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Opportunities Abound With New Growth At Recovery Beyond…
For almost 4 years we have embarked on a monumental effort to transform the way we approach addiction-related illness in our society. The results move us every day.
When Mark Ursino and I began talking about the Climbing Out Of Homelessness program and transform it into a viable non-profit to tackle addiction recovery, I couldn’t have imagined the journey we were about to take. All along it was a labor of love and an effort to bring the organization to a place of maturity where it could grow, thrive, and serve more people than we ever could have initially imagined. That day we envisioned has now arrived and it’s time for a full-time team to take us to the next level.
Over the last few months, the board has embarked on interviewing and hiring a new full-time team to take our programs to the next level. I am beyond pleased to introduce you to our new CEO and Executive Director, Brooke Russell who will lead the team which now consists of Maury Robertson as Director of Investments and Partnerships and Jess Villarreal as Senior Program Manager. These dynamic individuals are beyond excited for this adventure and are already making waves and translating their ideas into meaningful program enhancements. To learn more about our new team members, please visit our Team Page on the website.
Nate Lanting will be moving to new adventures in his life and career starting in June. For the last 3 1/2 years, he has served as our fearless Program Manager, leading all operational duties and ensuring that a nurturing and caring environment is in place through all of our programs and activities. He has made the monumental climb both literally and figuratively, over-and-over. His work and dedication to building a robust volunteer network and a pack of enthusiastic supporters have made this organization what it is today. His mentorship has meant meaningful sobriety for many individuals who have gone through the program. He will be greatly missed, but will always have a place and a home at Recovery Beyond where we know his legacy will leave a lasting impact.
As I move into retirement, I will continue to serve on the board of Recovery Beyond. I look forward to being a source of guidance and support as this amazing team ramps up their efforts and brings us to a whole new playing field of non-profit growth.
As we make this leap forward, I want to issue a challenge to you. A challenge to reach deep, even in this difficult and uncertain times, and make a contribution to this worthy cause. In honor of Nate, myself, or a loved one who has been impacted by the ravaging effects of addiction-related illnesses.
Please join me in welcoming Brooke, Maury, and Jess to the team. The future is bright for this organization and with expanded programming, the future will be bright for so many seeking a pathway out of a life of addiction and towards lasting recovery.
It has been more than a pleasure to serve as the CEO and Executive Director of Recovery Beyond these past 4 years. Thank you to Mark Ursino for placing so much trust and financial support behind our efforts and for allowing us to make the bold and innovative leaps to creating the non-profit we see today.
May we continue to build a Community of Compassion that truly helps those with substance use disorders, find a path back to fully functioning lives.
In peace,
Gina Haines
Executive Director, Recovery Beyond0 -
NOW OPEN! The Recovery Beyond Shop
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” – Dalai Lama
So, you love to climb, you love supporting our recovery climbers, and you’re a big fan of the work of Recovery Beyond? Well, now’s your chance to wear that pride with the introduction of our new shop! We just launched a series of products that highlight our new brand and we think you’ll love them!
The new shop benefits our recovery climbers and our programs. We curated a range of clothing options, a motivational poster, coffee mug, and some great hats for your next climb.
Check out the store and show your support for Recovery Beyond! We also invite you to tag @recoverybp when sporting your favorite Recovery Beyond logo wear, we’d love to see your new threads.
Check out the entire line today!
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High Trek Adventures Supporting Recovery Beyond
We’re thrilled, literally and figuratively, to announce that High Trek Adventures is offering a promotional discount for anyone wanting to book an event with the company. Even better, they will be making a 10% donation to Recovery Beyond to support our recovery climbers and program participants.
If you are looking for a great place to have a team event that is lots of; full of energy and that everyone will love, this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. If you have not been to High Trek Adventures, then you are missing a great adventure. Brad Halbach and his team offer an entire adventure park that is great for team building events or just a day of fun.
Want to know more? Check out this video they created for the promotion.
Click below to learn more about the promotion details and timing. Don’t miss out on a fantastic team or family event!
LEARN MORE @ HIGH TREK ADVENTURES -
Support Our Fundraising Climbers!
From May 16-19th this year, a group of 7 supports of Recovery Beyond will embark on a climb of Mount Rainier. These individuals answered a call and challenge put forth by our founder, Mark Ursino over the past several months to dedicate themselves to this climb, and to raising money to support our efforts.
A big thank you to Abi Brewer, Camiya Brown, Christopher Poulos, Nate Lanting, Scott Brown, Amelia Kaiser, and Becky Vinson for stepping up to this challenge. Their efforts so far have resulted in over 100 individual donors for Recovery Beyond. The funds raised help support our efforts to reach and help even more recovery climbers and to grow our program.
