What Generosity Feels Like: Reflections of Celebrating Unity

This past weekend, I attended the Laura Baker Services Association (LBSA) Annual Gala which reminded me how human and tender generosity can be. The theme this year was Celebrating Unity and each year I’ve attended, that feeling of generosity grows stronger. This experience led me to pause for a moment to reflect on what generosity feels like.

I’ve often wondered how to describe generosity as a feeling, not in theory, but in real life and from the heart. Generosity shows up in many ways. It shows up when someone gives their time and talent to others. It shows up when someone who once needed help is in a position to give to others in need. This is generosity that grows out of lived experience. It is gratitude turned into action.

One moment stays with me. I was checking out at a store, and the woman at the register was glowing. I asked her why she looked so happy. She told me that she and her children were going to sleep on beds given to her by a nonprofit. Hearing her share that moment of relief and joy is something I will not forget. Her face told the whole story of what generosity feels like for the person receiving it.

There is also generosity from people who have never needed the services of a nonprofit, but see the need and choose to stand with the mission. They give because they believe in the work and community matters to them. Both kinds of generosity move the mission forward. Both hold the work together.

I think about my dad when I think about generosity. He was a pastor, and talking about financial giving was always hard for him. He used stories to help people feel the joy of sharing what they had. He often told me, “Heather, I love it when people give until they giggle.” I can still see my eight-year-old self listening to him, taking that in, hearing it again and again over the years.

At the LBSA Gala, yes, the room and tables looked beautiful. Every detail was handled with excellence and care. But what stood out was the feeling in the room. The feeling of a community lifting up people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) with honesty, respect and celebration.

The LBSA choir performed. Stories were shared from people living fuller lives because of the support around them. Families who have stood with LBSA for generations. This organization is over 128 years old, and you could feel that history in the room. You could feel what it means to so many people.

Challenges in this space are intense right now. The nonprofit world has been pushed in ways it hasn’t in the past; everything feels strained. The providers who support people with IDD have been pushed to do more with less, while the administrative burdens and regulations continue to pile on. The pressure is real. The demands aren’t just hard, they are grueling.

Yet I watched the LBSA board members, executive director, staff, volunteers and supporters rally. Even with all the weight they carry, they continue to show up. They said, in spirit and action, we want to meet this moment. We want to rise to the occasion. We will continue to look for possibilities. We will continue to be innovative. We will continue to look for strategic partners. We will keep doing what is good and what is needed and what is right. We will continue to disrupt the space to meet the needs of those we serve.

This is what generosity feels like: a community choosing to share what they have so every voice is heard, every person matters and every individual has a chance to live a life shaped by their choices, hopes and dreams.

LBSA has been doing this work for 128 years. I’m excited to see what comes next, even with the challenges ahead, because I know what it looks like when this community stands together.

Heather Durenberger

Consultant, Laura Baker Services Association

Heather is a nonprofit impact strategist, TEDxMinneapolis speaker and a member of the LBSA Behavioral Support Services Design Team. The program provides behavioral consultations and training to families and organizations that support people with IDD who are experiencing behavioral issues.