Building Resilient Communities + CORE's Holistic Approach to Humanitarian Work - Ann Lee

2:36AM Apr 8, 2024

Speakers:

Jonathan McCoy

Becky Endicott

Ann Lee

Keywords:

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community

good

haiti

ann

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Hey, I'm Jon.

And I'm Becky.

And this is the We Are For Good podcast. Nonprofits

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Hey, Becky, whatcha thinking?

My grin is so wide today, because we are talking to an organization that has been pitched or repeated to us, at least, you know, half a dozen times in the last two months. So it feels kismet like we should be talking today. To CORE. Y'all I hope you know about core core is community organized relief effort. And we are overjoyed that Ann Lee, the CEO and co-founder at core has joined us and we're going to be diving into how do we build resilient communities and Ann has had more than 20 years of experience managing sort of these large scale humanitarian response. And she just happened to found this organization alongside Sean Penn. Yes, that Sean Penn, which I have to say is like the fifth most interesting thing about this nonprofit organization because what they are doing around the world to build international response and resilience building to crises in the Caribbean and Latin America, India, Pakistan, Ukraine, in around the continental United States, I'm sure you've seen some of their work, I am sure you have geeked out about their marketing and humanity like I have their social channels. But it's just an extraordinary organization and prior to CORE and was working for Hello, the UN's organization for coordination and humanitarian affairs. Isn't that epic? And she was a private sector liaison for the Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit. If this is someone who doesn't just see all humans and fight for their right to thrive, then I don't know who is. So we're going to dive a little bit into CORE we're going to talk about communities. But here's something that I really value about this nonprofit organization. They are envisioning a world where at risk communities are prepared for and able to respond or recover quickly and effectively in the face of emergency. And you all know the heart I have, specifically for Haiti. And when you apply this on the amplifying effect to so many communities around the world, it just gives me a lot of hope so Ann Lee we are so excited you're here we know you are this featured and amazing speaker at all of these incredible things like Clinton Global Initiative South by Southwest, I could name drop forever, but we just want to get to know the amazing human that you are. So Hi, and welcome to the We Are For Good podcast.

I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for giving us some time.

Well, I just really want to thank you for your heart, your energy, the decades that you've been pouring in, sort of at this intersection of social justice and aid and I think it's just going to be an extraordinary story and we have so much to learn from it but we want to start like at the beginning we don't think before we can talk about what the organization is or why you're doing it we want to know about and and how you got into this work. So take us back. Tell us about little Ann growing up and how she got this heart for justice.

Yeah, it's it's been a wild ride, definitely not a straight line, I think, you know, major world happenings have really shaped where I, where I've ended up. I think growing up being of first generation immigrant parents were was a huge factor that's led me to a life of service, like it was always instilled in us, like, we have to take care of our community, it's about communities about family. And it doesn't matter if you don't know somebody, they need a place to save their living with us for the next few months. So a lot of that was instilled very early on. And I think I was really lucky to kind of meander through life, figuring out what I didn't like, one of the things that really stuck out to me, and I've told this story once or twice. And not a lot of people know it. But essentially, growing up in high school, where, you know, Asians were not hugely represented in my community, I had seen this one large gentleman that was yelling at this woman in line, at the Panda Express and just being awful. And without thinking, I just upper cut him. In high school, you know, and it felt like, I just couldn't hold back the rage against the injustice that I kept seeing. So, you know, I, since then, thank goodness, for the most part, I've learned how to channel that in a more positive way.

You've become David to Goliath in a much more metaphoric sense now, too.

But I do think that that kind of was this awakening of, you know, I don't have to just sit in silence when I see something bad happening. So I think that's been something that has been an underlying theme throughout my life. You know, being in New York during 9/11. And watching the two towers fall was a huge moment, I thought I was going to join a law firm and, you know, go to law school. But when that happened, I completely switched courses and decided I'm going to join the Foreign Service. I'm going to take my background as an anthropologist and understand communities and why this thing could happen, why conflicts can get so bad. And that's what brought me to really getting into this world of of nonprofits and international aid and international assistance.

