Earlier this year, we celebrated the love and life of Ms. Bridgette Hempstead at a beautiful memorial led by her family. We are taking time to grieve Ms. B’s absence and celebrate the amazing life she lived.
As an incredible Communities Rise Capacity Building Coach for the last four years, Ms. B is famous for reminding us that “this is heart work not hard work.” We are committed to embodying the lessons and wisdom she left behind, bringing vulnerability and prioritizing relationships in all that we do. We’re proud to continue her work of building power in communities and lifting one another up to achieve our goals. We are all better for having lived and worked and loved with her.
More than 20 years ago, Ms. B founded her own nonprofit, Cierra Sisters, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of fear and increasing knowledge regarding breast cancer survival and support in African-American and underserved communities. She has left behind such a legacy – her mark lives on in all of us, her family, and the work that she dedicated so much to. You can read more about her health equity research advocacy and her commitment to building relationships in tributes from Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the South Seattle Emerald.
We chose not to make an end-of-year ask last month – instead, we hope you’ll consider making a gift of any size to Cierra Sisters in honor of Ms. Bridgette’s memory, mission, and values. Your support helps this amazing organization continue the fight against breast cancer in her name. You can follow them on Instagram for more information.
Rest in peace Ms. B, we miss you deeply.
Aimie, Amira, Andrew, Annie, Khyree, Livio, Melissa, Silver, Talya, Zach, and the rest of the Communities Rise family
