The Origin of Everybody Matters.
So, the experts in blogging said, “tell ‘em how this all got started.” Here goes:
Everyone loves to hear an origin story! Apple started in a garage. Potato chips were born when some gold miner accidentally dropped his potato slice in boiling bacon grease (um, I made that up, don’t fact check it!) But you get what I mean! Who thought up Spanx? That sliced bread sure is all the rage!
And so, the origin of Everybody Matters, 101: On an idyllic spring day while riding my unicorn through a meadow dotted with fairies and gnomes (those little scamps) and singing with a trill while cartoon birds placed cartoon daisies in my braids (you know, how all social workers spend their days) a golden butterfly alit upon my shoulder and whispered this idea into my ear. And being fluent in Golden Butterfly Speak I knew exactly what to do. Or actually, maybe totally OPPOSITE that!
The REAL origin of Everybody Matters, 101: The best way to describe what happened is found in this excerpt from a chapter I wrote for a book called Rooted in Strengths that was published by Kansas University. You’ll be jumping in mid-thought here, but you’re smart, you’ll catch up:
A few years later I was back in full swing, working as a social worker in the schools, adjunct faculty at several universities, raising my totally perfect at all times adopted daughters and learning, learning, learning. I built strong relationships in the school district. I sought out talented practitioners to learn from and grow with. And then I started to see some serious issues with children not getting the help they needed. I saw children who needed therapy but were not getting it. The hurdles included poverty, lack of insurance, poor transportation, parental fear and not enough of me to go around. This was not okay. These kids needed help and they weren’t getting it.
Then stakes rise for me. I’m so fed up with children not getting what they needed due to bureaucratic nonsense that I walk around with my own ball of low-level rage in my stomach. Finally, driving across town, seething, I have my aha! moment. I remember Einstein saying you can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created the problem in the first place. I know how to solve this. I’m going to use new thinking. I’m gonna knock down these hurdles. I’m gonna fix this! I see that ball of rage and I hit that ball.
I’m gonna quit my job and start a non-profit so I can solve this problem myself.
My friends all say, “We love you. We get why you want to do this. But don’t do it! Don’t jump off this cliff! For God’s sake, don’t quit your job!”
And I love my friends. They are smart. They are giving me great advice. And just like when I’d earned my BSW, it’s all come full circle and I feel really smart. I pretty much know everything. And I ignored them and I quit my job.
So, of course there’s more to it than that, but over the last seven years our team has been able to consistently fulfill our mission statement: We help people thrive emotionally when life gets hard. And let’s face it, the last two years have been especially hard. Nary a unicorn OR golden butterfly in sight, and yet we’ve been able to reach over 5,000 students and teach them coping skills so that when they are struggling they can make a plan!
If you’re a college level social worker (or related field) student, CLICK HERE to apply to join us and if you’re reading this cause you’re along for the ride to learn more about the magic of what we do - keep following the blog - there’s just too much good to fit in each posting!
Show up with purpose and leave feeling rewarded. By the end of the Everybody Matters AZ internship, you will feel entirely confident to enter the field. Sign up today to start your internship!
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