Wow. I mean, thank you for taking us back there and sharing that story. And I do think it's not just like metaphorical of what you did, like I think it, it shows how you have figured out these levers now that you're in this position. That doesn't just take care of the surface issues, though. I love about CORE. And as I've gotten to know, your organization and look forward to today, delving deeper is that, yes, there's things we need to fix on the surface. But there's so many systemic issues that we have to be in for that's long game, that's what we talk about. And it connects back to the heart of y'alls kitchen table of welcoming and the meaning of philanthropy of just like the love of humankind, at its core. And so I want to talk about I didn't mean to say core, but let's talk about like, I love your values. Yeah, I want to say your core values, isn't that my dad joke that's coming to you, because I love your values of like, empathy, and community, and there's so many we could just dive into, but give us some landscape for those new to your mission, like talk about the work that you do a little bit of your history, just to give us some context for this convo.

Sure. So I went through many years of working for very large, very well known international entities like the UN and and these large organizations that people will be familiar with. And they all have a role to play. Right? They do huge things at scale and are have built up major systems and structures to kind of maintain that. Meeting Sean in Haiti was also another one of these moments that switched my entire life around in that, you know, I've been working for a lot, a larger organization in Haiti for years when the earthquake hit. And then jumping into the space of immediate relief was really interesting, because Haiti was one of the first complex emergencies of its kind after the big tsunami in Asia, it was happening in an urban area. There's a lot of structures and systems that are already there. And yet, we were using these old ways of working, that have been created in rural disasters in this really, really complicated urban disaster. So when I was watching this kind of unfold, and we're kind of still stuck in these, you know, old ways of working, it just didn't feel right. And so it was really refreshing to meet Sean, you know, at a camp that he had been living in for nine months managing the largest displacement camp, and to have somebody who's so outspoken, who's so smart, that was like, there's no reason why we need to do it this way. Why aren't we doing it this other way? That makes so much more sense? Why are we continuing on, you know, just maintaining these large camps, and we should be trying to pull people out back into their homes, where they came from, and focus the majority of money on making those communities stronger than what they were before. And having that experience with him, and working that through with them. And having such a great sort of, you know, thinking partner, and action partner, somebody who has the bully pulpit, it was amazing, we were able to force our way outside of the old ways of working, and kind of working in this, this kind of bold and risk taking and adaptive way that, you know, a lot of these structures couldn't do, because they were so kind of stuck, right. So that was one of the biggest moments of creating that core value for us as an organization. You know, I so remember, clearly, when, when we went after the earthquake, there was, you know, all these estimations of how many buildings were destroyed. And, you know, it's going to take 56 years to remove the rubble for people to be able to move back into their communities. You know, there's like 100 million cubic meters of rubble. And it just felt so overwhelmingly impossible that it just kind of makes you want to give up and when you're in it, and you're seeing it, you see, you know, two stories full of just broken buildings, like it just affects you. So, you know, there's really no other choice. But for us, who had lost people in that process, who had lost people in the earthquake, like, like we did, me and my colleagues, were like, you know, what, everyone pick up a shovel and just start digging, right? And so, for us, that was like, That continues to be such a key cornerstone, to our ethos of just do it, you know, yes, it's an impossible task. But unless we start, we aren't going to actually do anything. Right. So what was amazing is that, you know, it's almost like catching a fire, right? It's like, when we started, you know, at the time, I was not working with Sean directly, I had my I was working for this other organization. But I jumped into the space of debris removal. I mean, I knew nothing about heavy equipment, debris, removal, doesn't matter. Figured it out, put tons of people at work on the streets, tons of heavy equipment, tons of trucks, Sean was like, immediately got it, he's like, we want to do the same thing, help us build our stuff, we did it, we became like two of the major organizations that were basically clearing out all of the rubble in Port-au-Prince. I mean, we ended up moving like, you know, millions of cubic meters of rubble, and debris. But the most important thing was like we opened up the space for aid delivery for communities to come back to be resettled back to where they came from. And it was an amazing sort of catalyst that also then brought in all of these are other organizations to do the same. And for us, because we are very conscious of like the learning piece to this and that it is hard to take risks, it is scary. You don't know what you don't know. So everything that we've done to kind of jump into spaces, first or early on, is to try to capture all the lessons, share the cost, share the learnings, share how to do it and put that out as quickly as possible, because we know that we aren't going to be able to do it alone. We need everyone else to pick up a shovel and just dig in with us. And and we saw that happen. So that's really stuck with us continuously. And it really played out in a big way during COVID.

