What It Takes to Be A Friend

By Joan Patterson with Lisa Jansen-Rees, Members of the CORFA Board

Even as a member of the planning team for the National Friends Workshop, I wasn’t sure if I would be attending. Why? My husband, Phil, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that has wreaked havoc on his blood sugar levels and our lives. There have been many nights with little sleep, endless testing, unknown prognosis, and so much uncertainty.

But there was one thing that Phil was certain of: I should attend the National Friends Workshop. This wonderful guy has been supporting my work with national wildlife refuges and Friends for almost three decades. He watched the kids when they were little, helped set up festivals, built birdhouses, and even dressed up as the Blue Goose. So for the Workshop, he rallied the family to help support him and I was off for a few days with Friends. Phil knows that when Friends get together, the creative juices start flowing, energy levels increase, and people are reinvigorated. It worked for me!

During the workshop, the CORFA team of Cheryl Hart, Lisa Jansen-Rees, and I led two breakout sessions where we heard Friends’ challenges and visions. Lisa, a board member of CORFA and the Friends of the Wichitas, led two networking exercises. The first focused on challenges within Friends organizations, and the second was designed to elicit common goal themes. Here are the challenges and goals we heard about:

1. Engaging members and board members

2. Funding

3. Increasing outreach and diversity

4. Enhancing an organization’s culture

5. Utilizing technology

6. Enhancing partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Some of these challenges were addressed during the session, and it was amazing to see how quickly others were sharing their experiences and then building on those ideas. CORFA recognizes that there is a need for more opportunities for Friends to share their struggles, brainstorm ideas, and evaluate the outcomes.

Friends discussed their concerns about the lack of adequate funding for the refuge and hatchery systems. One evening, a few dozen folks gathered in the NCTC Commons to brainstorm ideas on how to bring attention to the dismal budgets and how to close the funding gaps. Ideas included carbon, messaging, public awareness, and engagement.

As next steps, CORFA will work with the National Wildlife Refuge Association to tweak our webinars, host sharing sessions on various topics, add resources to the Resource Center of the CORFA website, continue our efforts to connect Friends with one another, and help the Friends community advocate for adequate funding for the refuge and hatchery systems. If you are interested in helping deliver any of these services and/or resources, please contact us at coalitionrefugefriends@gmail.com.