A lot of organization and tasking goes into each outreach event, and sometimes we can get lost in To Dos and the wonder of each reiki exchange, losing sight of the big picture. So we like to gather, review our accomplishments from the previous year and celebrate all the connections we've made and all the ways we've raised awareness and availability of the benefits of reiki. And food—I've never seen so many pot luck overachievers! Love it!

2017s wins included receiving enthusiastic invitations from:
       • The Chicago Police Department
       • The Cook County Juvenile Detention Center
       • The Federal Aviation Administration
       • The Integrative Medicine for Underserved Populations annual conference
       • The Loyola University Wellness Fair
We celebrated social media successes, such as 200+ shares of our Reiki for Veterans post and the resulting calls from people around the country wanting to do what we do. Along the way, we recruited four new volunteers—including men!

In the midst of all this work, it was so fun to let our hair down and enjoy each other's company. The Reiki Brigade is 20 strong now, so this is a healthy sampling. Thanks to these ladies for coming out!

Top row, from left to right: 
Edit, who won Pot Luck with her kale and tandoori garbanzo bean salad, homemade dressing and wine contributions.
Gina, who was so excited to tell us about her new job in a wellness facility where she'll work on integrating reiki. 
Barb, world traveller and world's proudest grandma. 
Kristi, our newest volunteer who told us all about the meditation circle she leads on Monday nights. 
Janice, who leads the Midwest Reiki Community reiki shares on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Paula, who regaled us with tales of her time in Amsterdam, and is happy to be back home.

Bottom row, from left to right:
Patrice, who joined us after working at the Cleveland Clinic offering and teaching reiki, and the Reiki Brigade's 2017 Volunteer of the Year!
Heather, yours truly. 

Thanks to Mitchell and Brad who came out to join us (and take our group photo). It was nice to meet the men behind the women and share our larger vision with them. ;0)

2017 was a great year—can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us!

Here's to raising awareness and availability of the benefits of reiki!
If you'd like us to visit your workplace, please get in touch.
If you're a reiki channel who would like to join us in our outreach efforts, we'd love to meet you!
Complete the application linked to our web page to get the process started.