A Year in Review: Six Reflections on 2024 from The Riverside Project Team
With the holiday season in full swing, our team has been reflecting on the past year—the victories, the challenges, the lessons learned, and the connections formed. It’s been an incredibly full year here at The Riverside Project, and we’ve been blessed to witness countless lives being transformed.
As we prepare to step into the new year, our staff wanted to take a moment to share what challenged and inspired them in 2024. Read on to explore their reflections and discover resources that could help shape your mindset for 2025.
We hope this collection encourages you to reflect on your own year, whether it’s been marked by triumphs, trials, or a little bit of both.
Here’s a short message from six of our staff members on what 2024 meant to them:
Chandler James, Director of Church Mobilization
This year has truly stretched us as a family in ways I didn’t anticipate. Like so many others, we’ve been navigating one transition after another—kids moving in and out of our home, unexpected car repairs, financial hurdles, and more. Living life connected to the foster care system continually reveals both the hardships and moments of healing that come with it. As the year wraps up, I’m choosing to hold onto hope—hope for our family, hope for others walking a similar path, and hope for our community.
This year, I found Stephen L. Klineberg’s Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America especially enlightening. The book explores Houston’s evolution into one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the country. Seeing our city through this lens offers invaluable insights for those of us working to support its most vulnerable populations.
Kathleen Cowie, Director of Agency Partnerships
For me, the year has been full of a lot of personal healing that, while needed, has often left me weary. Healing of any kind doesn’t come without the pains of growth. It’s hard, and I have been living out what it means to rewire the way I have always thought or behaved. It takes a tremendous amount of effort, grace, and a few safe people to walk alongside you.
This healing process is not unique to me and is perhaps a glimpse into the healing journey that many vulnerable children and families face. And for all the hard parts of my year, I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned and the ways those learnings have allowed me to extend more empathy and kindness to those we serve in Houston.
In 2024, I was very impacted by The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters by Joanna Gaines. Joanna has a way of writing that makes you feel connected and seen—the kind of work that makes you say, “I thought I was the only one who felt that way.” This book serves as a reminder to me that everyone has a story we cannot fully understand and our own history is going to color the way we serve others.
There is a quote by Dr. Karyn Purvis that goes, “You cannot take a child to a place you haven’t been yourself.” If you aren’t doing your own work of healing, it can be incredibly difficult to help someone else heal.
Evert Gonzalez, Church Mobilization Specialist
This year has been full of unexpected twists—some tough, some uplifting. Like many, I’ve faced challenges that felt overwhelming, but I’ve also been inspired by the resilience and strength of those around me. Every year brings its share of darkness, yet it’s often in those moments that we see glimpses of the brightest light. As I look ahead, I’m choosing to embrace that light—the hope that drives us at The Riverside Project to build a Houston where families find strength in supportive communities, empowering them to heal and thrive.
One book that truly shaped my reflections this year is Timothy Keller’s The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy (La libertad de olvidarse de uno mismo). It reframes how we think about identity and worth and invites us to let go of self-centeredness and find freedom in focusing outward. What struck me most was how Keller describes humility—not as thinking less of ourselves, but as thinking of ourselves less. That subtle but powerful shift has transformed how I see personal growth and relationships.
Caitlin Simpson, Director of Community Resources
As this year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the sources of hope that continue to anchor me through uncertain times. It’s fitting that these sources of hope are connected to children. Watching my own two children grow and develop and witnessing the joy and resilience they carry makes me hopeful for the next generation. Most of all, I’m inspired by the front-seat view I have of the countless families who selflessly step into the gap for vulnerable children.
Despite the many obstacles these families face, they offer care and support when it’s needed most. This reminds me of a quote by one man beloved by many children, Fred Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” In this holiday season, I’m especially grateful to be surrounded by those who are helping children.
This year, one of the most powerful films I came across was the documentary American Symphony, which captures the life of musician Jon Batiste. What struck me most was not just his incredible talent, but the deeply personal journey he and his wife, Suleika Jaouad, went through as she battled cancer. They are both extremely talented creatives, and watching them overcome adversity and support each other is inspiring. If you’re looking for a moving, real-life story of perseverance, this documentary is a must-watch. And you can follow it up by listening to his new album Beethoven Blues, which is another of my favorites!
Anna Rice, Community Resources Coordinator
This year has been one of meaningful personal growth for me. As a family, we’ve planted deeper roots in our community and after almost three years in Houston, we finally feel ready to call it home. As the year draws to a close, my heart is filled with gratitude for the daily blessings we receive through the people around us—for the chance to be a blessing to others through our work, friendships, and connections.
This year as a team, we explored the concept of Unreasonable Hospitality. This approach is largely inspired by Will Guidara, who has given the example of how an act as simple as serving someone a hot dog in a fine dining restaurant becomes an opportunity to go above and beyond in making customers feel truly seen.
(If you haven’t heard the story, Will made a mad dash to a nearby street cart so he could buy an NYC hot dog for a family of foodies dining at his restaurant—all because they said that a New York hot dog was the only thing they didn’t get to try on their trip.)
This framework of radical hospitality has the potential to be transformative in our work with vulnerable families and children, underscoring the importance of not just meeting their needs, but ensuring their voices are always valued and heard.
Sarah Kindel, Executive Assistant
As the oldest daughter in my family, I need a plan. I need to know what’s coming and I wince at the thought of the unexpected. Despite my valiant effort to keep the train of life on its tracks, I’ve found that life will always find a way to surprise you—whether it be with a late-night emergency room visit or a shower leak that floods the entire downstairs.
However, one thing that I find myself continually able to rely on is the sheer goodness of people. Whether it’s your community showing up for you when it matters most and taking the baton with grace and empathy or neighbors sending dinner to your house when they know that you’ve been struck with a stomach bug and your kids have been surviving off granola bars and applesauce for the last three days, people are always helping.
Even in the most unexpected times, the people of our community prove to be a light that continues to shine in some of the darkest places.
True to form, I’m more than a little late to the hygge bandwagon. Regardless, Holy Hygge by Jamie Erickson was a fantastic read this year that encouraged me to let my impossibly high guard down and welcome guests into my home despite the unswept floor and unfinished kids’ crafts on the counter.
Something special happens when you break bread with people. Erickson notes that discipleship, vulnerability, and accountability all happen around a table and suggests that sharing a meal with someone is sharing life with someone: a gesture of intimacy that creates a bond of unity between strangers. True hospitality isn’t found over a chef-inspired meal in a picture-perfect home, but in the fellowship shared between people who are more focused on present over perfect.
From all of us here at The Riverside Project, thank you for being a part of our story in 2024. We can’t wait to continue helping children and families in Houston heal throughout 2025—but we can’t do it alone.
If you’re looking for a way to make a real impact on a local level, we would greatly appreciate your support. By donating to our organization, you’ll help extend essential services like Babysitter Training, Trauma-Informed Training, the Response Network, and much more to even more families across our city.
Will you support our work by contributing a one-time or monthly gift? This year, our goal is to raise $85,000 before 2025 begins and we hit the ground running with more outreach efforts.
A gift of any amount that feels right to you will help us provide support for young adults aging out of foster care and families facing challenging situations in our community. Every dollar brings us closer to a community where no one is left to journey alone. Your generosity makes a difference.
Best of all, thanks to a generous donor, your gift will be matched—dollar for dollar—if made by December 31st.
Thank you so much for supporting the work we do to uplift our neighbors here in Houston. If you find yourself unable to give in this season, we completely understand and ask that you consider sharing our mission with your friends and family to help us spread the word:
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