by Shelly Denmark
Whenever I’m speaking with someone, and they ask what I do for a living, I tell them that I have the best job in the world. And it’s because I get to work with incredible Leaders like the ones we had in this year’s cohort. Each Crave Class is special in their own way, and Class VII is no exception. What stands out to me is how genuinely close this group has become over the past 8 months. They celebrate one another’s successes, they collaborate on each other’s projects, they empathize when one of them is sick or has run into a difficult challenge or has lost a loved one. Their admiration and respect for one another became even more evident during our last Soul Tending session when they took time to write heartfelt affirmations for each Leader in their Class. And when some of them were feeling discouraged, they reached for those affirmations as a reminder to keep moving forward.
I could share accomplishments for Class VII like 100% of the Leaders who needed to gain their 501c3 status and solicitation license achieved their goal. Or that because of their time and participation in Crave, they expanded their networks by an average of 30 people. Or that one of them was accepted into another recognized Non-Profit Leadership Program and received their first significant grant. Or that all of the Leaders who set goals to achieve by Graduation were successful. While each of these accomplishments is an important marker of their growth, I am most proud of who they are together. How they check in on each other, how they share learning, networking, and funding opportunities with each other, and how they make sure that everyone feels safe and included. Many of us would consider ourselves blessed to belong to a group like theirs.
I’m looking forward to witnessing how Class VII, now Crave Alumni, will continue to move their purpose and passion forward, and I am confident that they will succeed because of the loving accountability they have created together. The fire within them truly burns brighter for having been together!
