Dear Flawless Friends,
I hope this finds you well and enjoying the holiday season. At Flawless, we just wrapped up our action-packed year with a trip to New Hampshire where we attended Patrick Kennedy’s Mental Health for US “Unite for Mental Health” Town Hall. Our team of eight was spreading hope and amplifying critical messages from presidential candidates, advocates, and people with lived experience. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end 2019, or to end this decade!
One of the most impactful takeaways of the town hall came from former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick when he declared:
Mental Health IS Health!
As one of the pillars of our Flawless message and mission, we were thrilled that he voiced this simple but powerful statement. It is a hopeful indication that this holistic vision of health is continuing to take hold among the individuals and groups best positioned to create change.
In another memorable address that evening, Patrick Kennedy reminded attendees that every single one of us must participate in generating solutions for the rising rates of suicide, deaths by overdose, and the unjust incarceration of people living with mental health challenges. As an organization, Flawless is focused on educating people about the many ways to take meaningful action, large or small, and encouraging them to do so.
This year we have taken a big leap forward in using our platform to advocate for this public health crisis to a larger and more diverse audience than ever. In 2019, we doubled the size of our team, wrote 45 blog posts, and provided digital media coverage through our Flawless Strategies initiative at 25 events and conferences across 15 cities and 11 states. Most importantly, our internship program has continued to flourish and become even more central to our organization. On a daily basis, the young activists in our leadership program impress and inspire us with their intelligence, passion, and commitment. I am filled with hope that, in the coming decade, their energy will fuel the positive change we have been working for.
As we close 2019, we are reaching out to ask for your continued support in spreading the Flawless message of health and inclusion far and wide. We made monumental strides in this past decade as an organization and a national movement, and we have huge goals for 2020! Thanks to the generous support of one of our board members, every gift made through December 31st will be matched! This final week of the year is when your gift can have the biggest impact, so please consider helping us maximize this opportunity. Thank you for your ongoing belief in our work and for joining us in creating a flawless world where everyone is understood and embraced.
Wishing you and your loved ones a most Flawless New Year,
Janine Francolini
Founder