Okay, there's so many things I want to say in response to that. But the first thing I want to do is pitch a question to the community right now. When is the last time that you have forced yourself out of the old way of working? Like think about that for a second? Because when you bring that up, I guess we're talking core values all day today, Jon, because I love it when our core values like intersect with other people's core values and our seven core values to disrupt, repeat, or disrupt, adapt, grow, repeat, and then That is what we're talking about is really embracing this new way. And kudos to CORE for understanding that collective impact is, is most set on fire when it's activated on the frontlines. And you got in there, you get your hands dirty, like for Is anyone else sitting back going? Sean Penn, the famous movie star slash activist. I mean, I'm channeling his Harvey Milk here, into the spirit of this was living in a camp in Haiti for nine months. Like that's wild. And it also shows how human this is, and how it is going to require many of us to pick up a shovel and get into the muck to figure it out. And so you have this really powerful quote, Sean, Sean has this very powerful quote that we that we read that really struck us. And he says that we were in an air, we were an airplane that built itself after takeoff. And that's a perilous ride in so many ways. And how it ended up surviving was the force of will of hundreds of people. And there's community is everything, core value number eight. So I want you to talk to us about this evolution within the organization since its launch, and what you've learned about community building since the moment you first picked up that shovel.

Yeah, so much of it is, I mean, there's so many different community groups that we rely on, and that that really kind of underpin all the work that we do. I think there's the the groups that believe in us are really singular, in that they are very familiar with risk taking. A lot of these folks are high, high net worth individuals that have created businesses from dreaming, right and have taken risks. Yeah, totally get it. And we need that flexible funding to be able to do the that work that, you know, the UN wouldn't kick off and start off, it's just not their place, they can't take those risks. So we take those risks with that flexible spending and flexible money. And then later on, we reduce that risk by doing it. And then we take it to scale with the UN, American Red Cross. USAID and all these other groups, because we've kind of proven the concept. So a lot of the very unique donors that we have, like get that because that's exactly how they started their businesses and how they've become so successful. There's that community that kind of allows us and pushes us to do what we do, then it's really the communities like what we find, and what everybody finds is that, you know, immediately after a disaster, it's not external folks that come in to save the day. It's really your friends and neighbors, colleagues, and, and, and, you know, local groups that save the most lives within like the first 24 to, you know, whatever, 72 hours. And so knowing that is so powerful, right? Because it's, it's all the power and all the things are just right, right around us. And it's about how we know people and who we know, and how do we connect with them. And I feel like we saw this so much during COVID. Without having community we really felt and we see the effects of that now, when you have to separate yourself out from your friends and your family and your community, how painful how, how much negative impacts that it has. So I think that understanding that community is so much of what we try to tap into as outsiders to support what's already there to support what's happening. And so we always say, you know, we try to do we respond from the inside out. And so it's really important for us, you know, I studied anthropology when I was an undergraduate. So like, I'm really into kind of, you have to understand the culture and like a language and like, what how people think and what they believe in, before you even can get to the place of, you know, this is what we could do together. Right. So I think that for us, it's always been so important that the minute we get on the ground, it's about hiring locally, finding the natural leaders that have kind of come out. And like a lot of these folks have never done this work before. You know, so a lot of our team members that we have now that have come from these disasters that continue and have continued to stay on with us. This is the first time ever working from for an organization. It's like school teacher, you know, a grandmother, we have like.

I love that, it's organic.

It's so beautiful.

It's amazing.

This is such a conversation of values because you're reflecting back to us even like the theory of change of like transformation from the inside out like that is a powerful force, especially knowing just how you're looking at it not just a disaster relief, it's this intersection of that and social social justice. So I want to talk about that specifically addressing the deeper roots of crises that you know, you are all involved with. So talk to us about how you're building these resilient communities. And specifically, I mean, how does CORE program like, turn that into program? Because we have a lot of people listening that are changemakers, right organizations that are like, I see this, this is the path, but how do I actually do this? You know?