Please consider making a contribution today to one of these Fundraiser Climbers and learn more about what motivates them on their campaigns. And beyond a donation, please tell your friends and family about this great and worthy cause. It’s our community of compassion that makes the difference every day and we are thankful for your spirit and action.
Here are some of the comments we’ve received from donors to the Fundraising Climb.
“Our daughter Amelia Kaiser volunteers with this amazing program. The stories of her time with Recovery Beyond have inspired us to support this wonderful group of people! We pray for all involved and encourage you to keep up the good work of changing lives for the better! God bless you!!!” – Elaine Klein
Visit Amelia’s Fundraising Page“Recovery tools and creating a pathway to feeedom is important and crucial for the success of people. Thank you Christopher for making this fundraiser and bringing hope into the community.” – Carolina Landa
Visit Christopher’s Fundraising Page“Scott Brown is someone who encourages all the program climbers. A joy to be around – glad to help!” – Price Taylor
Visit Scott’s Fundraising Page“Go get it girl!” – Cheryl Ann
Visit Camiya’s Fundraising Page“If anyone deserves to stand on that summit, YOU do!! It felt wrong for me to get to the summit last year while you didn’t. I am so proud of your tenacity and courage and I’m more than happy to help donate for your fund-raising climb in 2019. Godspeed, friend!” – Michele Arnold
Visit Abi’s Fundraising PageIf you are interested in joining them, it may not be too late, but time is running out. Email Gina Haines at gina@recoverybp.org for more information. Let’s celebrate their awesome commitment to a healthy lifestyle and supporting others in achieving it.
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Go Behind Our New Identity
The team at Cora+Krist worked closely with Recovery Beyond leadership to determine the logical steps for evolving the Recovery Beyond Paradigm name and its program Climbing Out Of Homelessness. The next iteration had to be instantly recognizable and relatable to what the organization had already established. With so much great visibility from the Now This and REI films the organization was presented to 1 million people and their very active base came to identify with Recovery Beyond Paradigm, staying familiar was a key requirement.
Any change we took, needed to ensure that we paid tribute to the bold vision of Mark Ursino when he and Mike Johnson set out to create Climbing Out of Homelessness around a truly monolithic physical feat; climbing Mount Rainier. The original Climbing Out of Homelessness program logo encompassed a team of climbers scaling the mountain; the mountain had to continue to play an important part in the brand going forward.
Expanded Meaning in the New Brand
In any tough decision, the simplest path is usually best. It was natural for us to simply shorten the old Recovery Beyond Paradigm, to Recovery Beyond. It preserves established brand cache and value and helps position the organization for the next step in its evolution. We continue to help people move through recovery to their next stage of life; to a better self… to what’s ‘beyond’ addiction and homelessness.
Much in the same way, the Climbing Out Of Homelessness program naturally evolved to Climbing Out. Addiction is one of the root causes of homelessness, we work to alleviate addiction. Preventing addiction and homelessness remains our overall goal. So if there is no addiction problem, there is less of a chance of ending up homeless. It still represents the literal and figurative metaphor around the climb that our participants make on their journey out of addiction. Whether that climb is literally up the mountains in Seattle’s backyard or that climb is represented through other equally demanding physical activities – the struggles and triumphs are very much the same.
Logo Evolution for Recovery Beyond
For the new logo, we took to heart that we are evolving the organization; the evolution of an established presence. In that spirit, we sought to honor the key elements already employed; such as colors and typography, gracefully elevate these to evolve to a more quickly identifiable look.
The result is a logo that, with a simpler name in place, balances on the bold variation of the typeface and incorporates the mountain so that the spirit of our founder’s original vision forms the foundation and reminder of where the organization started.
Graphic Design Elements ExplainedAdditional elements that you will see added to the brand include several gradients that emulate the start and finish of a person’s journey to sobriety. You will see these as subtle overlays on elements across our materials and within important activity buttons on the website.
Yellow to Blue illustrates the beginning of the journey to sobriety as the dawn of a new day.
The orange to yellow represents the fiery sunset experienced as one completes the journey.
The Story Of A Climb Through Photographs
Imagery has been refreshed in both historical photos provided by Mark Ursino, founder of Recovery Beyond and the photographs captured by Greg Balkin over the course of 2018 climb year. Together these images tell a visual story of our program; of the people who go through this journey and the countless volunteers that make it all happen.
