Regional Coordinator

A Note on Celebrating, Thriving, & Surviving – A Letter to Partners

November 7, 2025

Dear Health Partners,

This has certainly been a year of change and as the government shutdown drags out, local residents and the agencies who serve them are bracing for more disruption. 

“It’s okay if all you did today was survive.” 

I see that phrase used a lot on social media. 

Kyle, who serves as Coordinator for the Caswell Chapter, recently reminded me that the phrase also applies to community-based organizations and others who are navigating the rapidly evolving funding and regulatory landscape. 

Community-based organizations, local government staff, and local leaders have been working hard for DECADES to do more and more with less. They’ve created innovative solutions and unlikely partnerships and they’ve made it work. 

Now, they are TIRED. Many public health professionals and community service providers report a sense of whiplash. Having only just recovered from the chaos of COVID, they are now once again facing uncertainty. 

Many here in the Dan River Region had only just begun to believe that it was possible to truly THRIVE. Some of them are now once again struggling to SURVIVE. 

If we’re not careful we’ll find ourselves trapped in that survival mode – all of us, our organizations, and our communities. Living in that constant state of survival isn’t healthy for any of us, or the people and organizations we serve. 

I invite you to explore Living in SURVIVAL vs. Living in CREATION or the lessons learned in the 2022 paper, Beyond survival mode: Organizational resilience capabilities in nonprofit arts and culture fundraising during the Covid-19 pandemic and consider how operating in survivor mode might be impacting you or your organization. 

“It’s okay if all you did today was survive.”

That too should be celebrated and we intend to do just that while we hold up and celebrate our region’s Change Makers at the January 14th Health Summit. 

Nominate a Change Maker

The Health Collaborative’s Change Makers Award highlights and celebrates organizations, community groups, and/or individuals who are going above and beyond to improve the health and well-being of the Dan River Region, prioritizing HEALTH EQUITY, IMPACT, and COMMUNITY BUILDING. We will celebrate these Change Makers and their efforts on Wednesday, January 14th at the Health Summit.

Nomination Guidelines: Nominated efforts must impact Caswell County, NC; City of Danville, VA; or Pittsylvania County; should have taken place between January 1, 2024 and November 1, 2025; and should value HEALTH EQUITY, IMPACT, and COMMUNITY BUILDING.

Please show your support for those who continue to work so hard to improve the health and well-being of the Dan River Region by nominating them for The Health Collaborative’s Change Maker Award by Friday, November 28, 2025.

While we’re talking about all those people and efforts that are worth celebrating, be sure to check out this fantastic interview from the True North Speaker Series with the Chair of The Health Collaborative’s Coordinating Committee, Dr. Danielle Montague. 

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As always, I invite you to explore, contribute to, and subscribe to our online newsletter, News and Notes of additional resources, tools, and opportunities.

I also invite you to join us for a local chapter meeting or pop in to any of the upcoming community events hosted by our partners. By working together, stakeholders across our region have been able to accomplish things that were once thought to be impossible. We’re used to doing hard things because we’re willing to do them together. We will survive. And we will THRIVE!

-Shannon

Click to RSVP for the January 14th Health Summit

Upcoming Chapter Meetings – The Health Collaborative

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