community on the realities of EDs, while a member with a passion for physical fitness may focus on sharing local ED resources with personal trainers. Rock Recovery would help each committee member craft their specific message, recruit volunteers from their community, and train volunteers to share Rock Recovery’s mission with others.

Rock Recovery would host one leadership committee meeting per month, during which members and Rock Recovery leadership would collaboratively update and bounce ideas off one another. These ideas would be submitted to Rock Recovery’s Board of Directors for feedback, and the Board could likewise submit ideas to the committee for consideration.

Once a committee member received a substantial degree of support from his or her community (e.g., once s/he had recruited a dedicated group of volunteers), s/he would be asked to coordinate one or more events to reach a larger proportion of the target community and (hopefully) raise money toward the establishment of Rock Recovery’s first house.

Rock Recovery could empower several of our current volunteers to step into the role of a leadership committee member, and could recruit additional members via Idealist.com and through word of mouth. Committee members would be asked to serve in the position for at least one year, during which time they would be encouraged to mentor someone to replace them when they step down. The ideal committee member would be passionate about sharing Rock Recovery’s message of hope and healing with other and have a strong connection to a specific community.

These are just thoughts – this leadership committee could serve a variety of purposes and could operate in other ways. So I’m curious to hear what you think! What opportunities are we neglecting to consider? What challenges might we face? If you’ve served on a committee of this nature, what worked? What didn’t? Other thoughts or suggestions?

Addendum to yesterday's post

After submitting yesterday’s post, I realized that I neglected to mention what was probably one of Rock Recovery’s greatest events. Perhaps the reason it slipped my mind is because it was so simple. But the event reminded me of the beauty and effectiveness of simplicity. The event I’m referring to was Rock Recovery’s “Non-Profit Tuesday,” compliments of a fantastic DC-based restaurant and “community gathering place” called Busboys & Poets. The concept is theirs, and reflects the organization’s generosity and heart for its community. And it’s a sweet deal! The restaurant selects a non-profit each week, and invites the group to set up a display at a centrally located table. People who come for dinner are drawn to the table, thus providing a way for the non-profit to share its mission with literally hundreds of restaurant guests. On top of that, the restaurant donates 5% of dinner proceeds to the non-profit. What a deal, right!?! Rock Recovery was blessed to be the beneficiary of a Non-Profit Tuesday. And God answered prayers by bringing in several individuals who were suffering from the effects of ED in their families. We hope we shared our message of hope and healing, and commend Busboys & Poets for proactively reaching out to organizations like Rock Recovery.

Oh the Blessings!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My heart is simply bursting with gratitude this morning. To be honest, it’s hard for me to reflect on all the people and events I’m thankful for because God has been SO GOOD to me over the past few years. God is always been good to me – don’t get me wrong there – but ever since I took a step of faith and trusted God in my own recovery process, then took a leap of faith and trusted God in founding Rock Recovery, the blessings that he has showered on and around me are overwhelming. Tears of awe and amazement…the kind that you can’t hold back at your best friend’s wedding or when you see a newborn baby for the first time…are in my eyes as I reflect on each person God has brought forward to serve Rock Recovery, on their enthusiasm and willingness to step out in faith and to believe in this mission, and on those He has prompted to donate to our cause and the resources He has provided through those gifts.

As images of people and events fly through my head, I realize that we’ve neglected to give God the praise that He deserves for all of this, because we haven’t taken the time to document answered prayers. And I want to take just a minute this morning to do just that. So here goes…in timeline form:

Fall 2007: God prompted me to tell friends and ED professionals about my vision for Rock Recovery. I thought they would tell me I was crazy, but instead each person was enthusiastically supportive.

January - April 2008: A friend bought me a “Business Plan for Dummies” book, which expressed his faith in my vision and prompted me to get my ideas on paper.

Summer 2008: 12 incredible women accepted my invitation to join our Board of Directors. Each of these women brings unique insight and passion for this cause; their dedication over the past year is unparalleled.

November/December 2008: God rescued us from the overwhelmingly complex task of getting officially incorporated and recognized as a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Jessica Furst, then working for Foley & Lardner LLP, dedicated her talents to finalizing these piles of paperwork; her colleague, Teri Champ, has since helped us with all the legal hoopla that accompanies establishing a non-profit. Praise God!

January – May 2009: The Board of Directors developed an Organizational Handbook that guides our strategies and business processes. With this in place, we felt confident in stepping out into the public space.

June – August 2009: 7 talented, dedicated interns launched Rock Recovery from a concept to a functioning organization. Wilma Fisiy, Kelsey Gvozdich, and Emily Pfister planned our three first outreach events; Melanie Spaethe, Lindsey Fogle, and Fielding Jezreel conducted research and focused on grant writing activities; Elia Pfaff created a newsletter format and produced our first newsletter. As a board, we reached out to organizations with complimentary missions in order to communicate our dedication to the common goal of ED recovery, and hopefully, to create opportunities for long-term, symbiotic partnerships. Constance Rhodes of FINDINGbalance, Inc., is particularly supportive, as are Teri Fredericks and Amos Taylor, the director of one of the few faith-based residential treatment facilities, Selah House.

September – October 2009: Through three incredible and unique events (an Arts & Crafts Auction, Singer/Songwriter competition, and benefit concert; see our newsletter, Rock Recovery witnessed an outpouring of support for our mission, forged relationships within the D.C. community, and repeatedly received confirmation that our work is both critical and timely.

I also had the opportunity to participate in the Eating Disorder Coalition’s Lobby Day. I can’t express how uplifting it was to be surrounded by men and women who came from across to country to advocate for recovery on Capitol Hill. And to top it off, I was interviewed by author and speaker Shawn Anderson as a part of his Extra Mile Tour.

