Every day, NEO Philanthropy staff support a thriving community of projects, grantees, peers, and donors—all focused on building movements for justice. For those working with and alongside social justice movements, as we do, it can be challenging to find time and space for self-care and collective care. With an important mission, urgent community needs, and many partners, there are few organic moments of pause.
At its core, the pressure to work without rest is borne from the many systems of oppression that our work addresses. These systems intersect at ideas about who is allowed to rest and what type of care is valid. The truth is simple: everyone deserves to rest.
For our work to be sustainable, we must make intentional space for rest and rejuvenation. Rest and self-care outside of work enable us to bring energy and intention to our time at work. That’s why NEO Philanthropy offices will be closed for one week, August 8-12. During this time, staff are away from work and will not be responding to phone calls or emails until offices reopen on August 15th.
We have made this choice to care for ourselves and each other. We also recognize that—like much of our work—care is a practice we will continue cultivating within our organization and community. We hope others will join us to normalize pause, rest, healing, and care for everyone. Without these things, we cannot achieve our vision of a just, sustainable, and equitable world for us all.