$4,534 raised
·108 donations
Tessa's Birthday Fundraiser of Love
Donation protected
Hi! I’m Tessa. I’m an actor, comedian, educator, community builder, former counselor and body work therapist, and today, I’m also a birthday girl. In honor of my birthday and the rich experiences that have led me to walk so many meaningful paths in life, I’d like to share some amazing organizations and encourage you to donate so that others can access services and activism that cultivate the mind, the body, the soul and the earth.
BEAM
The first organization I want to share with you is BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective. Beam envisions a world where there are no barriers to Black healing and has a mission of removing those barriers to create access and ongoing connection to mental health services through education, training, advocacy and creative arts. Can you imagine anything more important at this moment?
https://www.beam.community/
If you know me, you know how deeply I value these practices for myself and others. Through my masters in somatic psychology, I have studied the embodiment of trauma and the powerful ways that unlocking these connections have allowed me to help myself and others heal, grow and flourish. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t found profound ways to support my own mental and emotional health through a variety of practices that guide the mind, body and soul through the journey of life’s ups and downs. Help me make sure that others get the chance to thrive by making a contribution to BEAM .
WE ACT
Next, I’m excited to highlight an organization that focuses on environmental justice and will teach us all how the issues of environmentalism and anti-racism are inextricably intertwined. WE ACT ’s mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices.
https://www.weact.org/
I’ll be honest - growing up as a Black woman, I thought environmentalism was something for white people who wore Berks, played Hacky sack and cared more about polar bears than people .
Welp turns out Birkenstocks are very comfy and environmentalism is importantly connected to communities of color. The current conversation we are used to seeing has left hacky sacks behind and shifted from declining polar bear populations to doomsday clocks and large policy initiatives aimed at corporations and industries, but there is still so much more to this conversation. I, like many, believe that empowering communities of color around environmental justice is a path towards healing issues of poverty, health, food access, housing and health of air, water, soil and animals . Sadly there are many environmentalist organizations steeped in white supremacy, resulting in communities of color being overlooked and their voices left out of the conversation. That is why I am so excited to share this organization that supports communities of color in meaningful paths to just environmental policies and practices. The more these communities are empowered to affect environmental change, the better for all of us.
I am so excited for you all to learn about these organizations. If you can, it would be an amazing birthday gift for you to donate so we can all send love and support from our community and watch as their work impacts the world.
BEAM
The first organization I want to share with you is BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective. Beam envisions a world where there are no barriers to Black healing and has a mission of removing those barriers to create access and ongoing connection to mental health services through education, training, advocacy and creative arts. Can you imagine anything more important at this moment?
https://www.beam.community/
If you know me, you know how deeply I value these practices for myself and others. Through my masters in somatic psychology, I have studied the embodiment of trauma and the powerful ways that unlocking these connections have allowed me to help myself and others heal, grow and flourish. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t found profound ways to support my own mental and emotional health through a variety of practices that guide the mind, body and soul through the journey of life’s ups and downs. Help me make sure that others get the chance to thrive by making a contribution to BEAM .
WE ACT
Next, I’m excited to highlight an organization that focuses on environmental justice and will teach us all how the issues of environmentalism and anti-racism are inextricably intertwined. WE ACT ’s mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices.
https://www.weact.org/
I’ll be honest - growing up as a Black woman, I thought environmentalism was something for white people who wore Berks, played Hacky sack and cared more about polar bears than people .
Welp turns out Birkenstocks are very comfy and environmentalism is importantly connected to communities of color. The current conversation we are used to seeing has left hacky sacks behind and shifted from declining polar bear populations to doomsday clocks and large policy initiatives aimed at corporations and industries, but there is still so much more to this conversation. I, like many, believe that empowering communities of color around environmental justice is a path towards healing issues of poverty, health, food access, housing and health of air, water, soil and animals . Sadly there are many environmentalist organizations steeped in white supremacy, resulting in communities of color being overlooked and their voices left out of the conversation. That is why I am so excited to share this organization that supports communities of color in meaningful paths to just environmental policies and practices. The more these communities are empowered to affect environmental change, the better for all of us.
I am so excited for you all to learn about these organizations. If you can, it would be an amazing birthday gift for you to donate so we can all send love and support from our community and watch as their work impacts the world.
Donations
Organizer
Tessa Hersh
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA