Dear Village Response Network,

Our Village Response Network is only as strong as the relationships we continue to build, the information we share, and our willingness to show up for one another.

I want to personally encourage each of you to prioritize joining us every third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM CT for our Village Response Network gathering.

These meetings are not simply another Zoom call on the calendar. They are an opportunity for us to stay connected, share what is happening across our communities, identify needs and resources, support one another’s work, and determine where collaboration can create greater impact.

Join Us Every Third Wednesday | 7:00 PM CT

Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5487263707?pwd=w0ZK0GZvSm3UeVhTHHGAhbVeR4bmwJ.1

Meeting ID: 548 726 3707 Passcode: PurplePath

Next Gathering: Wednesday, August 19

I am especially excited about next week’s conversation because TeQuila Shabazz of BEWUN will be joining us.

I recently had the opportunity to join the BEWUN coalition as we continue navigating these perilous and rapidly changing times. I believe there is tremendous alignment between what BEWUN is building and what we have envisioned for the Village Response Network.

BEWUN is the system that powers a coalition of individuals, organizations, businesses, and institutions committed to advancing Black American life in the United States and among our growing numbers abroad.

There is no shortage of powerful work happening across our communities. People are building, leading, advocating, teaching, investing, serving, healing, and creating change every single day.

The gap is not effort. The gap is coordination and communication.

Too often, we are doing incredible work without knowing what the person or organization right beside us is doing. We are not tapping into one another effectively or leveraging our collective strength fully. As a result, our impact can become fragmented instead of compounded.

BEWUN exists to change that—and, in many ways, so does the Village Response Network.

Learn more about BEWUN: https://bewun.us

This Is What I Want the VRN to Become

I want us to know what is happening throughout our Village.

Bring your upcoming events, programs, initiatives, community needs, resources, opportunities, and ideas to our meetings. Tell us where you need support. Tell us where you have capacity to support someone else.

Let’s become thought partners for one another.

Let’s attend and promote one another’s events.

Let’s make introductions.

Let’s share resources instead of recreating them.

Let’s collaborate when our missions intersect.

Let’s identify gaps together.

And let’s stop operating as individual organizations doing good work in proximity to one another when we have the opportunity to become a coordinated Village creating collective impact.

And Speaking of the Village… We Need You at the Annual Healing Retreat!

I also want to personally invite every member of the Village Response Network to join us on Saturday, October 24, 2026, for the Purple Path Annual Healing Retreat: From Healing to Legacy: Activating the Village.

Over the years, several previous attendees have described the retreat as feeling less like a conference and more like a family reunion—a place where the Village gathers to heal, learn, reconnect, laugh, breathe, build relationships, and simply be.

If we’re calling it a family reunion, then the family needs to be in the building!

Important Early Bird Reminder: The $97 Early Bird rate for adults ages 18+ ends this Saturday, August 15, 2026.

To be clear, our children’s and youth rates are NOT Early Bird rates and will NOT increase after August 15.

• Ages 0–4: FREE
• Ages 5–12: $30
• Ages 13–17: $50
• Ages 18+: $97 Early Bird through Saturday, August 15

If you have been saying, “I need to register,” this is the week to do it.

Register for the Annual Healing Retreat today: https://purplepathbydrj.com/event/2026-annual-healing-retreat/​

And What Is a Family Reunion Without the Family Reunion T-Shirt?

If you’ve been to a family reunion, you already know—somebody is making sure everybody has the shirt!

Our official Annual Healing Retreat shirts are available by presale only and will NOT be available for purchase at the retreat.

Retreat Shirt Pricing:

• Infant & Youth Shirts: $20
• Adult Shirts: $30

So don’t wait until October 24 and ask us, “Where can I get my shirt?” 😂

Order yours now so you can walk into our “family reunion” representing the Village with us!

Purchase your Annual Healing Retreat shirt: https://purplepathbydrj.com/product-category/merch/​

Whether you are attending as a community leader, organization, practitioner, educator, parent, caregiver, advocate, neighbor, or simply someone who believes in the power of healing and community—there is a place for you in this Village.

You do not have to carry the work alone—and none of us should have to build the Village alone.

Please protect the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM CT on your calendar, and make plans now to be with us on October 24.

Come prepared to share, listen, connect, collaborate, and determine how we can continue responding to the needs of our communities—together.

Because a Village isn’t simply who we know.

A Village is how we show up for one another.

See you next Wednesday—and I hope to see the entire Village at the retreat!

In Community & Radical Love,

Dr. Shaniqua Jones

Founder, Purple Path Village Response Network

A Journey Not Shared is a Soul Not Healed.