(Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

We are the proud recipients of a generous grant from Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society!  

After a rigorous vetting process led by students as part of a course called "Theories of Civil Society, Philanthropy, and the Nonprofit Sector," The Gracias Foundation was selected based on its trauma healing program for survivors of sexual and gender based violence.  Stanford students also chose to grant additional funding for building capacity and growing the impact of The Gracias Foundation.

Gracias President, Amy Paulson, accepted the grant in June at an event on the Stanford campus, together with students, class and department faculty, and six other Bay Area nonprofits who also received grants this year.

Thank you to Stanford University for believing in the efficacy of our work! We are deeply honored and humbled to receive this grant award. Read on for the Press Release

(Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

What does your profile pic look like on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram?  Is it a headshot, a photo of you with family or friends, or an icon or quote?  Do you use your birth name or a pseudonym?  

What we show to the world online says a lot about who we are.  We have a choice as to how we present ourselves. Sometimes we may even protect ourselves - blocking personal details from the scrutiny of the public. Likewise, we protect the identities of the children, teens and women we support.  We are sensitive to their rights to remain safe and secure. 

For example, some of the kids we work with carry the intense weight of two secrets they can't reveal to their classmates:  

1. They are orphans.
2. They are HIV positive.  

(Reposted from The Gracias Foundation, now called Global Gratitude Alliance)

Many of us feel confusion, lack motivation, feel blue or face traumatic life events at some stage in our lives. We are lucky in the developed word to have access to help and support to resolve these potentially debilitating issues, via friends, health professionals, the internet, self-help groups, therapy, and many more. 

Academic studies have long since proven that survivors of trauma, especially from events in early childhood, are more likely to suffer from emotional and mental challenges later in life. These challenges not only put their own futures at risk, they can also prevent survivors from raising emotionally healthy children of their own. And hence the cycle of trauma can continue from generation to generation.