I listened to a talk on the 7 Levels of Intimacy about a decade ago, and it has impacted my life in many ways. I’m a naturally curious person with the desire to help others. When I heard the author regularly asks staff to share their hopes and dreams in meetings, I was blown away because it aligned with how I thought we should interact with others. I have loved finding ways to help someone else reach a goal or dream for over a decade, which has usually revolved around homeschooling. I have invested countless hours in my community, assisting parents to gain clarity on their goals, find peace in their decision, and forge ahead in either direction. For those who have spoken to me directly, we quickly jump from number 1 to number 7, usually in one conversation!
Cliches
Facts
Opinions
Hopes and dreams
Feelings
Fears, faults, failures
Legitimate needs
Sharing beyond facts requires vulnerability, and we choose not to be vulnerable for many reasons. Fear of rejection tops the list. However, need trumps fear. When a parent is searching for an educational alternative, desperation overcomes the fear of rejection, failure, or insecurity. There is no way to address legitimate needs without sharing feelings.
For those who don’t know me, my name is Ty Salvant, creator of NOLA Homeschoolers. We’re having a great weekend. I’m looking forward to the winter, my favorite time of the year. I hope we have a white Christmas. I want to impact the world for the next generation positively. I feel frustrated when we consent to ‘that’s just the way it is’ when we think a problem is too big to solve. One example of living that calling is creating this network.
Twelve years ago, I was a part of several homeschool groups who didn’t play well with one another. There wasn’t much overlap, and members didn’t share information between groups.
I wished there was a neutral place to share information for homeschoolers. I found a website in April of 2010 that showed how to make letters on the clockface that I saved for the following school year. In August, I couldn't find that website. I asked every homeschooler I knew; no one knew what I was talking about, but many were interested in it. In November, I found Phonogram Page and created my first website- NOLA Homeschoolers. It started as a free online resource for area homeschoolers. Over the years, our offerings have varied to meet the community's needs. For many years, I overinvested my time, energy, and money in this community, sometimes to the detriment of my children, my family, and myself. I’m working on balancing my needs with meeting the needs of our community.
One of the results of balance was creating Time with Ty. This site opened up many activities I offered to homeschoolers, including a monthly book club, blog posts, marriage enrichments, retreats, and philanthropic efforts. It is also a place to share my books, A Mother’s Reflection, a guided journal for moms, and The Alphabet of You, an inclusive, positive vocabulary book.
I’m afraid of my campaign not being funded or being stressed for the next three weeks waiting to see if I meet the goal.
While we can survive without intimacy, we can’t thrive without it. In my latest endeavor, I need you to help me succeed in a current project. After much research, I opted to kick off my book with a Kickstarter campaign. There are pros and cons with any book launch. The time spent creating the book is about 20% of the work. Marketing the book is by far more complex. The benefit of self-publishing is the ability to maintain creative control. With assistance from the graphic designer, I selected the pictures and words used in the book. One benefit of Kickstarter is its ability to market to its community with a worldwide reach.
My goal with the Kickstarter campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of inclusive books and positive vocabulary while expanding my reach with this book.
I am grateful to everyone who has preordered, supported, and shared this campaign. For those of you who haven’t yet, I am asking you to do so within the next 24 hours. As a busy mom of 6, homeschooling, volunteering, working, and practicing self-compassion, I understand that life is busy. I also know that while this is top of mind for me, it is not for you. Hence the timed request. It takes about 5 minutes to contribute to the campaign. If you have 5 minutes now, go to bit.ly/thealphabetofyou to support now. While I’d love you to order a book, I have been in a place where there was no extra $30. You can help at any level; even a $5 contribution makes a difference. Once you pledge, invite your network to do the same.
What I know about Kickstarter is that the quicker you reach your goal, the better your placement on their website, which increases your exposure to their community. Remember that you are not charged until the end of the campaign, on November 17th.
If you are here, I know that in some small way, I have helped you. Whether it was a consultation, informational session, field trip, or connecting you with resources, friends, or your support group, NOLA Homeschoolers has played a part in the lives of many current and former homeschool parents and students. Here’s my legitimate need: preorder or support at a lower level and share the link with your network of friends and family.
I appreciate your help. The other benefit to wrapping this up sooner is that I’ll be able to invest more time in the community- instead of the campaign. ;-)