Stephania Vasconez’s passion is to create a world of neighbors helping neighbors. A world of people reaching out, taking the time to lend a hand, a world where within each beatified moment no one is passed by – no one is forsaken. Stephania’s passion is written clearly on her face, beheld in her graceful movement – an infectious beloved energy, emanating outward from her heart. Stephania is mighty passionate. For her, it’s all about compassion. Stephania is mighty passionate – with Mutual Aid Partners.
 
It wasn’t always this way. Ya, it never really is, people change; yet, it is rare to witness such a beautiful break, such a sweet turn around, such a lovely leaning into the heart. Oh what a courageous leap it is to listen truly to the heart, and follow where it leads!
 
You see, Stephania had it all. She was living the ‘American Dream ’. She had a corner office, with a window looking out upon all the people driving their shiny automobiles. She had the skills and the know-how to work the economic system. She had the shake and she had the shimmy, and she was going places. Stephania was set, styling in LA.
 
Funny thing though, Stephania had enough money to travel the world. She has an adventurous spirit and loves to explore. Traveling became her hobby – but she preferred the out-of-the-way places. She started visiting the open-air markets and hanging out with the locals. She noticed the smiling faces, the easy laughter – the joy, despite the lack of many material things. Over the years she learned that what truly inspires her about traveling is connecting with the people. So, while traveling she began to seek immersion within the culture, to live like a local and truly try and experience life and happiness like they did. Stephania began to experience an interesting shift. When she returned from her trips, she began to feel a sort of reverse culture shock. She would return to her life in Los Angeles feeling a sort of disconnect. Something in the back of her mind, within her heart, was letting her know that she longed for a deeper kind of connection. She discovered philanthropy – the value of participating within her community. She joined a group that was mentoring kids and moms from low-income families. She got involved delivering food boxes and collecting school supplies, and painting and cleaning elementary schools. Yet, what felt most impactful for Stephania was the opportunity to volunteer on Skid Row. Her office was in downtown Los Angeles, and happened to be only a few blocks away from Skid Row. The work was incredibly fulfilling, but it was also challenging because it forced her to see the world around her, a world that had been there all along. 
 
One of Stephania’s most memorable traveling experiences was a trip to Myanmar, a country that is truly majestic, yet has had much political turmoil. Everyone is expected to walk barefoot throughout the temples and on any sacred sites. She doesn’t recall wearing shoes at all during that trip. She has never felt more connected to other humans, and to the earth. After returning from Myanmar, Stephania sold and donated almost everything she owned and traveled in an RV for six months.
 
Not long after, she moved to Grand Junction. She began applying at local nonprofits, but because of the pandemic no one was hiring. She was volunteering at a soup kitchen, when one day they had a large amount of leftover food, so she knew that if she didn’t want to see perfectly good food in the garbage, she had to do something. She loaded up her sedan with crates of produce, and she knew that she had to get this food distributed or in a refrigerator quickly. She made many phone calls and sent countless Facebook messages, and she was starting to get worried – until a community organizer with the local Mutual Aid group messaged her back. He mentioned that there was a food distribution event, and told
her to bring the food. So, she did, and when she got there (the UUCGV parking lot) she was told to just ‘jump in’. She’s been involved with Mutual Aid ever since.
 
Stephania started out volunteering, became more and more immersed until the role eventually evolved into a full-time job. She is now the executive director of Mutual Aid Partners. It didn’t happen overnight – it was a soulful organic happening. It was a combination of Stephania’s passion and her skills as an organizer and leader. It happened naturally – after she had been volunteering for a while, and learned all of the ins and outs, other volunteers would come to her with questions. When the media showed up to the distribution event, everyone would point to her. She never set out to create a nonprofit. It is simply where all the signs were pointing. She recognized the need. She realized how the community could benefit. As the founder of Mutual Aid Partners, and now as the director, Stephania envisions the organization’s role as to continue supporting the voices from the community. Mutual Aid Partners is grassroots-oriented and truly community led.
 
Mutual Aid is nothing new; it has been around for ages. It is simply communities coming together and organizing, finding ways to help one another in times of need. It’s about organizing action that builds upon the intangible sense of human connection. It’s about giving people the opportunity to experience the happiness of giving, to realize what truly matters. Everyone has something to contribute. Creativity, innovation, and collaboration are all components of mutual aid. Working together, yet celebrating the individual skill sets to help us all thrive. Stephania believes it is human instinct to care for one another. The human race depends on the symbiotic relationship between resources and each other. She is hoping to help build the sense of community that we are all craving right now.
 
The goal of Mutual Aid Partners is simply to introduce and support Mutual Aid in the Grand Valley community. Stephania’s days as the director of Mutual Aid Partners vary greatly. Her job evolves from week to week. Sometimes it’s grant writing. Sometimes it’s sitting around tables with larger organizations, talking to CEOs and council members, exploring different types of resources and uplifting the voices of grassroots organizations, and underserved populations that are often ignored. She has endless conversations with grassroots leaders and community members of all walks of life. Trying to connect all the resources, and of course – working for donations. Talking to the press. And she still does whatever it takes to coordinate Mutual Aid, including doing direct aid, which includes everything from helping someone navigate the social service network and connecting them with a resource, to going to a gas station because someone is stranded with an empty tank.
 
