Join Me At Bucket Brigade
Posted by Jeannie Fennell on November 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Fill your well-being bucket
THE BUCKET BRIGADE
If you haven’t been laid off, downsized or fired recently, you probably not have been working. The experience of this dramatic change has become commonplace but the emotional toll it takes is not one we talk much about but it is very real. It is very stressful takes a huge toll on our health, mentally and physically.
I know what it feels like because it has happened to me in a very dramatic way. Some years ago while living in CA, I was recruited for a great job in NC. It seemed like a good time to get closer to family and my roots so I packed up & moved across the country. I had only been here for about 2 months when I was laid off. I was devastated; I had no contacts here and couldn’t even find my way around. Money was tight as I got no severance, was not eligible e for unemployment & had spent a lot to get my house in CA ready to rent. It was an emotionally difficult time, to say the least.
Eventually I did come out of it but I never forgot how I felt and how hard it was to deal with the emotional toll. I looked for information on the emotions of job loss/job search but could not find much that was helpful. So I began to put together a “talk” on coping with that experience and to speak to job support groups several times a year. I always had people come up to me after the talks and tell me I should write on this as so many people needed to hear it.
Last winter I meet an amazing Presbyterian Chaplin, Rev.Elizabeth Hyland.She was creating a series of seminars to support people who were unemployed and asked me to be one of the speakers. The seminars were about giving people an emotional boost and they have been very helpful and uplifting for attendees as well as speakers.
But I began to realize that people need a regular place to come to get that boost and to get & give support. So the idea of a regular, drop –in support group was born.
The idea of a “Bucket Brigade” comes from practice of a community coming together to help fill a bucket and then pass it on. So this seemed a perfect name for creating a support group where we could fill our own & each other’s “well- being” bucket. So in Nov. we started and it is going strong.
We share with each other and talk about some simple, easy ways we can take good care of ourselves.
I always leave feeling uplifted and truly honored be in the “Bucket line” with such amazing people. I know you will find this true for you too.
So whatever your life situation is, you can come to a safe and uplifting place to get “filled up” and pass it on.
- First & Third Wednesdays
- 10:30-11:30
- Julia’s Coffee (upstairs)
- 1133 N. Wendover Rd, Charlotte, NC
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