Yours in Renewal: A Message from Marian Kaanon

Dear friends,

After a three-month sabbatical, I am back in the saddle, so to speak.

I was able to fully step away from all professional duties due to two factors: the recognition among our Board that rest is essential to leadership; and the powerhouse professionals on our team who seamlessly continued to advance our work. I am especially grateful to Melissa Van Diepen, who did an incredible job as our acting CEO during my absence.

When I left in early July, I conveyed my sabbatical goal at the time, which was, simply put, to do nothing. I’m happy to report that I ‘achieved’ this goal. I spent most of the summer traveling, working on numerous house projects, and spending as much time with my kids (especially my college-bound daughter) as possible. Like most parents, I am acutely aware of how fleeting our time with our children is, and I’m lucky to have been given this opportunity.

So, I rested. I recovered from the busyness of life. I stepped away from public duties, events, meetings, deadlines, and emails. I retreated from expectations and ambitions (both mine and others). My days became silent and spacious.

And here’s what I discovered: rest is so incredibly important in these times we find ourselves in.

But rest is not the same as renewal.

I had hoped to emerge post-sabbatical with renewed hope for our collective future, with new ideas for Stanislaus Community Foundation’s work in the community. That didn’t happen. And here’s why: rest is critically important, yes. But renewal and restoration happen in community, not in isolation.

My faith is forged through the conversations and connections I have in this beloved community. My belief in what’s possible – what’s still possible – can only be bolstered when I sit across from someone who is equally passionate about their work and listen to what they have to say. I am most renewed when I learn someone’s story, or hear their ideas, or understand their challenges and engage in a generative conversation.

In my pre-sabbatical note, I shared the analogy of farmers who let their land lay fallow, to allow the soil to rest after a period of use. And their goal, after this fallow period, is to replant the land and eventually yield another abundant harvest.

To draw the analogy full circle, I now recognize that for leadership to grow and thrive, it requires both rest AND tending to the rich soil of relationships.

Unfortunately, in this time of polarization and division, it’s hard to find common ground to stand on together. But we must. To find our collective way together, we must take care of ourselves as individuals, tending to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. But we can’t afford to retreat into our comfort zones – we must take whatever fuels us personally and then return to serve our beloved community.

In the last few months, Stanislaus Community Foundation continues to do exactly this: we have focused on people closest in proximity to solutions while fueling civic engagement, new leadership and new programs. We have invested in emerging leaders through the Next Gen on Board program; announced grants chosen by our community-led Latino Leadership Fund, Adelante and Tupo Pumoja resident committees and invested in numerous community engagement and media projects through the Civic Solutions Fund. We announced over $325,000 in scholarship funds to college-bound students this Fall, and we launched a pilot program to boost ag internships for high school students in partnership with San Joaquin A+ and Stanislaus Partners in Education (SPIE).

This is the balance of this work: taking care of ourselves so that we can bring our full selves in service to others. Investing in people AND programs. Boosting new ideas and supporting new leaders.

Both/and.

Yours in Renewal,

Stanislaus Community FoundationOctober 17, 2025