Vocal + Assist 2023

Hi my name is Rick Henry Christopher. I'm a novice writer and a youtube talk show host. I created Vocal + Assist on March 8, 2022, to help me cope with the grief I was experiencing at the time.

Coping with Grief

Most people that know me know that my mom became very ill in November 2021 and my brother, Christopher, and I took the honor of becoming her 24/7 caregivers. Shortly after in January 2021 my brother became unexpectedly sick, and he passed away. That was grief on top of grief.

Then in January 2022 my mom and I both ended up with COVID. We both became very ill. My mom spent eight days in the hospital. I did not think she was going to survive. But my mom is a tough little cookie and she made it through.

When my mom came home, she was paralyzed from the neck down. I was devastated and was thrown into a further depth of grief. It killed me to see her unable to move or talk or anything. I could tell she was very sad and confused. Caring for her was very rough on me during this period. But I did it. I saw this through. I did not put her in a nursing home despite how hard it was. I worked through it and I nurtured my mom back to health. It took a while but she regained her ability to use her hands, sit up, move her legs, eat solid foods and speak. It was during this time of extreme grief that I created Vocal + Assist. This group brought me an escape and a modicum of joy.

The Vocal + Assist Vision

First and foremost, Vocal + Assist (V+A) is about community.

V+A is a slow growing group as the group admins closely screen every person that requests membership into the group. We do this to ensure every member in our community will bring value and friendship to the table.

V+A has been designed to accomplish a few different things. One is to create community and develop friendships. The other is to increase reads and give every person in the group an opportunity to be noticed. There are other things - but I'm sure you don't expect me to give up all my secrets. 😎

Every Voice is Heard

We strive to ensure that each member is on equal footing. Everybody has the same opportunity to get reads and be noticed.

When the V+A Admins notice someone new in the group that isn't getting reads we read their works then push their post to the top of the feed so others can notice it. We strive to give new writers a chance. This is one of Loryne Andawey 's main focuses as an admin with V+A.

Everybody in the group is a superstar. We do not elevate a chosen few to a status higher than anybody else.

V+A encourages its members to support each other.

Our Recent Accomplishments

Over the past few months, we have been working toward making V+A a hub of information, knowledge, and encouragement.

The foundation is there for our hub. We have Writer's Workshops, Author of the Day, Top Story Recognition. We're currently in the development stages of two exciting new features which are directly designed to be part of the Vocal + Assist Hub (the name is in the works).

In recent months we have accomplished a few things through our committees. We have encouraged people to start using Content Warning labels and we have addressed plagiarism and brought some very good ideas to Vocal.

Our Author of the Day (AOTD) feature reaches out to people that may not have been active for a while. After they are AOTD the writing flame is rekindled. We have brought several people back to writing.

Loryne acts as an advocate for the group members. She generally works through issues with them and assists them with any problems they have with Vocal Media. Recently, for one of our members, she was able to get Vocal to issue a payment that was taking longer then usual.

Let me introduce our Admins:

Loryne Andawey

When Rick invited me to join the Admin team I was reticent. I did not know what the role entailed and, while I knew I wanted to contribute to the community, I did not expect it to be in that capacity. But when I learned that being an Admin meant helping writers grow, I accepted. That’s because my own growth on the Vocal platform was thanks to the support of my fellow writers and I was looking for a way to return the favour. Being an Admin on Vocal+Assist allows me to do so. It is my absolute pleasure to support you in any way I can.

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Stephanie Bradberry

If there is something you want to know more or better, find out the behind the scenes. Being an Admin on Vocal+Assist allows me to hone my skills as a life coach and budding creative writer. I experience personal growth by instituting practices of patience and creating harmony with others.

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Jason Basaraba

Vocal + Assist has opened a new avenue for me, one that I am so glad to have been accepted into. The banter between the team members is enjoyable. This support from the Admin group is not only for others but for me as well. One of the pro’s is ‘Author of the Day’, it has opened my eyes to so many talented people that I may have missed in the past.

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Shane Dobbie

I wasn’t sure about accepting the admin role at first, being lazy and having the attention span of a goldfish, but once I met everyone and realised the good it was doing for the community I was all for it. Even just flagging up the Author of the Day once a week and seeing people react to it is a buzz. It’s gonna sound corny but it’s remarkable how effective being nice can be. Who knew?

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Oneg Kushnir

Vocal Assist + has managed to maintain exactly what members have been begging for; community. I have been in many groups dedicated to Vocal, and writing in general, but have yet to see one inspire and support writers in such a consistent and meaningful way. Though I am just starting out as a member of the admin team here, I can already see the dedication, organization, and effort that goes into making sure community is prioritized. I cannot wait to see how the group continues to flourish.

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