2019-2020 Gratitude Report Now Available

2019-2020 Gratitude Report Now Available

This isn’t your typical annual report.

But then, this isn’t your typical year. 

We usually publish a comprehensive Gratitude Report in late April, sharing stories of what you nurtured, supported, and inspired with your donations during the previous calendar year. This late winter and early spring, however, the world was just beginning to grapple with the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, our calendar—usually filled with transformational learning programs—was suddenly wiped clean. In late March through May, much of our team was furloughed and it didn’t feel like the right time to invest in producing a retrospective of 2019. Staffing is currently at about 35% of pre-COVID levels—including our furloughed kitchen team—and we couldn’t be here without you. We are so grateful to our community of donors, without whom our ongoing care of this vital place and our operational core would not be possible.  Read More →

December 3, 2020

An Invitation to Open Retreats

Photo by Tim Philips

An invitation to the land, beginning September 16.  To view all published retreat dates, learn more about this offering, and register, visit our Events page.

A Note from Thomas: Hello friends of the Whidbey Institute! We miss you!

In early March, we hosted our last program before the Big Pause of Extreme Uncertainty. We are navigating this disruption with care, consideration, and a willingness to make some difficult choices in these transformative times. And we have been listening to your requests. It’s clear that many of you need space and time away from the stress of your day to day life to rest, recover, reflect, and enjoy the calm beauty that our campus and woodland trails can provide.   Read More →

August 28, 2020

Leveraging a Shift: August 2020 Newsletter

“In a fractal conception, I am a cell-sized unit of the human organism, and I have to use my life to leverage a shift in the system by how I am, as much as with the things I do. This means actually being in my life, and it means bringing my values into my daily decision making. Each day should be lived on purpose.” —adrienne maree brown

Read More →

August 21, 2020

COVID-19 & Reopening Update

Our team has been working to incorporate guidelines from public health officials and Governor Jay Inslee in order to reopen safely. Now that Island County is in Phase 3 of reopening, we are approved to host so long as strict health and safety measures are in place. To keep volunteers, participants, and team members safe, we’re taking these and other measures:

• Requiring cloth face-coverings in shared indoor spaces
• Requiring 6′ physical distancing between guests
• Limiting program lodging to single occupancy, except for members of a household
• Providing hand sanitization stations throughout campus and posting signage to encourage good hygiene
• Limiting group numbers to ensure adequate space for physical distancing
• Adopting stringent housekeeping protocols and frequencies
• Limiting group sizes to ensure capacity for physically-distanced gathering and dining

Read More →

July 15, 2020

Moving Beyond Hashtags

Moving Beyond Hashtags: When #Blacklivesmatter Stops Trending on Social Media

by Christina Malecka

As someone passionate about tech-life balance and off-screen wellbeing,  I have a love/hate relationship with social media.

Yet, over the past month I have learned so much from thinkers like Nicole Pearson, Sonya Renee Taylor, and Ijeoma Oluo who have challenged me to more deeply interrogate systemic racism and my responsibility to dismantle it. Read More →

July 8, 2020