How do you find something that eludes almost everyone, even those who search for a lifetime? The secret is you have to look. That’s Ashley’s advice, when she’s commuting each way via ferry between Seattle and her home in Bremerton. What’s so elusive? Orcas, of course, Ashley’s favorite whales, which she has now seen 5 times during her daily commute.
Ashley is the new Coordinator for the Recovery Café Network, becoming the 3rd member of the team helping groups start Recovery Cafés in their communities. While she’s still figuring out everything she’s going to be doing in this new role, Ashley will be working to support the Network by helping with the administrative and logistical tasks, including administering the database that all of the Network members will use.
Many people come to Seattle for the great job prospects, the beautiful outdoors, or a myriad of other reasons. After visiting her brother in Seattle, Ashley decided to move out here because she loved the smell of the food on the streets, especially the coffee.
Ashley came to Recovery Café after completing her 2nd year with Americorps (her first year placed her in South Dakota), where she helped start a food recovery program at FareStart. Her mentor at FareStart introduced her to Recovery Café, and Ashley was compelled by our mission to learn more.
Though Ashley’s only been with the Network for a month, she dove right in when the Network hosted the 1st Recovery Café Network Rendezvous last week. The Rendezvous brought together all of the Cafés across the U.S. for a 2-day conference (Read more about the Rendezvous here).
Ashley’s favorite part of the Rendezvous was connecting with people from around the country who share the same passion as she. She loved hearing stories from the different communities, discerning their needs, and seeing how each Café has its own vision to best serve its particular community. Ashley shared that it’s hard to put into words the sense of community she felt over the 2 days, so how do you find the words to describe this experience?
Again, the secret is you have to look. Ashley says that the unconditional love at Recovery Café is contagious. This love is spreading to more and more communities, and these communities are taking it in and giving it back out. Ashley doesn’t need to put this experience into words; she’s busy helping the next group bring this love to their city.
Please join us in welcoming Ashley to the Recovery Café community.