Thankful Thursday: Cheryl Branch

“I like the word authentic, I embrace that word. It is very important to me. I've found that being authentic - being genuinely myself - is a powerful way to live. It's freeing for me and for those I come in contact with. Sometimes I ask myself if I share too much, and the answer to me is ‘you haven’t shared enough in your life.’ I’m 58 years old and I think i have let a lot of stuff ruin fun, freedom, laughter, and comradery. Too much alone time. But apparently it was necessary, that’s the funny part about it. Who’s to say how long it takes before you bloom.”

Cheryl began sharing her poetry, publicly for the very first time, at the monthly H-Cubed (https://www.facebook.com/HarrisonHealingHarmony/) open mic, first held at Venture North, now hosted in the RCFL Living Room.

“I opened up... I peeled back some layers so that I can be more healthy. I’m finding that there are things resonating with me: trauma, depression, forgiveness. I’ve addressed a couple of the wounds; there’s freedom in airing out your wounds.

I only got so much time left and sometimes i get a little bit mad saying the best times in my life are behind me, but that’s not true. Maybe the young part of me is behind me, but not the best. I don’t know what type of plant you’d say i am… maybe a freakin’ cactus: prickly, but i survive. Cactus keep blooming, even in the desert.”

Thank you, Cheryl, for investing, engaging, and blooming with us. We will hang in the desert with you any day.

Join us as we invest in and celebrate North Minneapolis. Bloom with us: https://www.redeemercenter.org/donate

We’ll see you again, right here, as we embark on a regular journey of diving deeper into the workings of the Redeemer community, who we are, how we engage, and just how we together evolve.

As a place based organization, we celebrate and reinforce the diversity of Minneapolis’s Northside through social action and investment in its people, ideas, and enterprises. Community engagement remains at the core of our organizational culture and the primary source for our vision, strategy and evolution. The support and partnership provided by monetary donations of all sizes, volunteerism, and in-kind contributions enable us to continue to act as an agent of hope and transformation to preserve a vibrant community in the Harrison neighborhood and broader North Minneapolis.