How yoga, mindfulness, and meditation help CNN Heroes take their work to the next level

By Gabriel Kinder, CNN

Miami (CNN) — No one said that changing the world is easy, and CNN Heroes each face their own unique challenges while serving their communities. For these everyday people making an extraordinary impact, the work can be isolating at times.

“Sometimes, as leaders in the nonprofit space, you feel alone in your cause,” said CNN Hero Estefanía Rebellón, whose organization uses buses converted into mobile classrooms to educate migrant children living along the US-Mexico border. “You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you think that you’re fighting this battle on your own.”

As part of its second year of collaboration with CNN Heroes, the Elevate Prize Foundation invited the Top Heroes of 2023 to its Make Good Famous Summit in Miami in May. The global nonprofit magnifies the work of changemakers, empowering them with the resources and support they need to expand their impact. The conference offered skills-building workshops, networking opportunities, and self-care sessions aimed at sending the CNN Heroes home refreshed and revitalized.

“It’s just bringing together a bunch of do-gooders in the world that are trying to push that rock up the hill,” said 2023 CNN Hero of the Year Dr. Kwan Stewart, describing the sense of community and excitement at this year’s summit. “When I hear someone else talking about what they’ve done and how they’ve accomplished it and risen to the top, that’s what motivates me.”

It was the first time the Heroes reunited in person since they were honored on the CNN Heroes stage last December. The summit also allowed them to make new connections with Elevate Prize winners and other leaders in the nonprofit space.

“When we’re building something, we’re sort of alone. And to be with others like ourselves is just so affirming, and nourishing, and wonderful,” Elevate Prize Foundation founder Joe Deitch explained. “We can learn from each other. We can get that spark and have that ‘aha’ moment. And that’s what all this is about.”

That was the case for CNN Hero Alvin Irby, whose nonprofit, Barbershop Books, encourages young Black boys to see themselves as readers.

“The work that we’re doing is difficult work. We’re trying to solve big challenges, address major and systemic problems,” he said. “Having community, being able to talk about what we’re dealing with, and to share in those challenges is really empowering.”

At the summit, the Elevate Prize Foundation announced a concept they spent years developing called the Whole Leader. The idea is that leaders need to prioritize both self-care and community care. By helping the Heroes take care of themselves and avoid burnout, it will enhance their ability to help others – a top priority for Elevate.

“Self-care is something that’s hard to come by in the social impact space,” Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram said. “It feels selfish; it feels not necessary to the urgent struggles that are in front of us.”

This concept resonated with CNN Hero Osei Boateng, whose foundation delivers lifesaving medical care to remote areas of Ghana.

“As a nonprofit leader, we are always going, going, going. We don’t think about ourself,” he said.

As part of this training, the Heroes participated in mindfulness, meditation, and yoga sessions. These practices already play a large role in the retreats that CNN Hero Adam Pearce’s organization offers for people with brain injuries and their caregivers. He says that he sees value for himself and the community he serves.

“I believe it’s such a central aspect of our ability to have self-reflection and self-inquiry, to connect to ourselves to be able to connect to other people,” Pearce said.

Self-care was not the only item on the agenda. Elevate also provided crucial lessons aimed at expanding the Heroes’ reach and taking their life-changing work to the next level. That included sessions on nonprofit finances, board management, and strategies for sharing their stories.

CNN Hero Yasmine Arrington Brooks left the summit ready to put these sharpened skills to use telling the world about her work providing scholarships and mentorship to children of incarcerated parents.

“It’s important to raise and amplify positive things that are happening in the world,” she said. “With everything that’s happening now, I think some folks just wanna feel a sense of hope.”

For Elevate founder Joe Deitch, the summit is part of the foundation’s efforts to ignite the purpose and passion that exists in all of us.

“It’s about awakening the hero within,” he said. “By making good famous, we take good further. We can inspire the whole world. We can let people know that they too can do something.”

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