A New Tagline
Our new tagline perfectly captures who we are and what we’re about going forward:
Healthy Lifestyles for Lasting Recovery
This is really what we’re all about and as our programs begin to grow and evolve you’ll start to see this in action. We’re expanding beyond mountaineering to embark on numerous activities that help our participants embrace a healthy lifestyle. We know the key to lasting recovery is in living a healthy lifestyle and having a community to share it with. It’s a simple statement, but one that is direct and packed with meaning.
The final brand identity is a culmination of intensified thought, powerful meaning, and emphatic dedication. This will be a powerful imprint that will continue to impact the lives of many who wish to embark on a climb like no other in their life, centered around a healthy lifestyle and a supportive community, to reach lasting recovery. Building a better future starts with the first step.
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Real Recovery Goes Beyond Charity
Charity isn’t a word you hear too often anymore. It carries the connotation of a hand-out; in the extreme, the concept of charity can infantilize those receiving it and make those giving it seem arrogant and aloof.
This shouldn’t be the case. Selfless giving and accepting gifts without shame are hallmarks of our humanity. There are people in our very own communities who truly need charitable giving now. Individuals and families who have no food, no home, and no means to meet their basic needs of survival.
Without charity, we would be literally leaving these people out in the cold.
It’s true, however, that this type of charity—giving that meets people’s basic and immediate needs—does not lead to long-term solutions for problems like homelessness and the addictions that often lie at its roots.
Charity is important and essential, and it’s just the beginning.
Community Investment for Lasting Relief, Growth, and Healing
Once basic needs are met, people can focus on making lifelong changes for more rewarding and community-driven lives. Resources to guide and promote these long-term changes are lacking, though.
That’s where Recovery Beyond is making a difference.
Through our current programs, Climbing Out and Team Mission, we provide individuals already succeeding in addiction recovery programs with an additional and lasting opportunity for growth.
In Climbing Out, ten months of team-building and intense physical and mental training culminates in a five-day hike to the summit of Mt. Rainier—an achievement that resonates for the rest of anyone’s life. Team Mission (our companion program at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission) achieves the same results through ongoing guidance in the sport of long-distance running, an activity that is more accessible yet demands equal commitment, endurance, and effort.
Reaching the peak and making it through that last mile are memorable rewards, but it’s the trek that makes it all worthwhile. It’s the new skills and perspectives climbers and runners build along the way that leads to new lives and new futures.
Homelessness and the substance dependency that often precedes and is exacerbated by it is a complex social and personal problem. Recovery Beyond addresses the personal aspects, empowering participants with better understandings of themselves and the extent of their capabilities.
Where charity leaves off, they learn to take the next steps, confident of the ground underneath their feet.
Ending Addiction, One Step At a Time
There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people and families in the United States, and more than twenty thousand in Washington State. More than 60{637c4c527fde39f83a380e19107d2ba88ad72607f37ccf8f8b7edeff1c20688c} of these people also suffer from substance dependency. Ending addiction is key to ending homelessness, and to mitigating an array of problems and behaviors detrimental to the community at large.
No single program can do it all. No single approach will be the key to success.
But the difficulty is no excuse, and we can do better.
If you’re interested in learning more about Recovery Beyond, making a contribution or even joining our Fundraising Climb to experience the life-changing Rainier summit for yourself, please click here to learn more.
JOIN THE INVESTMENT DRIVE -
A Problem In Need Of Holiday Giving
Let’s be clear: every single dollar given to help another human being is priceless. Whenever you give, whatever you give, know that it’s appreciated and going to good use.
Unfortunately, the disproportionate number of donations given in a holiday season can make budgeting and planning difficult for many organizations. They may be pressured or even required to use the resources they have on hand to serve as many as possible, as quickly as possible, and this can leave them coming up short the rest of the year.
Giving Tuesday doesn’t solve that problem, but by choosing the right organizations to give to, you can.
This year, we ask that you consider donating to organizations that are less crisis-oriented, and more focused on long-term changes that will ease the burden on temporary shelters and food banks.
The Climbing Out program provides a unique opportunity to people who are currently struggling with addiction-related homelessness by successfully recovering from addiction. Those participating in our program rebuild their strength, resolve, and commitment to themselves, building more resilient connections with their community along the way.
This program doesn’t provide shelter or meals. It provides the means for self-sufficiency, healing, and growth, so our climbers may never experience another homeless Thanksgiving again.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t make planned donations to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other organizations this time of year. Please do, if you can! Our organization currently partners with two local homeless shelters, Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission and The Tacoma Rescue Mission; both of us are grateful for your support.
We also hope you’ll consider the long-term impacts of your giving, and balance the urgent needs of today with the unsolved problems of tomorrow. Learn more about our business case and Investment Drive and make this Giving Tuesday last the entire year.