Yeah, I think that there's so much good that's happening on the ground, it's really tapping in and kind of amplifying the stuff that's there. And I sometimes, you know, we see ourselves as kind of like the, the glue that sometimes pieces together, not just partners, but like, the capabilities to then kind of, you know, the sum of its parts is greater than the whole, right, or greater than its parts, whatever the sang is, the point is that I feel like, like having having that connective tissue is super important. And it is because there's so many communities in the U.S. and outside that have been struggling so long. So it's sort of like the, I guess, conceptually, how we look at it is, there's disasters that are happening very slowly, right. And that's marginalization, it's this social injustice, it's racism, it's economic exclusion, it's all these things that are just continuing on. And then you have this external shock, whether it's like a flood, an earthquake, you know, conflict, whatever it is, you're just kind of releases that valve, so everything becomes apparent, but it's not like it wasn't there before. So when we're responding to that particular shock, if we don't understand the stuff that's been happening, then we're only just putting kind of like a surface level type of support.

So true, keep going.

And what's the difficult part is, is that the general public, the media, and a lot of donors are very attracted to the immediate giving of that shock, right, and then it quickly moves away, you know, that shock is just a piece of like the larger disaster that's been happening and brewing. So, you know, looking at Haiti, it's not that Haiti just had, you know, seven point something, earthquake was not the issue, it uncovered all of these problems that have already existed there before. That's why it had such an impact. So for us, what we try to do is kind of, you know, look at a place and look at where is it and we have these overlaying maps of where is it that people are the most vulnerable, highest at risk, lowest economic standing, you know, who have the least amount of access to resources, and then we'll go there. And a lot of times, you can kind of, I mean, all this data is available. And so we go there, and we basically figure out like, who, who is doing work there that has trust already built in, that already has folks, you know, plugged in and doing stuff, it could be churches, it could be, you know, a library, it could be anything. And it's it's identifying that that connective tissue that we can tap into. And then it's really trying to grab some of the resources that people are really interested in giving for three days, and trying to bring that down, addressing immediate needs that are there. But also, we try to stay in and look at like, not just, here's stuff, here's, here's the water, here's the, you know, tarps and whatever. But like, can we get you back home in a repaired home that's now safer and drier and now, you know, strengthened, you know, so it's trying to stay on and look at beyond what that initial crisis was. And we have several examples of that where we're still working in Savannah, Georgia, since you know, the hurricanes that hit back in 2016 or 17. 2018, a hurricane hit the North Carolina we have an amazing team member there that's been running programs that went from hurricane relief like mucking and gutting, to roofing to house repair, to you know, COVID testing and wraparound services and food and all of the things and then now looking at the opioid crisis and our team, our team lead there who's his grandmother and worked for the the mayor's office before she retired as come on with us.

Go grandma.

Yeah, she's incredible. And she's the one she's from there. She lives there. She's of the Lumbee Tribe and they've been a marginalized community group for a long time and she's the one that's basically telling us, this is what our community needs. We need to focus on this. This is the current disaster of the day. And we're still there. You know, and I think that it's It's unusual. And it's, it's a hard, it's not easy. I have to be very honest. It's hard to get people interested, excited and to support the longer term work. But the way that we look at it is that's really the key. You know, and the disaster is really the entry point.

Okay, I gotta live some some nuggets that are just gold that I don't want anybody to miss here. One, I mean, we're talking about how do you build resilient communities, you are literally living out the playbook of how to do it with dignity, how to do it with locking arms, everyone has consented and and involved in the right way and storytelling in the right way. And I think that this is what I want people to know and to understand about what's so powerful about your work is you don't come in there saying, Oh, we've done this before. We've been to Haiti, we've been to India, we've been to Pakistan, it's like, no, no. How do we take your experts on the front line? How do we start to form community where community is already trusted. I mean, this is trust based leadership and community building, because you have to have that trust before you can ever take another step. And by building these partnerships, with people who are already there that are on the front lines that who understand the infrastructural challenges, who understand the politics, who understand the way that money and power move, this is so important. And I believe this is why you're so successful. And the reason that you are in the fact that you're still there right now. I mean, that was 2016, I have to tell you like that Savannah, earthquake, or hurricane was out of my mind, it's gone. That was like almost a decade ago, but you are still there, unpacking this piece and how empowering. And of course, your communities are going to be resilient, because you're showing up and you're doing the work with dignity. And so my hat's off to you CORE, I think this is the way and I think this hands on approach and this empowerment approach. And this what do you need? How else can we make this better? Or we're going to fail? Some and that's just part of it, you know, is a solution. So I just want to say and to you and the team bravo. I just think this is what thriving communities really should look like.

