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Life and Work with Suzanne Wolf

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Wolf.

Suzanne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a retired elementary school educator who taught for 18 years. I loved being on the journeys of my students and their families and I especially loved finding ways to provide resources for those families that were struggling financially to make ends meet. Many years I taught in very high-poverty demographics where I learned very quickly about the culture of poverty and what it meant to be in “Survival Mode.” My greatest loss was the year my mom, Angela lost her battle to cancer. Her funeral was on the first day of school in 2016. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to get out of bed every day because of the gaping hole in my heart. And I realized that she would want me to continue to try and make a difference in the world as she had done so magnificently. I ended up needing emergency reconstructive surgery on my right thumb, and while I was recovering from all the pain of grief, postop surgery, and missing my students, the word “PEACE” came to me one day. Promoting Empowerment Awareness Community and Empathy. I needed “PEACE” and so did our world. It was then that I realized I needed to leave my classroom behind – even before securing my retirement, so I could make a difference on a grander scale, more than one classroom at a time. And every day when I would get out of bed, I would do something to make Angela proud. So I started thinking of ways to be resourceful with no operating budget. I asked people on my Nextdoor App to leave five books on their porch that no longer were being enjoyed by them, so I could pay them forward to students who had no books in their homes. In survival mode, books are not a priority – though I personally believe everyone should have the opportunity to feel the joy of reading and learning. We went from 50 books the first day to over 300 books the first week! To this day, we have distributed over 8,000 books to all parts of our state! I accomplished this by being committed to using social media only for positive intentions. I posted on a FB Site for educators letting them know I had boxes of books in mint condition, and I thought maybe a couple of people would respond with a need for them. I was overwhelmed by the responses – especially knowing some of these educators were in tears with the thought of having these books for their students in their Title One Schools. One of my favorite contacts from this interaction was with Dawn Carrico, who is the principal at Traylor Academy. We started with a few boxes of books and ended up providing hundreds more for a “Summer Book Giveaway” where each student got to pick and take home three books each to keep. Traylor became our first adopted school. We have provided lots of great resources for their students and dedicated educators, including gifts for the holidays, and bags of clothing. We even were able to assist our Traylor Family when they suffered a terrible tragedy at the end of the school year last year. One of their fifth grade students had been killed along with other family members and the community was devastated. Hail had destroyed the flowers they had purchased to plant as a memorial garden, so I was able to get the Highlands Ranch Home Depot to donate enough flowers and soil to allow the fifth grade class to have their meaningful planting ceremony.
It was exciting to begin a new journey lifting others up and I was grateful for the loving support of my husband, Craig. He worked two jobs as a general contractor and sound engineer to support my efforts and our home. And then, he finally qualified for Medicare, he went for a routine colonoscopy and we found out he had Stage 4 Colon Cancer. Life got turned upside down very quickly. Craig had a foot of his colon removed, a wedge of his lung, and 12 rounds of chemo. And my teaching salary and benefits were long gone. While he navigated with grace and faith, I had to get on Medicaid, which was humiliating, and started driving for Lyft to try and chip away at our massive medical debt. I ended up meeting some amazing people during my 500 Lyft Rides – and many of them have now joined my journey with Project PEACE Program! One woman introduced me to Holly Vigil, the Special Events Coordinator at Elitch Gardens Theme Park. This led to us collaborating to have the very first “Low-Sensory Day” ever at Elitch Gardens! They were kind enough to open the park up 90 minutes early, they shut off all the music, and had five low-sensory rides available for families to enjoy. We also invited 15 other non-profit organizations to come and have booths to help these families know of all of the resources that are in our community to help families of children with special needs to feel included and to live their best lives! It was so touching to see how grateful the families were – telling us that they would never have been able to come to this park in any other circumstance, and that it was a joyful time to have a fun place to be! And the staff at Elitch Gardens went out of their way to make it special. Lori Kaupp, Director of Operations, even had a “Quiet Room” set up for those who were overstimulated, and she opened up even more rides than promised. We made a special statement that day and look forward to the 2020 Low-Sensory Event, which will be either an entire evening, or it’s own special day! This has inspired us to look for 2020 to be an opportunity to advocate for more venues to consider low-sensory opportunities for a very deserving community who should not feel isolated and without options. While there are so many more people who have landed on this journey, the last pivotal person I want to mention, is Matt Murray, with Stardust Sustainable Tote Bags. Matt was another Lyft rider who after hearing about Project PEACE Program, was eager to help. I had collected hundreds of stuffed animals prior to Craig’s diagnosis, with the idea to have “Safety Soothing Sacks for Special Needs” in schools. As an educator, I noticed how vulnerable the students who struggled with sensory issues were when a loud alarm would sound for a Fire Drill or Lock-Down Drill. So I wanted them to have their very own soothing sack to grab and use if they were triggered by an alarm. They could grab a stuffed animal, stress ball, or noise-cancelling headphones, soothe themselves, and then be able to focus on the adult that needed to keep them safe. Matt donated 200 of his Stardust Compostable Tote Bags for me to use as our Safety Soothing Sacks! It was not only a win for Special Needs’ Students, but a win for the environment, as these sacks are meant to replace plastic bags and they are amazing! I again posted on the FB Educator Webpage, and have since been able to distribute over 1,500 Safety Soothing Sacks throughout our state as well! The power of social media for good, blessings in my pain, and community eager to support a positive movement one community at a time, has been the way we have managed to do this and so much more! Imagine our non-profit with an operating budget and more “Soldiers in our Army of Love!” We have fundraised for the STEM Community and partnered with St Nick’s Ministries and my new career with USHEALTH Advisors, to lift up more people every day! I am excited for all of the ways we can all make a difference – and I know I am making Angela proud!