A note from our COO, Jackie
Hi, it’s Jackie! Some of you I’ve been lucky enough to work with, but for those thinking “sorry, who”?… I started volunteering with WtC in 2020, and became the first full-time team member in 2022. Since then, I got to work in the center of this venn diagram I love, and I’ll never take that for granted. This month, I’ll be wrapping up my time as COO.
We’re not great at pausing to reflect, but I’ve finally been able to look back at all we’ve built together. For the longest time, I would say that my job was taking big aspirational ideas and whittling them down to something feasible. In hindsight, I’m realizing it was a two way street. WtC taught me not to shrink a dream or give into fear and self-preservation. We are all so much more capable than our silly little brains allow us to believe, especially when we have each other!!
There are so many people, projects and milestones that I’m proud of.
I’m proud that we’re still building on the foundation Vic and Jen laid in 2020: an example of democratized work and space, rooted in an abundance mindset, where there is room, a role, and enough for everyone. This ethos became a springboard for so many (volunteers, contributors, business owners). We’ve watched them move on to build new careers, paths, families and confidence. I aspire to follow in their footsteps.
My god did I learn a lifetime of lessons these 5 years. Here are three in no particular order!
I saw what can grow when a community is forced to be resilient, and witnessed creative solutions stem from a lack of resources. On the other hand, I felt the calluses that develop from years of fighting. My hope is that this community can move away from a survival mindset, and give themselves permission to expect ease, support and abundance. While our young org can’t compare to our constituents who’ve faced decades of adversity, we’ve been trying to be better about this too. Scrappiness got us here, but it doesn't have to be the whole story.
I try to inject our pillar, “listening before delivering,” everywhere I can, questioning where my assumptions come from. I (almost…still growing…) welcome chances to be proven wrong. These moments leave me better equipped to be genuinely helpful, and in tune with those who will be affected by my actions.
Our bumper sticker-esque tagline, “believing in the human spirit”, is real!! To me, this means having the courage and openness to give every idea a chance. Most things are not that precious and what’s most important is getting your idea out there and giving it room to breathe and grow. A 90% baked idea might help a dozen people, but an idea in your notes app helps no one. Sometimes ideas flop, and most of the time that is ok! Behind every successful WtC initiative are 3 big ‘ol flops you (hopefully) don’t remember :-)
Lastly, to all the small businesses and entrepreneurs I got to meet, thank you for all the weight you carry on your shoulders. I hope we were able to lighten some of the load, and uplift however we could. Excuse the sentimentality but…if the city were a forest, you are the trees (whether ancient redwood or a tiny sprout), the sturdy pillars giving us life, shelter and portal to our roots. (sidenote: lets shower these trees with our spending power ;-))
I’m happily stepping back into my friend/volunteer/cheerleader role. There’s lots under development and I can’t wait for you to see what my friends have been working on. You’ll also get to meet some new faces soon. I’m so absolutely certain that WtC is in kind, capable and committed hands.
Thank you for letting me process + share my gratitude on this public forum <3 and for all those I had the privilege to work alongside, please stay in touch and be a friend!