And it's not I mean, it's not for the faint of heart, it is so hard because it is such a hard quote unquote, sell and I hate to to angle in this way. But you know, we constantly have to fundraise. Right?

Yeah.

And trying to find support for these longer term pieces for these really difficult complex, you know, human and cultural and systemic issues. Are, it's just nearly impossible to fundraise for. But it's so important. And so, you know, it's, I'm really glad that you look at our social media stuff. And it's like, oh, it looks really good. Because I'm always like,

It's human.

It's so hard to explain what we do people are like, but what is it that you guys actually do? And it's like, well,

They ask us that, too. We don't know what We Are For Good is, you know, it's iterating all the time. So I feel you.

Okay, good. I'm glad we're not the only ones, because it is you know, a lot of times is much easier to be like the water group, right? The water organization, we give water, it's so fundamental to kind of touches this like very, you know, primal thing in all of us. But, you know, for us, it's like, well, we figure it out, we figure things out and work with communities to improve their situation and try to leave structures that will strengthen their communities. Terrible, terrible, 10 second elevator pitch record.

No, I'm bought in, I just think that it is it's not just a singular focus, you know, which is what everybody tells you in marketing you need to grab, but when you are rebuilding systems and structures, it's heavy. And I kind of want to would take it from the 10,000 foot view of the theoretical down to the practical, like, talk to us about some of these programs, like explain to us how they're funded and how that's connecting the dots back on the frontlines.

Sure, I think we have such an interesting range of activities that we're doing. So we have a huge health component that we never imagined doing until after or during COVID. We're doing a lot of health access. That came out of our ability to kind of get into these hard to reach communities that have no trust in government and these institutions. But because we developed such a strong relationship with these communities because we worked through and with trusted intermediaries and community leaders, now we've become kind of a trusted entity, ourselves. So we're working in all, almost all of the health districts in Georgia, for example, we have mobile units, and we're providing health access. And that's been a hugely wonderful program that kind of came out of moving into COVID. And we have everything from that to like our climate related activities in in California, we just kicked off a program in Siskiyou County that's looking at making homes safer from fires. So it's working with communities, to essentially clear brush, clear roadways, make sure that there's like an evacuation plan, everybody's informed and knows what to do where to go. It is a high risk, fire county. And so we're working very closely with the county in these communities to kind of get that information pre plan, you know, make sure that everybody knows what to do, while also ensuring that their homes are as safe as possible from from these fires. We have, you know, internationally, we work in Haiti still, I mean, right before coming on to this podcast, I was talking to our Haiti team about our distribution for food aid to, unfortunately, you know, hundreds of families 1000s of families that have been displaced because of the violence, and this is still within Port-au-Prince, you know, and managing sort of what does it look like? How do we do this on a day to day basis, when you don't know if the streets are going to be open for our teams to safely cross. We're still in Ukraine, and Ukraine programming are teams that are just phenomenal. I mean, they're still shelling every single day and they're out there, you know, so close to the frontlines, and they're providing materials and support looking at longer term like housing construction and, and rental support to the displace. And I mean, it's just, again, its activities. It's been, it's an, it's an amazing place to be for somebody who has ADD.

Me too. Put me in Coach.

Yeah, we're very lucky.

This conversation, the way that you'll go about this work. There's such a kinship here, because it's like, this is the things that we talk about, you're actually doing these the hard things. And I'm thinking of a conversation we had recently with Liza Miller at Echoing Green. And, you know, they're talking about how do we shift the way that people fund the things that they're funding getting more funding to BIPOC leaders and organizations? How do we actually switch the script on getting unrestricted funding? And the answer, one of the thesis of that conversation that dropped a few weeks ago, was we have to have our collective voices in this, if you are raising money, we're part of that collective power to change how people talk about this. This is a call for everybody listening, this is the way to solve systemic issues. And each of us have a role to play, whether it's at family dinner table talking about that so we can move off of the three day high of funding things. Or if you have the entry point to talk to some of these funders that are moving large sums of money, we have to have these conversations. So that's one takeaway that I feel like everybody can feel in this moment, regardless of your seat in the house, any house. But what are some other core tenants that are kind of bubbling to your mind, as you think about the change makers listening today? What are some things that can be implemented, whether that you've really seen work for your organization of how you show up, or just advice that you give us to all take action?

