Dear Friends and Supporters of The SoulWell Center,

I am writing to share some bittersweet news with you. After much prayer, reflection, and conversation with our Board of Directors, we have made the decision to begin the process of dissolving The SoulWell Center as a nonprofit organization. Although the nonprofit is closing, The Attuned Listener Training will continue independently. While this marks the closing of an important chapter, I am deeply grateful for all that God has allowed us to accomplish together and hopeful about the ways this work will continue to bear fruit.

How It All Began

In the fall of 2022, 23 people said yes to an invitation to participate in a 13-week course designed to help them become more empathic, attuned listeners. At the time, I had a vision for creating a physical space called The SoulWell Center—a place where anyone could come and experience the gift of being heard, understood, and valued.

As a counselor, I had become increasingly aware that many people long for someone to listen to them with genuine care and compassion. Some cannot afford professional counseling, while others may not need therapy but would benefit tremendously from someone who could simply sit with them, listen well, and help them feel less alone. My hope was to equip volunteers who could offer this kind of presence within our community.

That first group helped shape this vision. Their thoughtful, honest feedback validated the need for the training and helped me refine the course. Many shared how deeply the material changed their understanding of healthy communication, particularly as they recognized how their own stories, assumptions, and experiences influenced the way they listened to others. Out of that first group came our founding Board of Directors, an Advisory Board, and our first StoryWork Group.

Over time, the course became known as The Attuned Listener Training and evolved into several formats—from half-day workshops and four-week intensives to the more comprehensive eight-week course. Although the physical listening center I originally envisioned never became a reality, the training itself was meeting a need, and participants’ enthusiasm encouraged me to continue developing and sharing it.

The Impact of The SoulWell Center

Since that first class:

• 120 participants have completed our longer-form Attuned Listener courses, including the original group of 23.

• Approximately 400 people have participated in abbreviated trainings and workshops through churches, schools, camps, and community organizations.

• Approximately 225 additional people have received training through partnerships and engagements beyond our local Western North Carolina ministry.

Altogether, approximately 745 people have been reached through our listening trainings, with the potential for that impact to extend much further through the relationships they touch every day. Our StoryWork ministry has also provided opportunities for deeper connection, personal reflection, and the healing power of being known within a trusted community.

But numbers tell only a small part of the story. Some of my greatest joys have come through watching participants experience those wonderful “aha” moments when they recognize something about themselves, understand another person in a new way, or experience what it feels like to be truly heard.

I continue to receive emails and messages from former participants, sometimes months or even years after completing the training, sharing how what they learned has changed the way they listen to their spouses, children, parents, friends, coworkers, and members of their church communities. These stories have meant more to me than I can adequately express.

What began as a vision for one physical listening center has become an opportunity to help cultivate spaces of connection and understanding wherever people live, work, worship, and serve. Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful and unexpected gifts of this journey.

With Deep Gratitude

To every person who has encouraged this vision, participated in a training, served on our Board or Advisory Board, partnered with us, prayed for us, or contributed financially: thank you. So many of you believed in this vision before we knew exactly what it would become. Your generosity, encouragement, and willingness to participate have made a lasting difference.

I especially want those of you who have contributed financially to know that your gifts have been meaningful and well stewarded. They helped us develop and offer training that has touched hundreds of lives and made it possible to serve local churches and community organizations without requiring payment.

I remain convinced that our churches and communities need people who know how to listen well—people who can offer a compassionate, nonjudgmental presence, informed by neuroscience and counseling research and rooted in what Scripture teaches us about loving one another.

Why We Are Closing This Chapter

Over these past four years, I have come to recognize more clearly where my greatest passion and sense of calling lie. What brings me the most joy is developing curriculum, teaching, and helping people discover the transforming power of attuned listening.

At the same time, managing and sustaining a nonprofit requires considerable administrative, financial, and organizational responsibilities. Balancing those demands with my work as a full-time professor and clinical supervisor, along with my desire to be present with my growing family, has led me to prayerfully reconsider how best to steward my time and energy.

I believe The SoulWell Center has served an important purpose in bringing this vision to life. Now is the right time to bring the nonprofit chapter to a thoughtful and intentional close while continuing the work that grew out of it.

We are not abandoning the mission. We are simply allowing it to continue in a different form.

What Comes Next for The Attuned Listener Training?

I am delighted to share that The Attuned Listener Training is not going away! It will continue independently of The SoulWell Center.

I plan to continue offering the training to churches, schools, and community organizations throughout Western North Carolina, including making it available to local organizations without requiring a fee. I am also working toward completing a self-paced online version of the course, which will make the training accessible to people who cannot attend in person.

Perhaps most excitingly, I am currently in conversation with a publishing organization that has expressed interest in collaborating to expand the reach of The Attuned Listener Training. One possibility involves developing resources and training facilitators who could then offer the course in their own communities across the country.

I find this possibility both exciting and, if I am being candid, a little daunting! It could extend this work far beyond anything I originally imagined. I would deeply appreciate your prayers as I discern these opportunities and take the next steps.

If you would like to stay connected with this next chapter, please visit The Attuned Listener website and sign up for the email list to receive updates and learn about future training opportunities. I would love to have you continue on this journey with me.

What Happens to The SoulWell Center?

Our Board is moving forward with formally dissolving The SoulWell Center as a North Carolina nonprofit organization. After meeting our remaining financial and administrative obligations, all remaining funds will be donated to one or more local nonprofit organizations whose missions align with our commitment to relational connection, compassion, and the well-being of individuals and families.

It is important to us that the resources entrusted to The SoulWell Center continue to serve people in our Western North Carolina community. Our hope is to complete the dissolution process by the end of this calendar year.

A Final Word

As I reflect on these past four years, I am struck by how often God takes a vision and allows it to unfold in ways we could not have anticipated. I sometimes wonder whether The Attuned Listener Training would ever have come into existence without that original dream of The SoulWell Center. I suspect it would not have.

For that reason, I do not see this chapter as an unfinished dream or a failed endeavor. I see it as a meaningful and fruitful season that gave birth to something I believe will continue to grow.

Thank you for being part of that story and for helping create spaces where people can experience the gift of being heard, understood, and valued. My prayer is that the seeds planted through The SoulWell Center will continue to bear fruit for years to come—in our families, churches, schools, workplaces, and communities.

If you have any questions about this transition or what comes next, please feel free to email me at thesoulwellcenter@gmail.com. I would be glad to hear from you.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Jackie Perry