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This has been a journey with a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. And while I look back now and see how devastating it felt at the time, I realize it was all a part of growing as a leader and understanding how important it was to stay in my truth. I have had so many people that were “all in” and excited to be on the Board, but when the time came to count on people, I ended up doing a lot on my own. They were all my teachers, and I am grateful for each lesson. I would recommend not picking friends to be on your Board. They have great intentions, but may not be able to follow through because of their own time commitments and lives, and you tend to not want to bother friends and ask for what you need – so nobody wins. Also, don’t go to the other extreme where people that have a lot of influence might want to take over how to run everything at the expense of losing the vision and mission that is from your heart in the first place. I also recommend collaborating with other non-profits when they are willing. You will find some non-profits that just want to “stay in their lane” and not collaborate, but the ones that are willing to work together really can help maximize your efforts collectively. We are always stronger in numbers – so lift others up along the way and they will be more willing to join your efforts! Always take time to acknowledge any donors and their businesses as well – it’s double coupons to receive support and to get others to support them in the community!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Project PEACE Program – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our mission is to provide resources for the safety and social-emotional well-being of all children regardless of zip code. We hope to get books off of shelves in homes where they are no longer bringing joy, and to get them in the hands of kids with no books in their homes. We also love to support new educators and educators starting in new districts that have no resources to start their year in their new classrooms. As a former educator, I spent thousands of dollars out of my own pocket to get my classroom and my students what they needed. Educators are already underpaid. So we need to get resourceful and find ways to support them. We have so many items in our homes that are no longer bringing us joy. We collect gently used stuffed animals for our soothing sacks, Stuffed animals come with a history of love and we always ask the recipients to continue the legacy of love from the thoughtful donor. We are proud to be advocating for more low-sensory events in our community. If Elitch Gardens can find a way, we are sure that bowling alleys, Dave and Busters, Main Event, and movie theaters (to name a few), can find ways to help the special needs community to enjoy that venue on their terms. Everybody wins! We are also particularly proud of having rallied a community in Highlands Ranch to find a sustainable way to heal after the STEM Tragedy. Places like The Whiskey Biscuit in Englewood, have committed to doing an annual event to support an educator self-care fund, Off Broadway Sports Lounge has committed to an annual poker event to support a future memorial garden, and The University of Denver at Highlands Ranch Golf Club has committed to an annual golf event sponsoring first responders from the STEM Tragedy and other community members. This year we were able to provide over 1500.00 to the STEM PTO to use at their discretion to lift up all those impacted at the school. Castle Rock businesses all chipped in to sponsor a Back To School Picnic for STEM Families and we hope to do that again annually. For us, it’s about finding ways to be more connected in a sustainable way. We hope more churches, temples, and local businesses will start to adopt Title-One Schools in their areas to have that sustainable effort maximized while lifting up families in their own communities to complete school and give back some day themselves as thriving and productive citizens!

Who have you been inspired by?
My mother, Angela, and her mother, “Nonni”, were my two greatest influences. They were humble and gracious, but also they cared deeply for others and gave greatly of themselves. They were always proud of their ages and never dreaded a birthday. They had tremendous senses of humor and especially had the ability to laugh at themselves. I learned so much from them as my role models – and greatly admired how consistently they provided for anyone in need. I strive to be a fraction of the women they were. Some other women I greatly admire, are Ellen DeGeneres, Maya Angelou, Brenè Brown and Oprah. I have appreciated their ability to overcome tremendous pain with grace and dignity, and to empower others to be vulnerable and proud to stand in their truths. Lastly, I have one woman who completely took me under her wing and guided me to shift my own mindset of my past and my abilities: Jeanne Belli. She is my spiritual mentor and a dear friend. She has given me all the tools I need to have live in gratitude, clarity, and authenticity. I pay forward her wisdom and tools daily and will forever be indebted to her for all the ways she has made me a better human being!

Pricing:

  • I published a book where proceeds go to Safety Soothing Sacks for Special Needs – it is called Room 23 and the Lock-Down Drill and it is available on Amazon for 12.95
  • Stardust Sustainable and Compostable Tote Bags for 5.00

Contact Info:

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