Share your smiles, compliments, time, talents, money, and energy with those around you. We must truly be the change that we want to see. And we can do it. We are doing it. Believe that the future is full of mindfulness where hearts mean more than our accounts.
The Love Initiative.
Notes From the Road – Bright Lights Blog
http://troubadourofpeace.blogspot.com/
Book a house concert or music for a yoga class today!!
TOUR DATES
| Date | Time | Venue | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/22/18 | 3:00 PM | Choices | Akron, OH | |
| 3/22/18 | 6:00 PM | Tea Time for Peace | Kent, OH | |
| 3/23/18 | 5:00 PM | Friends of the Metro Parks Benefit w/ the Bright Lights | Akron, OH | |
| 3/27/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 3/30/18 | 6:30 PM | 330 Day @ Akron Civic Theatre | Akron, OH | |
| 3/31/18 | 10:30 AM | Celebration of Life for Marilyn Stroud | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | |
| 4/3/18 | 6:30 PM | MLK Kirtan | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/4/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Circle | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/6/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Rhodes St Rude Boys | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 4/7/18 | 8:30 PM | Mustard Seed Highland Square w/ Bright Lights! | Akron, OH | |
| 4/10/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 4/16/18 | 7:00 PM | Wolf Creek Winery | Norton, OH | |
| 4/21/18 | 6:30 PM | Bright Lights @ the Rialto | Akron, OH | $5 |
| 4/22/18 | 4:00 PM | Yoga Central | Canton, OH | |
| 4/28/18 | 7:00 PM | Wine Mill | Peninsula, OH | |
| 5/2/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Series | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 5/4/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Gretchen Pleuss | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 5/5/18 | 12:00 PM | Cleveland VegFest | Cleveland, OH | |
| 5/5/18 | 6:00 PM | Bent Ladder winery | Doylestown , OH | |
| 5/8/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH |
‘GRANDMOTHERS ON THE MOVE’ Podcast Episodes
Click HERE!
NO START TIME and NO END TIME – LISTEN to past and current podcasts!
Grandmothers To Grandmothers Campaign
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign exists to support the indomitable African grandmothers who are caring for the millions of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. Members of the Grandmothers Campaign share three goals. They work to:
- Raise funds to meet the needs of African grandmothers and the children in their care;
- Listen to African grandmothers, respect their expertise and amplify their voices, in order to promote authentic and substantive responses to the epidemic in Africa;
- Build solidarity among African and Canadian grandmothers in order to motivate and sustain the vital work of turning the tide of AIDS in Africa.
Canadian grandmothers groups are tremendously active in their communities. They put on concerts, organize card tournaments, and sell jewellery. They visit countless schools and community organizations. They bake, cook, sew, knit, paint, write, organize cycle tours, walks, and even ride motorcycles – all to raise funds and awareness for grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa through the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
To learn more about how you can get involved in the Campaign, write to Ilana here.
Articles About The Campaign
What started as a conversation around a kitchen table has grown to become a movement to empower women, especially grandmothers, in Africa.
The Grandmothers Campaign, an initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, is known as Grandmothers 4 Grandmothers in Regina, which was among the very first places in Canada where women took on projects to support families in Africa.
‘We know the power of women’s organizing in Canada and older women have an extraordinary amount of vigour and energy.’– Ilana Landsberg-Lewis
As Ilana Landsberg-Lewis explains, the movement arose in response to the human crisis, observed by her father Stephen Lewis during his time as a special envoy for the United Nations, afflicting the African continent during the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
Millions of children were orphaned by the deaths of their parents. Their grandmothers were left to raise them, with little or no support.
Ilana Landsberg-Lewis is co-founder, with her father Stephen Lewis, of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. One of their main campaigns supports grandmothers in Africa. (Lisa MacIntosh/Stephen Lewis Foundation)
“Grandmothers were just in an agony of loss,” Landsberg-Lewis said. “Death was everywhere. They were left with no income and often isolated by the terrible stigma surrounding HIV-AIDS.”
Landsberg-Lewis recalled how requests seeking aid referred to the grandmothers as “caregivers” and when she asked why, she learned there was a strong bias in play.
“Nobody wants to fund them because they’re older women and nobody sees them as a meaningful investment,” she learned.
“We decided if Canadian grandmothers knew what was happening on the [African] continent then it would surely resonate with them and boy did it ever,” Landsberg-Lewis said.
“I wish I could say that I was prescient but it would be overstating it,” she said, talking about how the success of the organization, which quickly grew from a handful of activists brain-storming at a kitchen table (her own) to over 250 chapters across the country.
Since 2006 they have raised about $25 million.
“It was really extraordinary but I can’t say that I’m surprised,” she said. “Older women in our communities, we know the power of women organizing in Canada and older women have an extraordinary amount of vigour and energy.”
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The Campaign currently boasts more than 240 grandmothers groups across the country. Many of the groups have organized into regional and national networks in order to support each other’s efforts in solidarity with African grandmothers and the children in their care.
Resources from the Grandmothers Campaign go to grassroots organizations that support African grandmothers with food, health care, school fees and school uniforms for their grandchildren, income-generating programmes, counselling, social support, essential shelter, and other necessities. Throughout Africa, grassroots organizations run by and for grandmothers are sharing insights, deepening their expertise, collaborating with other local organizations, and building their capacity to turn the tide of AIDS at community level.
AURA HOME WOMEN VETS
50 South French Broad Avenue
Suite 203
Asheville NC 28801
828-771-6979
http://aurahomewomenvets.org
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Prem Rawat Foundation Supports Veterans With Peace Education Program
This article is also available in: French
For too many veterans, finding an enduring sense of peace remains elusive long after they return from war. They often face immense challenges as they transition to civilian life, from trauma disorders to unemployment and homelessness.
