Care Teams at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver

Care Teams are being formed at the Denver Center to help sangha members who need us. Any one of us might need help if we broke a collar bone in a car accident. A family with a newborn may need an extra hand. Someone else may need a way to ask for support when faced with an illness that is chronic.

The Care Team model we plan to use is based on the inspiration and work of Mary Whetsell, Director of the Office of Societal Health and Well Being. She has been initiating and promoting Care Teams in different Shambhala Centers for fifteen years.

Ideally, each Team would have 6 to 12 members making a commitment of up to 4 hours per month.

Team members are encouraged to do what they enjoy doing and what fits with their schedule. Very simply, if you don’t like cats, you won’t be asked to clean out a kitty litter box. Taking turns, the Team might cook dinner for the family once a week, drive the Care Friend to doctor appointments, join the Friend in sitting practice, play with a toddler while mom and new born sleep, walk the dog, walk the cat!

In every address the Sakyong talks about how our practice includes caring for each other …. we do that well in our community one-on-one but we think the time has come to put a structure in place so the Denver Center will be able to respond to the needs of our sangha friends in a coordinated way with respect and kindness.

If you would like support from a Care Team or would like to talk about how you can be involved on a Team, please contact Nan Clydesdale at [email protected] or 303 322 2511; or Jackie Roberts at [email protected] or 303-818-7561.