Women Supporting Women – Megan Bull
In March we hosted a sip + shop benefitting local Bay Area non-profit, Reclaim Foundation. We had a chat with Founder and President Megan Bull to get to know more about Reclaim Foundation, and ways the community can get involved.
Megan at our sip+shop hosted in March – you helped us raise and donate over $3000 for Reclaim Foundation!
What is Reclaim Foundation, and how did it come about?
After experiencing both a mass-shooting and a traumatic hit-and-run car accident that resulted in a major spinal injury within a single year, I had no idea where to find resources and I wished I had a community of fellow trauma survivors to talk and relate to. The few resources I could find for the mass-shooting were only open during typical business hours and located in the specific town where the violence took place. I searched for an online organization or one closer to me that could offer support and I couldn’t find anything.
This was a huge limitation as I was a recent UC Davis graduate working a full-time job 2 hours away from the town that the mass-shooting occurred. After noticing an absence of the resources and community within a format I could take advantage of, I decided to create my own.
In 2020 I founded Reclaim Foundation with the goal of expanding meaningful trauma support, regardless of location, with comprehensive services to support survivors throughout their journey. This includes providing services, resources, and education to family and friends (impacted people) so they can better assist a survivor in their life.
Reclaim Foundation’s fundamental goals are to raise awareness of the occurrence and impact of traumatic events, assist with trauma-related costs, and engage in activities that empower survivors to reclaim their lives in the wake of trauma.
Who does Reclaim Foundation support?
Reclaim Foundation is for anyone and everyone impacted by trauma! The trauma can vary from physical, emotional, psychological, or the intersection of the aforementioned. Some examples of these trauma types are: gun violence, domestic violence, motorized vehicle accidents, bias related violence, sexual assault, natural disasters, and more.
Additionally, we use the term “impacted” because there are more people than the people physically present (survivors) for the trauma that are affected. Family and friends of the survivors, community members, allies, and more may feel the negative associations from the trauma and will need the support, resources, and community to aid in their own mental health and to better serve the survivor in their life.
At Reclaim Foundation, we believe trauma survivors and anyone impacted by trauma can find commonality by relating to each other and sharing stories of resilience. It takes a community to support a survivor and we hope to foster one through our platform Reclaim Network.
Megan in our Carrie Sweater Midi Dress during her interview with KRON4 to accept their Remarkable Woman Award
Tell us more about Reclaim Network!
As I mentioned in the previous question, it takes a community to support a trauma survivor. Reclaim Network is a safe online space that fosters this community through connection and healing.
The Reclaim Network is both a public collaborative community and an independent healing journal. The independent journal is a place for you to chronicle moments from your journey or answer prompts that promote positive thinking and mental health practices. It is solely for your personal journey and will not be viewed by any others.
The public form is a place for you to interact with other survivors or impacted people, share your challenges or accomplishments, and garner advice. You will be able to join specific community categories that you are a survivor of or impacted by to discuss the intricacies of that specific trauma with others that are survivors or impacted as well.
It is a first-of-its-kind website that will launch this August! You can sign-up to join the pre-release list at www.reclaimfoundation.org/reclaim-network.
Megan in our 'Why Do We' Sleeveless Sweater checking out her campaign for the VS Pink With Purpose Project as their 2021 recipient
How can people get involved with Reclaim Foundation?
We are a small grassroots organization that is run purely by the support of volunteers and funded by generous donors like YOU.
Our volunteers share their trauma stories, host events like yoga, reiki, and mediation, they assist with web development, translating, marketing, or provide mental health professional guidance as a member of our advisory board. If you have interest in volunteering in any capacity, please visit our website.
However, donating is the biggest way to make an impact with Reclaim Foundation. Less than 2% of all philanthropic funding (government, grants, etc) are given to mental health organizations or resources. A lack of funding makes it nearly impossible to offer the much needed mental health services to the trauma community.
Because of this, we rely almost entirely on public donations and fundraisers. We are extremely grateful to have the support of Bon Ton Studio. Together we raised our largest donation sum from the fundraiser in March that is allowing us to open a scholarship program at the end of the year for young adults impacted by trauma that are hoping to continue their education.
In order to start our therapy reimbursement and service dog programs, we need to raise more funds! These programs are instrumental to the success of trauma survivors and you can have a direct impact on their success by donating directly to Reclaim Foundation here.
If you would prefer to donate in another way, we are also accepting donations in the form of auction items, venue space, catering, or decor/decorations for our annual fundraising event Shatter the Glass. If you have a business that would like to partner with Reclaim Foundation for this event or something in the future, please email hi@reclaimfoundation.org to learn more.
How do you hope to see Reclaim Foundation grow in the future?
I would love to see Reclaim Foundation become the house-hold name for trauma resources and support. If people experience trauma or they have a friend/family member that does, I want them to immediately know that a positive, informed, and supportive community and accessible resources through Reclaim Foundation are just a few clicks away.
I want everyone that needs our services to find us and those that have the ability to support our organization through donations or volunteering, reach out. Together we are stronger!
You can learn more about Reclaim Foundation here, and follow along on instagram at @reclaimfndn.