So I think, you know, going back to sort of the funding piece to it, it's, we the system that's been created is so poisonous, and I think it needs to be completely destroyed. It's really frustrating. Ideally, you would want to have a coordinated effort on the ground, where you lift the burden off of the shoulders from the folks that are going through crisis. But it's the opposite. It's like it's a supply driven model. It's like all of us who have things we come in, and we're like, okay, if you want this, you have to come here, you have to provide this, you have to do this, you have to do that. And but if you want this, you gotta go here. And some people don't have access to information, they don't have accessibility to get to someplace. Again, so much stuff that we learned that I never imagined would happen in the United States. Again, most of my work has been personally, externally. But, seeing this in the United States was a huge eye opener. So we put the onus on the people who are going through a crisis to figure this out, filling out a FEMA application like language barriers, technology barriers, you know, all this stuff, puts them at constant like, imagine your stress of like trying to manage

the trauma, the anxiety,

you're not having a roof over your head, you might not have, you know, clothes. You got to figure out where to go for food, where to go. I mean, it's just, it feels very badassward. So we have a very supply driven model. And the system needs to switch to a more demand driven model, where we can meet people where they are, I mean, with all the technology that we have with Uber and DoorDash, and all kinds of stuff like, how the hell have we not figured this out?

Literally. Funder. Tech genius. Where are you like, we need your talent, we need your funding, we need your door open, we need your network, we need your story like now is the time I, I feel this really deeply, Ann.

Yeah, it's not there. And I mean, all the tools are there, and we're not using it. So to me, it points to a larger, systemic issue of the people who have control of the funding. I think that the systems domestically as well as internationally, they've created a system of competition amongst organizations where we're competing over scarce resources, it's an element that will always be there, right, because we're going to be competing for resources with the public, and so on and so forth. But it's done in such a way that you're in a space together. And there is not a lot of incentive for cooperation and partnership. And that is extremely poisonous. I think that doesn't serve the population, it creates a lot of waste. It's just it's not right. And I think I've seen something in COVID. That is hopeful in that I've seen a large donor that has basically convened a table saying, I'm only giving this money out, if we can all work together, and make sure that we're each carrying a piece and I will ensure that the work that you're doing to coordinate will be covered, those costs will be covered. I mean, it was very, very eye opening to me that there is a different way to do this. But it's not been kind of codified. And that to me is a problem. It's too bad that that's a unique situation, rather than the norm.

Yeah, and if this is conversation is really resonating with you a really, I will put this in the show notes. But we did an entire series on the power dynamics that exist in the nonprofit and the social impact sector. And if you want to check it out, it's weareforgood.com/power. And we talked about the pay conversation, we talked about power dynamics with grants and funders and paid leave. And we went deep into this. And I just want to encourage you to get educated about this because it's going to start Jon to your point at the kitchen table, it's going to start at the watercooler it's going to start in the board room, socializing and understanding what the repercussions are. And in the most simplest form, it slows us down. Yeah, power slows us down. And so we really believe that story is the way to start uplifting and shifting mindsets. And I would love to pitch it to you Ann. And just say do you have a story that has stayed with you and your life story, maybe of philanthropy maybe of generosity or kindness like what's the one that has stuck with you that you'd share with our community today?

