Today I want to share something very personal, but also deeply collective.
This summer, I am gifting myself three months of sabbatical time.
I do so with a heart full of gratitude; deep gratitude to Latino Community Foundation, for their loving vision and their ever-present support. This time is made possible through a sabbatical fellowship, Rest is Power, awarded to community organization leaders. This fellowship is based on the bold belief that rest is also resistance. A belief that when we exhaust ourselves to the point of disappearing, we don’t only harm ourselves, we also harm the movement working to transform and build more just societies.
At Prospera, we know this all too well.
Through our programs, we champion the campaign “Soy Rebelde y me Apapacho,” where month after month, we invite participants to do something profoundly radical: Stop. Take a walk. Call a friend. Read a book. Go get your nails done. Eat something delicious. Breathe.
Because, what do we do when a device stops working? When a computer freezes, when a phone stops responding… we turn it off. We reset.
And in a society that continually demands, takes, absorbs, and discards when something is no longer useful, we know that stopping to repair and regenerate is a revolutionary act.
I take a step back, at peace.
I take a step back with a full heart, knowing that what we have built at Prospera is deep and real: breaking isolation, accompanying one another, holding each other up. Witnessing women reclaim their power, inspire one another, launch businesses that heal as much as they generate economic prosperity. These acts remind women of their individual power… and from there, collective power is born.
We are living through complex times. In this country and across the world, anti-immigrant and anti-minority narratives can make us feel like we’re on a rollercoaster.
And still, I take a step back at peace.
Because I know that love is what prevails. Because I know we are a strong community. Because I know that leadership lives within each one of us:
In every woman in our programs. In every person who is part of the Prospera family. In our team, our board, our allies.
A solid, loving, and committed leadership remains at the helm.
You are in the hands of Maite Gascó, our Associate Director, with eight years of journey at Prospera: full of heart, present, and ready to guide and hold the organization. Alongside her: Anahí Rojas, Director of Programs; Claudia Delgado, Director of Finance and Operations; our entire staff; and our Board of Directors.
I assure you—you are in very good hands.
Because the struggle does not stop.
Because at Prospera, we fly together. Like birds flying in a “V” formation, where the one in front cuts through the wind and clears the path for the rest. Where effort is shared, where leadership rotates, where the flight becomes collective.
That is how we fly at Prospera. We complement each other. We see each other. We walk alongside each other.
And today, it is my turn to rest.
A necessary rest. A loving rest. A conscious rest.
With the certainty that we continue soaring through the air together. Because together, we are unstoppable.
With love,
Claudia Arroyo
Executive Director
Prospera