Next Leaders Up: Some Words of Wisdom from Mr. Rogers and Big Mama

Hello, Lead Like Big Mama family, I am BACK! I took a much-needed break from writing blog posts and scouring through hundreds of announcements about grants, fellowships and career opportunities found in Big Mama’s Playbook. Check out the “Featured Resources” tab for some nonprofit tools and tips!

Planning for this year actually began last year, I even bought my new dashboard style Happy Planner calendar for 2025.There’s so much I planned to say when I returned, especially as we step into a new year. I began writing out themes/topics using my mechanical pencil, blank paper, Post-it notes, and mind-mapping, a brainstorming technique. I am a visual person (it’s the teacher and grant writer in me)- having a picture in my head then to put my thoughts down on paper. Yes, actual paper, not an app or other tool. I will explore this in future Lead Like Big Mama posts!

There’s one major change coming to my Lead Like Big Mama leadership journey in this space - the frequency in which you will hear from me via these posts. No longer weekly. And right now, I’m not even sure that I want to abide by any routine schedule of sorts, but I’m going to try with the first and third Mondays. As a grant writer, it’s important to get funding information out to my readers as time is of the essence and planning is critical. And as we enter a new White House administration beginning this week, it will be imperative to the success and fiscal survival within many communities and nonprofits to build their intellectual and fiscal capacity in this climate of social unrest and uncertainty for many.

Hardships have no boundaries.

Speaking of dealing with uncertainty, my heart is hurting for New Orleans and in Los Angeles right now. I have been personally touched by both. To my family and friends, those of you who are there in NOLA or LA, to those who run nonprofits there, or have loved ones impacted by these events, know I’m holding all of you close in thought. Just a week into the new year, life as it was at the end of 2024 changed. Crises have a way of shaking us all, don’t they? For many of us, the enormity of the pain can make us feel like nothing we do will ever be enough. Like it happened for me back in 1991, when that moment came, to my own neighborhood. I worked as a deputy director in the County public health department; and while navigating my job responsibilities, I took in a friend who was nine months pregnant and evacuated from her home during the Oakland hills fire. Then I wa

s evacuated from my home; another friend lost their home, and another lost their life in that fire. And in an instant, the one question we had to ask ourselves: How can I help? While a crisis like this can shake us all, it reminds us that we all are helpers. And as helpers, we’re all leaders, whether a presumed or an unassuming leader. Now I ask, who will be the next leaders up? What are we teaching the next generations about servant leadership and helping others? To show some compassion.

Sharing wisdom from Mr. Rogers.

In times like these, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. The age of social media 24/7 doesn’t help sometimes. Yet I’m reminded of a piece of wisdom from children’s television host Mr. Rogers, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” There’s comfort in those words. Mr. Rogers had a knack for that. To soothe the frightened little child in us, reminding us that helpers exist. We’ve read about and watched the news of the many helpers who jumped into action. In this moment, and in all the tough ones yet to come- each of us has the power to be one of those helpers. Or how can you help the helpers who are helping those grieving with so much loss and trauma? Those dealing with survivor’s guilt?

Some words of wisdom from Big Mama.

Listen to this (in my most endearing Big Mama tone) …NONE of us can do it all. All we can do is what we can, when we can. Monday, January 20, 2025, is Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage Americans to volunteer. It’s a reminder that we’re all in it together – because hardships have no boundaries. Here are some things we can do help our communities heal, grow, and to show some compassion: we can offer our resources/knowledge, our time, our prayers, a listening ear, or simply some words of wisdom and encouragement. My Aunt Lela would proclaim that we must stay “prayed-up”! Those of us who have experienced events like this in our own backyards can share their stories of hope, resilience, and gaining insights on a new normal.

And when you’ve given what you can, remember this: Rest. Refill your well. Look for beauty. Nourish your spirit. Turn to what brings you joy and peace. When your heart needs it, find a space to let yourself create. Sing. Dance. Paint. Cook. Knit. Sew. March. Run. Write. Journal. Let all those emotions move through you, because they will remind you of what it means to be alive. Tomorrow is not promised and life as you know it can change for you, your friends & neighbors. And in living fully, we honor what matters most: love, resilience, and lifting each other. Looking back, I’m grateful that I took the time off for my respite, to refill my well. As “Big Mama” I want to help lift our communities by offering coaching support and capacity building tools & resources to nonprofits, to the many leaders and helpers that live and work in them.

With love and in service, until next time on Monday, February 3rd!

Weekly wisdom, in their own words:

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity....”

⦁ Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

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