Mike Cerino: Executive Director, Warminster Food Bank

When was the last time you ate? When was the last time you stopped at a Walgreens or CVS to pick up a necessary prescription, or drove to Costco to fill your car up with gas?

Now, when was the last time you had to choose between those things because you couldn't afford to take care of all three?

Mike Cerino is Executive Director of the Warminster Food Bank, located in Warminster, PA. Along with his assistant Melody Latare and other volunteers, Mike sees people forced to make such choices all too often.

Food insecurity can affect anyone at any time, given a sudden illness, job loss, or other challenging circumstances. Yet in the suburbs of large cities, as Warminster is to Philadelphia, food insecurity is unexpected and therefore often hidden in plain sight. The problem is compounded by the shame and embarrassment frequently felt by those in need.

The Warminster Food Bank strives to not only meet their guests' physical needs, but to treat each person with dignity and respect, building community and shared humanity along the way. Mike and Melody note that volunteers often get just as much out of their service to others as those receiving assistance.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we recognize the power of service, both to those served as well as those offering their service. We also know the importance of refusing to judge others' circumstances and instead bringing our transferable skills to help in any way possible.

With a budget that's risen by $4000/month since Covid, and at this time of year, the Warminster Food Bank is in greater need of food to serve those in need. Please visit www.warminsterfoodbank.org for a list of current foods needed, and to learn more. Tune in for these additional bits of Brilliance from Mike and Melody:

• I'm tired of people saying others show up in expensive cars to get a basket of food. When the Escalade you're driving becomes your house, it's not that an impressive a car any more.
• People are embarrassed and ashamed. The more we build awareness in the community, the more people will be able to come to us. The stigma of it will disappear.
• There's a hunger for people to be treated with dignity; there's a hunger for people to be treated with respect. That's (also) the hunger that we serve, which is why we call the people we serve our "guests."
• Food isn't a gift or a privilege, it's a right.
• Vision: To reduce or eliminate local food insecurity. Mission: To provide services to those in need in a way that preserves dignity and respect. Passion: to offer an outlet to those who want to help others so they can improve their lives.

Be of service and share your Brilliance. Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together.

XO,

Mary Fran

Anne and David Darling ~ The Farm at Catawissa Creek

How many times a day do you eat? How many times a day do you think about what and when you’re going to eat? (My husband says he can always tell when I’m talking to my mother because we’re talking about food!)

Now, how many times a day do you think about where that food is coming from?

Anne and David Darling, the young farmers who are the “stewards” and owners of The Farm at Catawissa Creek, and this week’s guests on the Brilliantly Resilient podcast, are intent on making others aware of our relationship to food. As young farmers, the Darlings are, sadly, a rare breed. Their passion for growing healthy food and encouraging others to appreciate farms and their place in our society is a welcome and necessary reminder of the importance of farming and the soil that provides our food.

Neither Anne nor David grew up as farmers, but their desire to be of service and answer a higher calling, along with an openness to the opportunities provided by the universe, led them to farming and each other.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we LOVE when folks find their Brilliance in service. When you lead with your heart, the best of you follows. The Darlings brought all of their transferable skills to their passion and are truly living a Brilliantly Resilient life. Be sure to check out the events, farm to table meals, workshops, yoga classes and the pure beauty of The Farm at Catawissa Creek.

Tune into the episode here, and be sure to listen for these additional bits of Brilliance:

• We wanted to attune to the highest possible good. What’s the highest good we can provide for not only humans, but the planet? Do something bigger than yourself.

• We are missing a relationship to the soil. Everything comes in a box, everything is packaged. We’re disconnected from soil and from nature.

• You have to think of soil as being alive. It’s a home for our food and so many creatures. We have to respect it.

• We bought our farm from a farmer who spoke to over 5000 people about selling his farm. The farm used to be the crux and central hub of the community.Young people are not going into farming.

Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

Mary Fran

Cole Aansen

Do you know anyone who is dyslexic? Whether you're aware of it or not, you probably do.

Cole Aansen, a Certified Literacy Intervention Teacher and this week's guest on the Brilliantly Resilient podcast, tells us that statistics show that 20% of the population is dyslexic, regardless of race, socio-economic status or any other measure.

According to Cole, Dyslexia isn't seeing words backwards, a common misconception. Dyslexia is about language processing. Those with dyslexia process the written word differently than those who learn in a more traditional way. Cole further notes, "Dyslexia isn't something you get over. It's a brain processing issue. You can learn strategies to navigate it, but it doesn't go away."

Using the Orton Gillingham approach, Cole uses a multisensory approach to teach others to read. With tools like finger tapping and writing sounds and letters in a sand tray with the fingertips (with 10,000 nerve endings, the tracing letters in the sand can send 10,000 messages to the brain to help learning), the multisensory approach helps to create more pathways in the brain.

Cole is creating materials for the learner unable to utilize a tutor to enable more students and parents to access this multisensory approach. With cards and a video course, Cole helps dyslexic readers to learn to read.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we celebrate differences. Yet a skill as basic as literacy is necessary to function in our society. When people like Cole share their passion for helping others master such a necessity, all ships rise.

Please support Cole's work and donate to her Go Fund Me page to help her make her learning materials accessible to all.

Thank you, Cole for sharing your important work!

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

Mary Fran