Hello everyone, my name is Emily Rangel, and I am a student at California State University Monterey Bay CSUMB.  I am currently going into my senior year and working as an NPC intern through my field training program in Collaborative Human and Health Services.

This week’s blog opinion piece honors all the hard work nonprofit leaders, employees, and volunteers have put into the year 2021. In the article “I love you, nonprofit colleagues. Please give yourselves a break.” by Vu Le, READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE. The author expresses struggles faced in their professional world and personal environment. Those who are in the field of Human Services are well aware professional work can impact one in their personal life. Vu states in the article, “However, all of us have been so focused on survival, on keeping it together so we could be there for those who need us, that we’ve sometimes neglected our own needs. Because so many other people are in crisis in our communities, our sector’s job is to help lessen the suffering, many of us haven’t carved out much time to rest and to process.” (Le, 2021) highlighting the need for self-care in the nonprofit sector. While December continues to be one of the busiest times for nonprofits, followed by January, where planning for the new year occurs, those involved in nonprofit work should take time to practice self-care. Self-care is an essential practice in the line of work nonprofits provide since helping others calls for a healthy and positive state of mind to project complete dedication into one’s work. Take time to treat yourself and evaluate your physical and mental health. Furthermore, take some time to remind friends or colleagues to also practice self-care.