In addition to the traditional wedding registry gifts we’ve selected, we are also asking folks to consider making a donation to our new non-profit foundation. Donations and registry gifts may be selected through Zola (see below). Before looking through our registry, we encourage you to read this description of our new non-profit foundation and why we are starting it:
Why We Are Starting A Non-Profit Foundation: Our Marriage Is A Shared Mission In Life.
During our first phone call in the spring of 2020, we talked for 5.3 hours. At least 87 minutes of that time was spent talking about Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps The Score and its description of the CDC’s landmark study on adverse childhood experiences (“ACES”). Now, as part of our shared mission in life, we are starting a non-profit foundation with the mission of reducing childhood trauma. The foundation’s name is SNOQUALMIE ACES.
What Our Non-Profit Will Do: Identify And Support Organizations Working To Reduce Childhood Trauma.
100% of all donations made to SNOQUALMIE ACES will be given to charitable organizations selected by us because of their work creating sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families in one of these six ways:
1) Strengthen economic support to families (e.g., strengthening household financial security, developing and promoting family-friendly work policies)
2) Promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity (e.g., legislative approaches to reduce corporal punishment)
3) Ensure a strong start for children (e.g., early childhood home visitation, high-quality childcare, preschool enrichment with family engagement)
4) Teaching skills (e.g., social-emotional learning, safe dating and healthy relationship skill programs, parenting skills and family relationship approaches)
5) Connect youth to caring adults and activities (e.g., mentoring and after-school programs)
6) Intervene to lessen immediate and long-term harms (e.g., enhanced primary care; victim-centered services; developing treatments that prevent problem behavior and future involvement in violence; family-centered treatment for substance use disorders)
If you donate to SNOQUALMIE ACES, we will provide a year-end report highlighting the organizations we’ve selected for the year. Additionally, we look forward to connecting with those that are interested in the topic of childhood trauma and would love to volunteer our time together with anyone who wishes to donate their energy to this worthy cause.
For an introduction to the CDC’s adverse childhood experiences study, we recommend visiting the CDC’s website by clicking on this link.
For an introduction to Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps The Score, we recommend listening to this Ezra Klein interview of Bessel van der Kolk.