In addition, God answered prayers by providing talented and passionate volunteers: Nega Teshome took charge of our accounting systems; Christine Dorman is guiding our communication strategy; Babatunde (Tunde) Ogundiyun and Sergio Herrera are taking the lead on graphic design projects, and Elizabeth Grainger is leading a research and communications initiative.

And I am extremely thankful for the extreme dedication of two friends: Molly Bauch, who has been by my side and provided so much support for each of our events, and Denita Acker, who always speaks God’s truth into my life and breathed new life into Rock Recovery last weekend by spearheading our first Idea Salon. Keep reading…

November 2009: Rock Recovery hosted what we intend to be the first of many “Idea Salons,” an opportunity to discuss how to have an impact on our community. The event resulted in an exchange of creative ideas that not only inspired everyone present, but also provided Rock Recovery with practical “next steps” in communicating our mission and goals. Our participants – Shefali Agloo, Alexis Adams-Shorter, Candice Kaup, Kathleen MacDonald, Brittany Willoughby, Signy Roberts and Jen Driggers – contributed expertise, experience, and ongoing dedication to helping Rock Recovery bring healing to the DC community, and beyond.

Looking forward: Over the past few months, I have received literally hundreds of resumes from individuals across the country who want to contribute to our mission. As we head into 2010, we plan to focus on the areas of communication, education, and fundraising. And now that I’m blogging, you have the opportunity to hear all about it! With the promise that this blog will be the longest of them all (I did have to cover the past 2 years, after all), I hope you’ll sign up for weekly blogs on Rock Recovery’s journey.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and a special thanks to everyone working to make Rock Recovery’s vision a reality.

Commitment to Communication

Bottom line - I’ve never been the journaling type. But over the weekend, I heard a message on the importance of documenting your journey. I get that. Rock Recovery is (and always was) God-inspired, and every blessing that we’ve received is an answer to prayer. And the only way to give Him the glory for each and every blessing is to tell the world what we’re doing. So here goes…I invite you to follow – better yet, become a part of, our journey!

Our Vision

Imagine being trapped in a web of obsessive thoughts and behaviors surrounding food and exercise. Imagine feeling unable to stop putting food in your mouth; unable to relinquish food phobias; unable to go a day without exercising, often for hours upon hours, numb to fatigue and notwithstanding injury. Imagine your mood and self-esteem being shackled to scales that never held anything but negative messages.

Imagine, now, the torture of white-knuckling a “normal” day amidst these thoughts and feelings. Think of the stress of a regular work day…then imagine yourself striving to excel while fighting constant, obsessive thoughts related to every opportunity to eat, neglect eating, exercise, or avoid exercising. The goodies brought in by a colleague are screaming at you, lunch is easy to skip, your morning workout wasn’t enough to take away the fat feelings, and snacking is an irresistible quick fix despite the repercussions of guilt for broken resolutions.

Imagine the day that you realize that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are grossly abnormal…and more so, you cannot will yourself out of them. The more resolutions you make to change, the more you feel trapped and helpless. Imagine being so desperate for change that you tell a friend, call a counselor, and/or find a support group. Imagine a glimmer of light that comes with this first step, followed by a shroud of darkness that comes with realizing the difficult road ahead. Imagine the despair of finding that friends, counselors, and support groups aren’t enough to help you out of the depths of obsessive thoughts and self-destructive behaviors. Imagine the added despair of finding that the only avenues for intensive treatment will break the bank and require you to take time off work or school. Imagine the fear of financial insecurity, or worse, the guilt of draining family finances, heightened by the fear of getting behind at work or at school.

Now imagine a new avenue for recovery. A residential recovery house specifically for individuals with eating and exercise disorders, where residents can maintain jobs and studies while embracing the very best recovery-oriented activities after hours and on weekends. Imagine a house run by exceptional therapists, counselors, and staff. Imagine that finances are no barrier, because this recovery house is free of charge. Imagine coming home from work or school to an environment where engaging in self-destructive behaviors is not an option, while dedicating time on long-term recovery is paramount. This is Rock Recovery.

Rock Recovery is the birth child of my own experiences and the stories of many others I’ve heard along my path to recovery. It is not my own creation, but God’s, as there is no way that I could have created this organization without God’s providence and provision.

Just a few months after it’s founding on December 31, 2008, Rock Recovery has established a strong and diverse board of directors, gained 501c(3) status, and launched a website that communicates its mission, values, and approach to the world: www.rockrecovery.net.

We are just starting to raise funds dedicated to opening the first of many recovery houses. The location of our first house has yet to be determined and will be based on both needs and available resources. If you or anyone you know could benefit from a Rock Recovery house, please complete our needs survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/58105/rock-recovery

On behalf of my incredible Board of Directors, thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. Please contribute your thoughts and personal stories. For more information or to contribute resources toward this great mission, email cary@rockrecovery.net.

Rock Recovery: A New Option

Our mission is to resurrect the lives of thousands of individuals imprisoned by addictions to food and exercise (e.g., anorexia, bulimia, food obsession, exercise obsession, and compulsive overeating). Rock Recovery will achieve this mission by providing a new, affordable intensive treatment option for individuals capable of overcoming their disorders while remaining engaged in their current daytime activities (work, school, childcare). In achieving this mission, Rock Recovery will bridge a gap in existing recovery options. Currently, individuals struggling with anorexia, bulimia, food obsession, exercise obsession, and compulsive overeating have three choices: outpatient treatment options (therapists, 12-step meetings, support groups), intensive outpatient programs and intensive inpatient programs.

Rock Recovery will offer a new option: Group houses that provide individuals the ability to remain engaged in daily activities and then return home to supportive counseling, therapeutic activities, and structured eating and exercise programs.