Yeah, I think those stories have to come out. I mean, there's so many great examples, I think that came out of COVID, especially in the Navajo Nation of mutual aid groups. And to me, that was so awesome. The amount of collaboration, there was an example of how things should happen. It was rad. You had so many aid groups, not even like formalized nonprofits, it was it was communities that came together to try to you know, get resources and just get it out to their community members as quickly as possible. And so when, when we were asked to come in to support what we were doing, were we were just kind of filling in the gaps and being supportive, by you know, building emergency shelters and, you know, adding to hygiene kits and we asked you know, our partners we work with them often in a lot of disasters, World Central Kitchen, to come down and provide, they're amazing, to provide all of the food. And so they came in like that, nope, not even any hesitation they came in and they did all the food distribution alongside our hygiene kits so that they can go out together to these families. You know, and again, it was like this incredible and again, you know, I think it's rare, because we have such a long history and a friendship and so much mutual respect for each other that you We can do that with certain organizations. But I do think that the mutual aid world is growing, and it's really exciting and awesome to watch. It's now, you know, we want to figure out how do we support that? How do we, you know, take that to scale? How do we bring attention to that? You know, we're seeing that in Sudan, right now, a lot of the internationals are unable to work there. And so what we have are groups, that were not necessarily doing this particular type of, you know, whether it's food or cash transfers, or whatever it is, they weren't doing that before they were civil society groups, but now they've transformed into these groups, because they have to, there's nobody else there who's doing this work. And they're so amazing and phenomenal. And, you know, again, it's sort of, they are the prime example of, of how aid should be done on the ground. And the unfortunate part is, there's no visibility on what they're doing. There's no sort of, you know, movement to fund Sudan on any sort of scale. They're kind of working with little tiny amounts of money as best they can. And on top of that, some very well known, very powerful donor groups and international agencies are, are suggesting modalities that put them at greater risk, you know, and it's like, why, you know, we need to trust what's happening locally, we need to trust what people are, are doing from their own from inside, you know, and it's, yeah, I can go on.

I just, I love this idea of community just coming together and showing up. But you're right, we got to do it safely. So phew.

I mean, Ann what a, what an impactful conversation this has been, I just feel like this is one that we're going to keep pointing back to, of just how you bake your values, how you live your values out loud. And so I want to kick it to you. Our last question is always asking for your one good thing. People interpreted a lot of different ways that can be a mantra that you personally have, or a good habit or a piece of advice, or just something you feel moved to share with the community today.

My one good thing, it's just it's so easy, because, you know, I often go out to see our teams and see the work on the ground and, or respond with the teams. And, you know, I get so caught up on the day to day of like all of this stuff that's happening in the world. That's so depressing. And the politics, we're coming up around the elections. And it's like, so depressing, scary. And I'm like, what is this world? Until I go to respond to a disaster, or I'm out there with the team in Ukraine or Haiti or wherever people are good. Generally, people are good. When shit hits the fan, you see the best in humanity, I cannot tell you right after COVID. When, you know, two weeks into the crisis, when we were staffing up and asking volunteers without knowing we did not know how scary this thing was. Remember, we were all like, wiping our groceries down and wearing hazmat suits and stuff, a whole bit. We never had a shortage of people who raise their hands, to staff up all have our testing sites. And we had 1500 People in Los Angeles within like the first few months, when it was like the scariest time. And I'm always reminded that yes, the world is scary. There's terrible things happening in the world. But humans are good. We're good people. And when should it's the fan, we see that more often. Unfortunately.

I think we can always look for the good. I mean, we're ridiculous idealist. So of course, we're looking for it all the time. But it's healing. It's centering, it's recharging. And if you're someone right now that's struggling to find that good. I just want to tell you the same thing that I want to say to Ann right now and her team. Thank you for showing up today. Thank you for what you do on the front lines on the back of house, wherever you are in between the way that you're pushing good into the world. It mean, mean more right now than it ever has. Whatever you're doing is enough, you are enough and I thank you and and people are gonna want to get to know CORE and I want to pitch it to you and say where do they connect with you? Where can they connect with CORE and I even want to give you some space to say what's CORE's greatest need right now? How can this community show up for you?

I think well they can look for us on our website. It's coreresponse.org Get to know us. I'm very easily available. It's just ann at coreresponse.org. And in terms of what we need, we always need flexible funding. That's like the most important thing, but we always Need like good, smart, capable, excited, and kind of well rounded folks who are ready to kind of jump in and do the work. So, yeah.

If that's you, come check out CORE. And if you just want to get inspired, like come on over to their Instagram, or to their X account, because they're just doing extraordinary things. They're telling incredible stories, they're doing it with humanity and dignity. And you can literally watch the resiliency of communities playing out in real time on the digital stage. So Ann, you just keep going, we don't want to slow your roll whatsoever, because you are a force for good. And we're just here for the change that you're creating in the world. Thank you and your team.

Thank you for opening up the platform to us. And it's just really great to talk to people who get it and that we can kind of nerd out with. I'm always always down for a nerd out session. So thank you.

Totally, and we are your unrestricted warriors. We get it. This community gets the unrestricted. Keep going, my friend We're rooting for you.

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