Click here to learn more about the Climbing Out Program.
DONATE TODAY! -
Can We End Addiction-Related Homelessness with a Mountain Climb?
As a result of the opioid crisis and addiction problems plaguing our society, homelessness continues to be on the rise. Every night, more than half-a-million people in the United States are in search of somewhere to sleep.
When they’re lucky, they find a shelter, or doorway, or a bench, or a patch of grass or asphalt. The unlucky spend their nights wandering, or under arrest, or in any number of dangerous circumstances.
And every morning, there are a few who don’t wake up.
Homelessness is a life-and-death issue and addiction plays a large part in the problem. Many of our nation’s homeless who also suffer from a drug addiction have that much more to overcome and are that much more at risk. While there are many programs and shelters doing terrific work to help our homeless population, they don’t have space or the resources to help everyone.
And few programs have proven successful in helping to lift people out of their addictions and as a result, homelessness permanently and productively. Why? Because they aren’t equipped to treat the root causes like addiction, and because there are too many lives that need saving today to make adequate plans for tomorrow.
We need to change the paradigm. We need better long-term solutions for homelessness, for addiction, and for giving everyone the help and the tools for self-help they need.
Climb Out
Of the 540,000+ homeless people in the US, more than 21,000 of them are here in Washington State. Well over half of Washington’s homeless citizens are located in the Seattle-Tacoma area—one of the most affluent and high-tech regions in the country.
In cities with many “haves,” the plight of the “have-nots” becomes even harder to witness.
But homelessness isn’t simply a matter of economic hardship. For many, it is tied to lives of abuse, neglect, drug addiction, and other mental health issues. For these people, finding their way to a happy and productive life means undergoing a more intense and profound healing process than finding a new place to call home.
They need a way to take back control, and to build the skills and strengths they need to move up and beyond the positions, they’ve landed in.
Since 2011, our organization has been working with two local shelters to give recovering addicts a life-changing experience—one that allows them to truly climb out of homelessness. Each year, individuals demonstrating success in a broader recovery program receive nearly 10 months of physical and mental training in preparation for a summit of Mt. Rainier. The five-day trek is one that few people from any walk of life attempt, and marks a significant triumph for those with a background of drug dependency and shelter insecurity.
This year, we’re holding a Fundraising Climb to raise funds to help serve more people. Eight donors will be joining us on a climb that follows a route our program participants may take, right up to the peak of Mt. Rainier. These donors can’t get their alone, though—they need your help, too, because they’re each raising funds to sponsor a minimum of two recovery climbers in 2019.
Please consider making a contribution to one of our donor climbers. Together, we can take steps to end homelessness once and for all, one summit at a time.
To donate, or to learn more about our organization and our Fundraising Climb, please click here.
SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATEWant to donate to a participant’s climb? Visit https://donate.recoverybp.org, search for the climber you want to support and make your donation.
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Support Recovery Beyond at the San Gennaro Festival
Are you planning to attend the San Gennaro Festival? If you are, stop by the booth “Ursino Cugini Pizzelles” or the wine garden and enjoy a great Italian cookie favorite – the Pizzelle! Cookie sales support Recovery Beyond and of course, donations are welcome.
Here are the details
San Gennaro Festival
September 7th through 9th1225 S. Angelo Street
Seattle, WA 98108Hours:
Friday from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday from 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday from 10:00 am – 4:00 pmThanks for your support.
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Save the Date! Support our program by joining us for our Seminar
Our Climbing Out Program teaches our participants interpersonal skills and the value of building healthy relationships. We are very excited to extend similar ideas out into our community by announcing our first seminar series, Effective Communication: Tips for Speaking Intentionally, presented by Jenni Butz. Jenni is a former foreign language teacher, who presents lectures and workshops on communication throughout the United States and Europe. Jenni believes that “when we learn, everybody wins.”
Communication can be complex. Learning to communicate effectively is important for maintaining strong and successful relationships in different areas of your life. Ever feel like your conversations end in frustration? Or that you avoid having confrontational conversations? Join us for this workshop where you will learn to minimize misunderstandings while also learning to speak with truth, respect, and confidence. By improving your ability to communicate, you will have conversations that will result in action and understanding.
This lecture is for anyone interested in improving their ability to speak intentionally. There are two dates available: Saturday, August 11, from 9 am to 12 pm. To register today, click here (https://recoverybp.org/seminar-series/)
Please check out Jenni’s website to learn more about this amazing woman and the work she does: (https://www.thewordspark.com)
Author archive for Gina Haines
Recovery Beyond > Articles by: Gina Haines