It’s 8:30 and I’m fretting, already seeing the entire day wash out in front of me.
My workspace is a-tumble with foamboard, hair clips, prototype dresses, many flashlights, seven working drafts of my script, postcards and flyers and stickers, and I am wondering if I’ll need to check more than one bag.
It’s 2 weeks and 2 days before Denver Fringe, and I am every sensible thing I could be, given that information. I am still memorizing and building and dreaming this thing to life, and the weight of needing to figure it out in such a small window is absolutely bonkers. Terrifying! Exhilarating! I need a nap!
Despite the unhinged stress of planning something so big in a vacuum, beautiful things are coming about. I have a few old friends in Denver who will make it out, and I will get to meet a longtime Zoom friend who’s also performing her absolutely brilliant show.
And here, perhaps, is my favorite: I get to work with my favorite non-profit for their fundraising week, Project HEAL Does Denver.
What is Project HEAL?
There’s a false narrative about eating disorders—that they only affect thin, white, wealthy cis women and girls. Not only is this short-sighted, but it has created a world where the suffering and disordered behavior of anyone outside that narrow window goes unseen or worse—praised and rewarded.
The reality is that eating disorder treatment often falls outside the purview of insurance, and it is incredibly expensive—leaving people of all sizes, colors, genders, and backgrounds unidentified and untreated.
Project HEAL is the Robin Hood of eating disorders, gathering funding to put anyone who needs it through treatment and recovery. Their inclusive approach, education, and community involvement puts the healing of marginalized individuals front and center, prioritizing the healing of Black and indigenous, queer, fat survivors.
I love this incredible collective dearly, and it was an honor to be asked if I’d like to help out while I’m in town.
Here’s where I need your help!
99.9% of my friends and family live outside of Colorado.
Fringe Tickets are just $15.
If you would be willing to donate $15 in lieu of a ticket to my Project HEAL Fundraiser, it would mean so much to me!
Of course, $15 is just a number. 1, 2, 5, 250, 500? Whatever you can or are willing to donate is truly a gift, and I am so grateful for your support of me and of this wonderful organization.
I’m so excited to celebrate with them in a few (oh God, two, just two) short weeks. Back to Googling “how to cut foam without losing a finger.”
xx Jen