Our First Reading Circle — A Fundraiser + Decolonizing Action

You may remember the viral Decolonizing Healing video that moved so many of us to rethink how we show up in our bodies, communities, and land-based relationships.

Not long after, our new nonprofit entered into the world with a clear focus:

making healing accessible for those who have been most excluded from it.

Today, we are thrilled to announce our first official program under The Giving Cypress Foundation (TGCF): a Reading Circle designed not only as a fundraiser but also as a meaningful step in becoming better relatives—to each other, to our ancestors, to the land, and to the generations that follow.

📘 What Is the Reading Circle?

This isn’t a “book club.” We intentionally chose the term Reading Circle because language matters. For many in the Deaf community—especially those who have experienced linguistic deprivation or inconsistent access to language—the phrase book club can feel exclusive or connected to academic elitism.

By choosing Reading Circle, we are:

• Practicing trauma-informed language

• Naming and responding to histories of language exclusion

• Emphasizing collective meaning-making, not academic performance

• Centering relationship, reflection, and access over status or expertise

This is a space designed for community and healing—not judgment.

🌲 How You Can Support and Participate

Your involvement helps TGCF grow sustainable funding for community programs, scholarships, and future 2026 projects (which we’ll be announcing soon).

There are several ways to participate and support:

✨ Buy the Book and registration

Purchase Becoming a Good Relative through Hilary Giovale’s website or another retailer — proceeds support TGCF and Indigenous communities connected to the text.

🍵 Book + Tea Package

Pair your copy with Kindred Spirit Chai, supporting a BIPOC Deaf–owned herbal business (Bouquet of Basil Herbals).

🌿 Full Supporter Package

Includes the book, tea, and access to a virtual Forest Bathing session—a guided, relational healing experience.

All participation options include access to the Reading Circle itself.

👉 Make your gift or RSVP here:🔗 https://live.givebutter.com/c/TwYdcY

📅 Event Details

🗓 Sunday, January 25th⏰ 7:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM MST

This first gathering marks the beginning of what we hope will become an ongoing circle. During the session, participants will vote together on whether future Reading Circles should be held monthly and whether they should be mornings or evenings.

🤝 Who’s Facilitating

We are honored to be supported by: Lourdes Valenzuela and Summer Crider

• Summer will open the circle, offer introductions, and provide translation support.

• Lourdes will guide the discussion questions and lead an Ancestor Altar activity—a grounding and relational practice that invites connection and remembrance.

🌱 A Closing Intention

This Reading Circle is more than reading a book together. It’s an invitation to heal in community, to listen deeply, and to practice what it means to belong—to our stories, to each other, and to the wider web of life.

Thank you for supporting TGCF and for choosing care in how we gather, learn, and take action.

Together, we can make healing more accessible and more just. 🌿

👉 Support or join here:🔗 https://live.givebutter.com/c/TwYdcY