Stephania loves her job. She has immersed herself in Mutual Aid – it is her (fulfilling) life. Yet, a few months ago she realized that she hasn’t had a vacation in a very long time, that she’s only taken one or two days off in the last year. She realized that this is not sustainable. So, now she’s hoping to find more time to balance and rejuvenate herself. She has two sweet pups that she likes to hang out with. She has a very supportive partner. She likes writing in her blog. Because she’s a community organizer, she gets inspiration by getting out to support the causes of others whom she admires. She enjoys being a mentor. She has a happy-happening group of friends, many of whom are volunteers at Mutual Aid. She likes to ski and gets into going out dancing, or to karaoke. A favorite way to re-energize and center herself Is to get out in nature, simply being in nature, all bound-up in beauty. Because there are so many ugly things in the world that we are faced with – Stephania needs to shift the focus onto the positive. She feels gratitude for the little things. She kicks her shoes off, and walks, barefoot, in beauty.
 
Now, everybody take a deep breath. It’s time to turn around and follow the spiral back, begin again. Time to take Stephania’s story back to the beginning. A few years ago, when Stephania began to take notice of the shift in consciousness, when she was learning to lean into her heart – she also began to embrace her immigrant roots, her immigrant experience. As she started coming into her own, finding herself, she began to claim all the important pieces that make her who she is – including being an immigrant. She began to reintroduce herself as Stephania, started asking for the pronunciation that was written on her birth certificate and driver’s license. You see, when Stephania moved to Grand Junction as a 10-year-old, she soon started to go by Stephanie. It was easier to fit in as Stephanie at school and other social situations, especially because she spoke fluent English. (Google speech only recognizes Stephania as Stephanie.) 
 
Stephania was born in Ecuador. (Her dad was born in Ecuador, both his parents were Spanish, and her mom was born in Chicago, Ecuadorian father and German mother). Most of Stephania’s memories from Ecuador are of family – occasions with her parents, her grandparents, her aunt and her four cousins. She recalls being carefree, running around having adventures, playing at the beach, riding her bike and playing soccer with the boys. She never realized how beautiful the country was until she went back to visit.
 
When Stephania was 10, they moved to the US. They first landed in New York, where a lot of her grandfather’s side of the family lived, and where her dad went to college. They soon moved to Grand Junction because Stephania’s mom’s dad lived here, and said that “Grand Junction was a quaint small family town with nice schools.” Being a 10-year-old kid, Stephania did not realize it at the time, but her mom went through an arduous, year-long process of filling out multiple forms and providing much documentation, so that Stephania could get a certificate of naturalization and attain citizenship. (When Stephania learned about this six years ago it really opened her eyes – if the process was this difficult for an American citizen to claim her child, one that spoke English and was educated – how much more difficult it must be for people who don’t have those privileges.)
 
Stephania went to Grand Junction High School. She had good grades and was active in extracurricular activities – she worked on the newspaper and yearbook, performed in the choir and in drama, and she was voted best-dressed as a Senior – but high school was a difficult time for her. It was not a time in her life that she particularly enjoyed fully. She was bullied. She never felt like she fit in. Her best memories are from her volunteer work. She volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital, in the Oncology Center, and her favorite experiences were through mentorship programs.
 
Stephania attended Colorado State University. She really enjoyed college life. She was able to be more of her authentic self. Fort Collins and the CSU campus are beautiful. She liked the freedom to choose what she wanted to do, and there were so many things to do. She made some great friends. They were a diverse bunch – one of her best friends was from Poland and the other from Iran. She graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in French. (Stephania speaks three languages – she is fluent in English and Spanish, and conversational in French.) After graduation, Stephania’s mom rewarded her with a trip to Europe. She loved being on her own, touring the old cities.
 
Stephania is very grateful to the people of the UUCGV, for all the love she feels, and for all the support that we give Mutual Aid. One Tuesday, after a long and very difficult day of work, everyone had left and she found herself alone in the UUCGV Sanctuary. She was feeling bereft, and doubting whether she could continue doing this work. She was thinking, I need the universe to give me a sign; what am I supposed to be doing with my life? She just fell to her knees, she was looking at all the plants, the light streaming through the windows…  and a profound sense of calmness came over her. “This is it – this is what I’m supposed to be doing. This is where I belong.”
 
When Stephania left Grand Junction after high school, she told herself she was never coming back. She was not particularly fond of Grand Junction. But then, she kind of got stuck in Grand Junction. Yet, her priorities were much different this time around. She had a completely different perspective. She got involved with Mutual Aid. She met a lot of people who were committed to doing good, committed to being the change they wanted to see in the world. She felt all this positive energy. And she chose to stay. Now, she is so grateful to be a part of this community. She feels like it was meant to be. Following the spiral of her life, she somehow found herself, in Grand Junction, walking barefoot, in beauty – feeling a strong connection to people and to the earth.
 
Life flows on...             in endless song...

From Ann Barrett, UUCGV Green Team Member