Membership, meaningful work, and peer relationships drive every gear at BIND, The Brain Injury Network of Dallas.
What does this mean, exactly?
BIND serves more than 100 survivors of traumatic brain injury, stroke and brain cancer annually in Plano through a program model referred to as “Clubhouse.” At BIND, survivors are considered Members, not medical patients, and claim responsibility for making decisions and directing the daily operations of the program. The typical day at BIND is structured around meaningful work. Members choose to complete tasks that directly support the operations of the Clubhouse – from orienting volunteers, answering the phone or giving tours, to advocating for brain injury services, writing a newsletter, preparing lunch or cleaning the building. Members work side-by-side with staff and volunteers and interact with them as peers. Through this relationship, Members receive necessary supports after formal medical rehabilitation has ended while maintaining ownership over their service planning throughout their lives.
What does this have to do with fundraising and North Texas Giving Day?
BIND approaches fundraising from within the program, and North Texas Giving Day provides an excellent vehicle with which to engage our Members, staff and volunteers together. One Member, Carrie, survived at stroke at the age of 38 several years ago and continues to make recovery gains through her membership at BIND – including returning to work recently. Below, she describes how the Members issue a walking challenge to our North Texas Giving Day donors and the personalized contact that follows.
According to Carrie, “Being involved with Giving Day as a Member is one of the most rewarding ways to give back to BIND. We (as survivors) are able to have a voice, share our purpose, spend time with our friends, and thank those that donate to us on a personal level. We check the donations each hour of Giving Day and walk a lap in the office park for every set amount that comes in, prepare handwritten thank you notes (people don’t do that enough anymore!), and we educate people at Giving Day events about what BIND does. We have a ton of fun on social media leading up to the big day by promoting and educating people about brain injury. Because BIND gives each Member the power to be involved with fundraising, we have a stronger sense of being needed and that gives us purpose on this unique day.”
By Valerie Gotcher, BIND founder and executive director
* Graphic and photo provided by BIND
In nine years, Communities Foundation of Texas‘ North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $195 million into the North Texas community. In 2017, $39 million was raised through more than 118,000 gifts benefiting over 2,000 nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 20, support BIND by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay