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Event Description

In the wake of recent wildfires, SoCal Grantmakers invites community members, funders, and partners to join a Grief and Gratitude Circle, a facilitated space led by the partners of Gratitude Blooming for collective processing, healing, and regeneration.

This gathering acknowledges the deep loss of homes, landscapes, and stability from the wildfires, while also creating space to honor resilience, generosity, and the interconnectedness that emerges in times of crisis. Through guided reflection, storytelling, and shared silence, we will explore:

  • Grief: Noticing and naming the losses—personal, communal, and ecological—and holding space for emotions that often go unspoken.
  • Gratitude: Recognizing acts of kindness, the strength of community, and the opportunity to reimagine our relationship with land and fire.
  • Action: Building collective momentum toward equitable recovery, community resilience, and regenerative approaches to land stewardship.

To guide the conversation, we will draw from the Gratitude Blooming 39-Card Deck, inspired by nature, art and gratitude. This 60-minute circle offers a chance to slow down, be witnessed, and find connection in a time of great transition. Together, we will not only process what has been lost but also nurture the seeds of what comes next.
 

Facilitators

Belinda Liu

Belinda Liu

Founder, Gratitude Blooming

Belinda Liu is the founder of Gratitude Blooming, an organization that integrates art, nature and self-inquiry into inspiring gratitude-based tools and experiences for personal insight, human connection and social change.

As a former Teach For America teacher, China Fulbright Scholar, nonprofit education leader and entrepreneur, Belinda is deeply embedded in diverse local and global communities. Her superpowers are shining a light on people’s strengths, bringing them out into the world, and catalyzing deep personal and group transformation.

She and her husband are also co-founders of Hestia Retreat Center in Mount Shasta, CA, a magical 10-acre sanctuary for people to explore their purpose and bring their visions to life, starting from the inside out.

To learn more about Gratitude Blooming, please click here.
Omar Brownson Accountability 2024 Headshot (Tree Background)

Omar Brownson

Executive Director, Los Angeles Community Garden Council

Founder | Advisor | Everyday Creative

Inspired by land and storytelling, Omar is building a gratitude ecosystem and regenerative economy. He takes an entrepreneurial approach to tackling large-scale challenges, particularly at the intersection of nature and culture. His work has been featured by Simon Sinek, the Wall Street Journal, and on Oprah.com.

Omar is a frequent guest speaker, has held hundreds of gratitude circles, co-hosts the Gratitude Blooming Podcast (ranked in the top three percent in the world) and is the executive director of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council, which serves 47 community gardens and has more than 2,000 members.

Previously, Omar co-founded a highly-rated gratitude app which included mindfulness teachers and cultural pioneers such as Jack Kornfield and George Takei. He was also the founding executive director of RiverLA where he collaborated with renowned architect Frank Gehry and local leaders to reimagine the 51-mile Los Angeles River as a public resource and ecosystem. He spearheaded the Greenway 2020 campaign which secured $430 million in funding to complete the LA River bikepath and launched the innovative $10 million LA River Master Plan.

Omar is an advisor to Full Spectrum Capital and the Ubuntu Climate Initiative, and serves on the board of Commonweal, focused on healing hearts and healing the planet. He has a joint master’s degree from Harvard Kennedy School and Graduate School of Design.

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