Schurig Center for Brain Injury Recovery

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October 17, 2024 by Angela

Your Generosity Helps Turns Strokes of Paint Into Strokes of Healing

A Special Message from Schurig Center’s Art Director, Midge Casler

I want to share something deeply meaningful that I believe will touch your heart – how your support helps people heal through the transformative power of art.

photos of artists painting

When someone experiences a brain injury, it’s not just the body that suffers. The mind, emotions, and spirit are all affected in profound ways. Simple things we take for granted, like speaking, remembering, and moving, suddenly become mountains to climb. However, the greatest struggle for many is the loss of identity and a life once known, the sense of isolation, and the emotional scars that are invisible to the outside world. This is where Art Therapy helps.

Art Therapy is not just about creating art; it’s about rebuilding one’s sense of identity. Each stroke of the brush, each color chosen, tells a story of resilience and healing.

While traditional medical treatments play an essential role in recovery, there is something profoundly healing about creative expression that often goes overlooked. But I can personally attest to the incredible healing power of Art Therapy because I witness it in action every day in Schurig Center’s art studio.

This healing magic is made possible by your giving!

In Art Therapy group, a variety of art forms are used to enhance a person’s cognitive, physical, and social abilities while supporting their psychological well-being. Each class begins with a calming, sensory-awareness exercise followed by one or more creative activities, such as visual arts, movement, writing, and music. At the end of class, participants share their experience with one another.

Schurig Center for Brain Injury Site Icon The creative process is a powerful rehabilitative tool. Creating art engages the entire brain helping to build new neural connections through a process called neuroplasticity. This stimulation can lead to improvements in areas such as focus, concentration, memory, cognition, communication, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving.

Schurig Center for Brain Injury Site Icon Art therapy provides a space for survivors to express complex feelings, process trauma, and rediscover parts of themselves they thought were lost. I’ve seen survivors who were once filled with frustration and despair find joy and calm as they put paint to canvas. I’ve witnessed tears turn into smiles as someone who felt invisible begins to feel seen, heard, and understood.

Schurig Center for Brain Injury Site Icon Art therapy fosters a sense of community and reduces isolation. Survivors create side by side in a supportive environment of understanding that reminds them they are not alone in this journey. People form strong bonds with one another, which is often even more vital to their healing than the art itself.

What’s truly remarkable is seeing someone rediscover parts of themselves they thought were gone – their confidence, their ability to connect with others, and their sense of self-worth. Some of the most touching moments I’ve witnessed is when survivors share their artwork with their families and the community through our art shows. The pride that comes from seeing others understand their emotions through art is indescribable. It fosters connection, empathy, and healing in ways that other therapies cannot.

Your generosity helps fund this life-enhancing program as well as the 12 other rehabilitative and supportive services offered at Schurig Center. This unique array of brain injury services is not available anywhere else in our area and they rely on community support. Over 80% of the revenue needed to offer Schurig Center’s programs is provided by foundations and individual donors like you. You are truly at the heart of the healing that happens at Schurig Center.

If you are in a position to help, I hope you’ll join me in improving lives and choose to donate to Schurig Center today. I can assure you that gifts of all size will help improve lives.

Photo of Midge C.Please know your donation is not just about funding programs. Your gift gives someone a chance to heal in ways that traditional therapies sometimes cannot. Because of you, brain injury survivors have the chance to engage in supportive programs that help them begin to rebuild their lives – piece by piece. You are a part of their journey. The impact of your generosity ripples through their entire recovery, helping them regain their confidence, autonomy, and sense of self.

                    From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.

                    Sincerely,
                    Midge Casler, MA
                    Art Program Director

     

photos of artists painting

Filed Under: Art & Music, Art Shows, Blog, For Survivors, Therapeutic Art Tagged With: aneurysm, apashia, art therapy, brain injury, brain tumor, charity, concussion, do good, donate, marin county, rehabilitation, San Francisco Bay Area, stroke

December 22, 2023 by Angela

Why Your Support Matters

A Special Message from Dr. Gary Abrams

photo of Dr. AbramsI am a Professor of Neurology at the University of California San Francisco and have worked in the neuro-recovery field for 40 years. I am delighted to serve as a volunteer member of Schurig Center’s Board of Directors because their programs play an essential role in helping people heal and fill gaps in the continuum of our health care system.

As many of you may know, our health care system provides only limited support for patients beyond the early rehabilitation phase of treatment after a traumatic brain injury, concussion, stroke, and other types of brain injury. However, the journey to reaching one’s full potential is often a prolonged process and most effective with access to continued support and community re-integration.

With your generosity, this is where Schurig Center helps.

The enriched environment of Schurig Center picks up where health care leaves off by providing long-term restorative therapies, personal growth activities, and opportunities for social engagement. I have long recognized these are critical components for optimal recovery, but they are often difficult to access in our community.

Without a place like Schurig Center, many people end up isolated, depressed, declining in their abilities and health, and potentially, back in the hospital system.

The need for organizations like Schurig Center cannot be over emphasized.

Schurig Center is the only place I know of that helps address this need by offering an array of supportive “whole person” services and a community that cares for both survivors and their families. Staff work with a talented group of medical advisors who consult on program design to ensure services are high quality and effective.

I’m reaching out to you today because it’s critical for the center to have support from community members, like you and I, to carry forth its mission. Schurig Center is a nonprofit that does not receive medical reimbursements or federal funding.

I can’t stress enough how much your giving matters. Through your generosity, you have the power to help ensure your fellow community members living with a brain injury don’t fall through the cracks in our health care system. Please join me in helping to ensure this vital community resource continues to be available.

If you are in a position to help, please donate today and give as generously as you can.

On behalf of the people whose lives your caring touches, thank you. I can assure you your gift will be used wisely and will go far in helping hundreds of people this year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gary Abrams, MD
Schurig Center Board of Directors
Professor of Neurology, UCSF

Filed Under: Blog, Staff & Board of Directors, Ways You Can Help Tagged With: aneurysm, art therapy, brain injury recovery, brain tumor, charity, cognitive therapy, concussion, do good, donate, give, healthcare, Marin, medical, nonprofit, San Francisco Bay Area, stroke, support groups, tbi

February 23, 2021 by Angela

Help Raise Awareness About Brain Injury


more than brain injury icon

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.

YouTube video

Filed Under: Blog, Community Integration, For Family & Caregivers, For Survivors, Ways You Can Help Tagged With: #MoreThanMyBrainInjury, aneurysm, brain injury, brain injury awareness month, concussion, donate, San Francisco Bay Area, stroke, tbi

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Recent Posts

  • Your Generosity Helps Turns Strokes of Paint Into Strokes of Healing
  • Inside/Out: Unmasking the Inner Journey of Brain Injury Survivors
  • Why Your Support Matters
  • New Board of Directors Chair and Vice Chair Appointed

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1132 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA 94939
(415) 461-6771
501(c)(3) Charity #68-0105213
Legal Name: Marin Brain Injury Network



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