Chris & Roxanne's Springhouse Fundraiser

If you look at our societal challenges, from climate collapse to the collapse of dialog, you could say we have a culture in crisis. More and more teens report high levels of loneliness, hopelessness and suicidal ideation. At Springhouse we believe that we cannot afford to maintain the status quo, and we need to consider doing things in a radically different way. Education offers us one of our greatest opportunities to contribute to cultural healing and revitalization. 

The vision of Springhouse is a world where all life thrives, and our mission is to fundamentally transform the purpose and practice of education. At Springhouse we’re small enough, and free enough that we can be truly innovative in our approach. We are now sharing the educational model we have developed with others who want to follow our example globally. Unfortunately, being free from state and national curriculum requirements, means we don’t have access to the financial support of those systems. To continue the work of culture change through education we need the support of a wider network that shares our vision of collective thriving. 

At Springhouse we are committed to accessibility and no one is turned away from our programs due to a lack of funds. This month Springhouse needs to raise $125,000 to meet our operating budget.

From Roxanne

Recently when preparing to lead a small activity on a trip to Washington D.C. which included a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, I was reminded of something I learned in my adolescence when reading psychologist and Holocaust Survivor Viktor Frankl's book 'Man's Search for Meaning.' The words have echoed in my head ever since. Hope is a choice. Every day I could wake up and choose despair, and there are a million reasons why that might make sense in our world today. Instead, I wake up and choose hope. 

When I wake up day after day choosing hope within a community that is doing the same, I watch the impossible transform into possibility. I see the places where despair has crept in begin to bloom with new nourishment and flourish. 

It allows me to sing and dance and learn through challenge and the rigor of tending to and mending relationships. It allows me to face the places where I feel despair in myself and in the world. It drives my desire to work towards change to live in a world that is more whole and cares for its own. Choosing hope lets me hold the hand of a person in pain, allows me to inherit the wisdom of elders, and gives me the courage to teach high school students about death and dying. It allows students to persevere through difficulty and celebrate when they finally have that "ahah moment' for the very first time. Working in education we can create a context where life can flourish or it can be squandered and squashed. Springhouse shows me that the impossible can be transformed into possibility when we are rooted in hope.  

Choose hope with me right now! If you believe in a world that fosters hope more than hate and despair please help us raise our goal of $10,000.

From Chris

Since my late teens I have wanted my life to be about service. I have endeavored to bring that orientation to everything I do. Coming to Springhouse I found a powerful collective that is helping me to strengthen the impact of my efforts to serve others. From the beginning Springhouse was more than a job for me. Coming on full time in 2018 to join Roxanne in working at the school, I took a $10,000/year pay cut and found myself challenged in many new ways, and my life enriched beyond my imagining. There has been a harmonious synergy of giving and receiving challenge and fulfillment. 

This year I taught courses on 9/11 & the Global War on Terror and the American Political Crisis. I taught personal finance workshops on budgeting, credit cards and taxes. We took the whole school on trips to Washington D.C. and Montgomery Alabama. I led shape note singing. I danced together with students and coworkers every week. I mentored students struggling to find their way through the challenges of adolescence. As a school community we navigated conflict, grieved losses, celebrated growth, and laughed with exuberant joy.

We need education to do more than test-prep for a "good" college for a "good" job. We need a generation that can think beyond their immediate self-interests and offer genuine care for others; that can carry responsibility for the vulnerable and the generations to come. We need whole-hearted humans with self-awareness and the capacity to connect and collaborate. We need creative dreamers with practiced imaginations who can craft beautiful solutions beyond our current consciousness. This is the work we are doing at Springhouse. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn inspiring!

We (Chris & Roxanne) are trying to raise $10,000 of that $125,000 goal! Will you help us get there? 

GIVE TODAY!

We also get prizes for most unique donors, every donation makes a difference no matter the size. Your generosity and support is deeply appreciated!