I am a quiet observer. My mom recognized this characteristic when I was young as my wide eyes followed her every move in my modest crib. The world is full of fascinating people, compelling stories, and inspiring moments that happen every day. How can I not be intrigued?
One of the developments I have noticed recently is the fundamental breakdown of empathy among human beings in the last couple of years. Tribal mentalities have always existed, but it has insidiously and powerfully moved to center stage. Our world, especially the United States of America, has become seriously divided. Witnessing blatant racism, sexism, bullying, and trolling has become more prevalent and pronounced in our lifetime. But this has also triggered an intense counter-reaction among the masses, and especially within myself. Minorities, women, and young people are beginning to understand the power of their voice and how important it is to use and express it.
I may not have the knowledge or tools to serve as a civil rights lawyer at this very moment, but I have a curious mind, an open heart, and some creative expertise. How can I uniquely use my voice to uplift my community? How can I use my artistic nature to promote and cultivate empathy? These two inquiries were the central questions of my life for the past few years. And I finally formulated an answer that I hope will make a positive difference.
Humanation is a blog centered on nonprofits and their customer or beneficiaries. It will not consist of technical to-do lists or fundraising strategies. Instead, human stories will be the main focal point of each entry, the people behind the work and the people being served. You will find profiles of founders who are doing amazing things in various communities and read customer stories, highlighting their evolution.
I hope this space will provide more insight into what each featured nonprofit offers and how they are changing the world, one individual at a time. I hope it will inspire and help galvanize support for these various missions, motivating their community to volunteer or donate. And most importantly, I hope this blog will open minds and hearts, allowing connections to permeate and form. Even if our experiences and physical appearances are completely different, I am optimistic that we can recognize deep down, we are the same. We are all engaging, complicated, loving, aspiring human beings, and I hope that shared truth resonates above all else.