The Indescribable Gift

The Beginning

In 1997, my son, Gunnar Levin, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, weighing two pounds eleven ounces. Within days, his weight dropped to two pounds six ounces. He arrived three months early and spent eighty four days in the NICU. Spring moved on without us, and Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the 4th of July. The Indy 500 came and went. We stayed put, listening to monitors, learning patience.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my father, Dr. Arnold Levin, a college professor and an ordained Lutheran minister, baptized Gunnar while serving as a pulpit supply pastor in Nashville. I do not remember the scripture or even the full arc of the sermon. What I remember is a phrase he returned to again and again: “An indescribable gift.”

A Lesson in Gifts

My mother, Gloria was a kindergarten teacher in Orion, Illinois, a small rural farming community. Gloria helped kids start their education and Arnold helped them finish it. Gifts in Orion were rarely bought. They were made. Baked bread, cookies, hand cut ornaments, and once, memorably, a napkin holder shaped like a chicken, its mouth a clothespin and a body knitted to hold napkins.

During the sermon, my father held the napkin holder up to the congregation. People laughed. It was unique, sincere, and impossible to explain. It was given with love by a family of a farming community of makers. An indescribable gift.

The Work That Teaches You

Living and working every day in the I/DD space, I am reminded how often the most meaningful things resist clean language. The greatest gift is not a program or the single family home. It is the person. Their character. Their presence. The value they bring to a community and the value we are asked to bring in return.

The People Who Make It Real

As Barbara always says, “There are people who get it and those who don't.” This work is shaped by people who understand that truth. We are grateful to welcome incredible people to the G Community. 

Carmen Vasquez, shaped by her Guatemalan roots, carries a global sensibility into everything she builds. A licensed contractor and real estate professional, her passion, intellect, and work ethic deliver the highest quality and care.

Robyn Heeks, influenced by studies of anthropology and the environment, brings vision and sustainability to the work. A LEED certified architect, planner, philosopher, and farmer, she designs spaces with patience and long horizons in mind.

Jeff DeWitte, with decades of experience working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Chapel Hill and the Triangle, will begin supporting G Living at G House in 2026. 

We are also grateful to welcome the Atkinson family and their daughter Rebecca to our growing G House waitlist community. Bill and Sarah, now in their eighties, have spent a lifetime in service. Bill is a retired cardiovascular surgeon and Sarah a special education teacher, and together they have lovingly supported children with special needs. Today, they recognize the value of the G Community and the strength that comes from belonging to it.

Together, we are building more than housing. We are building a coalition of families and professionals who are patient, kind, and who understand that this work is relational at its core.

What We Are Growing

This year brought meaningful progress with our legal partners, including Jamey Lowdermilk of Brooks Pierce and Thomas Beckett of Carolina Common Enterprise, and the opening of a new office at Innovate Carolina Junction between Franklin Street and Rosemary through a Chancellor’s Office initiative connecting the University and the community. We hope this space becomes a hub for weekly collaboration, open office hours, and honest conversation, with regular two-hour blocks designed for in-person and virtual participation to support G Living, G Day Carolina, G Day products, G House, and G Community workshops.

A Personal Challenge

At home, my eighteen year old son Bengt offered a Christmas gift that he could afford, it cost nothing but thought. He created an acronym for our family name. LEVIN stands for Love Enables Victory In the Now. Along with it came a challenge to build a meaningful habit together. Again an indescribable gift

I accepted. My commitment is to take one photograph each day, paired with a short quote I write paired with someone more famous, with the goal of creating a three hundred sixty five day calendar to offer the G House community next year.

An Invitation

Gifts have a way of moving outward. If you feel called to be part of that movement, I invite you to visit the G Living web portal. https://thegcommunity.org/get-involved or https://thegcommunity.org/donate Year end donations are tax deductible and support the work of the G Community and the many individuals with disabilities whose lives enrich our community in ways that cannot be fully described.

Some gifts are easy to wrap. Others arrive in forms we do not expect. The ones that matter most often defy explanation.

They are, simply, indescribable.

With grit and gratitude,

Eric Levin

eric@theghouse.org

910-528-8116

Building Together. Community.

thegcommunity.org