February 23, 2021 by Angela

Help Raise Awareness About Brain Injury

Join the #MoreThanMyBrainInjury Campaign

At least 5.3 million adults and children in the U.S. are living with brain injury-related disabilities.

That’s one in every 60 people.

If you know someone who is living with brain injury – or if you have one yourself – you know that brain injury is not an event or an outcome. It’s the start of a misunderstood, misdiagnosed, underfunded neurological disease. Brain injury is often called the “silent epidemic” because public recognition of the injury is low despite the high number of people who are injured each year. The effects of brain injury are also often invisible to an unknowing observer.

Join the #MoreThanMyBrainInjury campaign to help:

Educate others about what it’s like to live with a brain injury
Increase understanding of brain injury as a chronic condition
Reduce the stigma associated with having a brain injury
Showcase the diversity of injury and the demographics of the community
Improve care and support for individuals with brain injury and their families

Ways You Can Help

Donate or fundraise to help ensure no one is alone after a brain injury.

Despite the pandemic, people are still experiencing brain injuries. There are few services available to help people adjust to the significant life changes that can happen after a brain injury. This year, Schurig Center has seen an increase in people contacting us for help, and the number of people we serve living on a low income has increased to 75% of our clients. With your help, we hope to raise $20,000 in March 2021. Your donation or personal fundraiser today will help provide access to continued rehabilitation, education, and support to hundreds of survivors and their family members this year. You help improve lives and abilities. Thank you!

Share your story.

If you or a loved one is living with the effects of a brain injury, share your story on your social media accounts using the hashtag #MoreThanMyBrainInjury.

Know the facts.

At least 3.6 million people in the U.S. sustain brain injury each year. Want to learn more? Click here to learn more about brain injury.

Connect.

Talk with someone with a brain injury and listen to their story. Invite someone you know living with a brain injury to social gatherings or for a fun day out. Humans are hard-wired for connection with others. Isolation and loneliness are common for people living with the effects of a brain injury. Even a simple gesture like a phone call or email to say “hello” can send a meaningful message to a friend living a brain injury that they are not alone.

Speak out.

Advocates like you are our greatest asset. Why not write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining to your community why they should care about brain injuries. Write a positive review about Schurig Center’s programs on Great Nonprofits, Yelp, Google, or Facebook. Your kind words will help more survivors discover and benefit from our healing services and connect us with more potential donors to help fund our mission.

Why #MoreThanMyBrainInjury?

Many people with disabilities have their lives defined for them. The More Than My Brain Injury campaign gives individuals a chance to overcome those definitions, allowing them to tell their own stories and change the narrative of their lives. If you haven’t seen it yet, we invite you to watch “New Normal,” an 8-minute film by filmmaker Andrew Hida about Pam and Jeff’s stories.

July 10, 2019 by Angela

Connecting with Furry Friends that Help People See the World

Schurig Center’s latest Community Integration group outing happened in May with a visit to Guide Dogs for the Blind, a leading guide dog school serving people who are blind or visually impaired.

The Guide Dogs team warmly welcomed a group of Schurig Center participants, volunteers, and staff for a walking tour of the San Rafael campus to learn all about their guide dog programs, from birth and puppy socialization to training and pairing with prospective clients.

After the tour, the Schurig group wrapped up the day with lunch and an extra special art project to reflect on what they had learned during the visit – each person created and shared an original art piece depicting their very own dream guide dog.

Community Integration… Why It Matters

Community integration outings like this one are important to the recovery process of our participants. Isolation is often one of the greatest challenges facing people living with the effects of a brain injury. These group outings help keep people active and connected by providing an opportunity for participants to:

Re-engage with the community
Build confidence through personal interactions with new people
Practice communication and social skills
Support one another through cooperation and peer-to-peer support
Increase their sense of independence
Participate and not just be an observer
Access experiences and activities that may not otherwise be available to them

The outings are also a wonderful way for members of the community-at-large to learn more about brain injury as well as to meet and get to know people living with the effects of a brain injury as unique, valuable individuals, not just as their disability.

Our community is truly stronger when everyone is included!

Thank you!

Big thanks to Keith Rosenthal and the rest of the awesome team at Guide Dogs for their time and enthusiasm to make this memorable “warm and fuzzy” day possible for Schurig’s group.

No one should have to go through brain injury alone.
Your generosity helps ensure no one does.

Schurig Center’s innovative programs are powered by the giving of foundations and individual donors, like you. We hope you’ll join us in making critically-needed services, like the Community Integration Program, possible by donating today. Your gift ensures everyone in our community has the opportunity to live happily, meaningfully, and fully. Thank you!

June 5, 2018 by Angela

The Most Killer Tomato Plant Sale Ever

In case you missed it, “the most killer tomato plant sale ever” was held at Schurig Center over three days in May.

Michelle, Karen, Midge and Lise
get ready for the sale

More than 400 healthy tomato plants made their way to new homes throughout Marin. The plants were grown from seed by clients who participate in the center’s weekly “Green Thumb Club” with volunteer Master Gardener Karen Halvorsen.

According to Karen, “The clients really put amazing heart and energy into these plants and this sale. With their help—including sneaking a few more seeds into those pots than I expected – we grew a record number of plants this year! I honestly wasn’t sure how we were going to sell them all. But clients really stepped up. I’m grateful to them and to our new and repeat customers. Now we’ve got more room for our next project!”

The tomato sale project was part of Schurig Center’s Thursday STAR Academy Class, which supports clients with opportunities to practice life skills and feel successful while engaging with their community. The word “STAR” stands for “Survivors Together Achieving Results.”

Each member of the team contributed to making the sale a success. Leading up to the event, participants worked together to make signs and took part in a mini marketing class.

Alyssa preps to help shoppers select a plant

On the day of the sale, self-proclaimed ‘tomato selling fiend’ Lisé and teammate TK shared their enthusiasm on the street to entice passersby to stop in. While others, like Alyssa, helped shoppers select from an array of colorful heirloom tomatoes varieties, like Green Zebra and Berkeley Tie-Die, using display cards that explained each tomato’s qualities.

The sale was well-attended and even had a few VIP’s stop by…

“One of our customers said he is even on the City Council, how cool is that? But seriously, this was really great because my dream before my brain injury was always to have my own dress shop, so today I got to practice what it’s like being a sales person. It was a blast!” beamed tomato salesperson extraordinaire Michelle.

TK inviting passersby to stop in

Program Coordinator Sara Chambers shared, “It was great to see how our sale and the learning and preparation that led up to it really helped clients experience the full cycle of their own skills and industriousness. From growing and nurturing the plants, to conceiving and creating marketing materials, planning the sale, and interacting with customers and community members, they were able to participate at every level of the process and know that they really made this happen! And all while raising funds to make projects like this and all the other great things we do at the center possible!”

As much as possible, therapists and educators at Schurig Center strive to ensure that the recovery work clients do is generalizable to clients’ lives in the community and at home.

“Understanding that sticks with a person often happens better when there’s a full-cycle experience to tie it to,” added Sara. “This project gave us that full-cycle aspect with built-in steps that as a group we could take together toward a tangible goal.”

Thank you to all who stopped by to take home a plant!

We hope the plants will bring joy to your home every time you enjoy a fresh tomato wedge in your salad or a delicious bowl of pasta smothered in fresh tomato sauce.

Very Special Thanks to Master Gardener Karen Halvorsen
Karen’s dedication, amazing green thumb, and countless hours of volunteered time help bring enjoyment and peace to all who visit the garden at Schurig Center.