Thankfully, November 11 marks an occasion to honor their service and support solutions that can improve their lives. The date is Veterans Day in the United States, and in many other countries it is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.
A growing number of veterans say the Peace Education Program is a solution that gives them the tools they need to harness their own inner-strength and overcome their obstacles. The program’s workshops feature videos of Prem Rawat’s empowering international talks on themes such as dignity, choice and hope.
“The Peace Education Program tries only to achieve one simple thing: it’s to put you in touch with yourself,” says Rawat.
While the goal is simple, the impact was profound for Alyce Knaflich, a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress, depression and homelessness for 10 years. She credits PEP with giving her the confidence to now work as the executive director of Aura Home Women Vets, a charity in Asheville, NC that provides housing and support to homeless women veterans.
Veteran Alyce Knaflich shares her story in this video.
“I was lost. Prem Rawat and his message in the program, it brought me home. And my home is my heart. Peace starts on the inside,” says Knaflich.
She has incorporated the Peace Education Program into Aura Home’s services to help her clients have the same enriching experience that she did.
“Prem’s message will help them heal their emotional stress, and ease the transition of coming out of the military and trying to find a new career path. It will help them center themselves and bring out their confidence,” says Knaflich.
HONOR NATIVE LAND:
A GUIDE AND CALL TO ACKNOWLEDGMENT
IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND AMONG TRIBAL NATIONS IN THE U.S., it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not. Together, we can spark a movement to change that.
We call on all individuals and organizations to open public events and gatherings with acknowledgment of the traditional Native inhabitants of the land.
Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth. Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands. Millions would be exposed—many for the first time—to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action.
For more than five hundred years, Native communities across the Americas have demonstrated resilience and resistance in the face of violent efforts to separate them from their land, culture, and each other. They remain at the forefront of movements to protect Mother Earth and the life it sustains. Today, corporate greed and federal policy push agendas to extract wealth from the earth, degrading sacred land in blatant disregard of treaty rights. Acknowledgment is a critical public intervention, a necessary step toward honoring Native communities and enacting the much larger project of decolonization and reconciliation. Join us in adopting, calling for, and spreading this practice.
Download the Guide: Created in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.
Download the #HonorNativeLand Guide
Fill out the form to download the guide
WHY INTRODUCE THE PRACTICE OF LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT?
- Offer recognition and respect.
- Counter the “doctrine of discovery” with the true story of the people who were already here.
- Create a broader public awareness of the history that has led to this moment.
- Begin to repair relationships with Native communities and with the land.
- Support larger truth-telling and reconciliation efforts.
- Remind people that colonization an ongoing process, with Native lands still occupied due to deceptive and broken treaties.
- Take a cue from Indigenous protocol, opening up space with reverence and respect.
- Inspire ongoing action and relationship.
Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationship and informed action. But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation.
Empowering Women through Writing, Weaving and Sharing
Be heard, connect with your inner resources and cultivate courage to create change.
Our Mission
To create a woven tapestry based on the stories of 1,000 women globally by 2020 that will be exhibited internationally to shine a light on the creative accomplishments of women while calling attention to the challenges women currently face world-wide.
To foster a culture of self-knowledge and sharing that builds courage and fosters a sense of power in women everywhere to contribute to their communities in positive ways.
To allow women to tell the story of their lives, as a catalyst for change, particularly by opening up discussions about issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse in a safe and supportive way.
To promote resilience, compassion, open communication, healing and peace in individuals and communities.
Intro to the Project
Participating in Woven Voices is a journey that starts with self-reflection and writing, and transforms into a woven tapestry, a visual storyboard of women’s lives from around the globe. The 3 elements of the Woven Voices project work together as tools to access, claim, and celebrate our power as individuals and together as a global community of women.
The Artist
Brecia Kralovic-Logan is a passionate champion of creativity who has spent the last 40 years helping people of all ages to embrace and express their unique individuality.
Brecia Kralovic-Logan
4164 Mount Hukee Ave
San Diego, Ca 92117
Mobile: 805-896-3287
breciakl@gmail.com
breciacreative.com
thespiralofcreativity.com
Honoring the Past • Healing the Present • Celebrating the Future
A CELEBRATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN ART, MUSIC AND CULTURES
Thank you Joanne and Monte for this inspiring, hope-infused interview.
Tickets: www.sheatheater.org
Note that the concert is at the Shea Theater at 17 Avenue A in Turners Falls at 7:30 pm on Saturday and tickets are available before the event at a reduced rate and also available at the door.
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Festival details and schedule: www.nolumbekaproject.org
P.O. Box 285, 91 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01302
The mission of the Nolumbeka Project is to promote a deeper, broader and more accurate depiction of the history of the Native Americans/American Indians of New England before and during European contact and colonization;
To protect and preserve sites sacred to, and of historic value to, the Native Americans/American Indians of New England; to create and promote related educational opportunities, preservation projects and cultural events; and to work in partnership, as much as possible, with the tribes.
We will strive to exemplify the Native American/American Indian peoples’ respect for Mother Earth and all living beings; to be mindful of our role as caretakers for future generations; and to honor our connection to the Earth and Sky and to the Creator.
The Nolumbeka Project, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the history of Native Americans/American Indians of New England through educational programs, art, history, music, heritage seed preservation and cultural events. We are actively building, maintaining and expanding an historical archive research library for use by the Tribes and Educators of the Northeast and beyond.
Our Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who have been active for more than 40 years in a number of other preservation, historical research, environmental and social justice organizations.
Elder Activists for Social Justice
Community Conversations
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, August 15
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
|
Bystanders to Activists:
Ways of Being Engaged in Ensuring Social Justice
3rd Thursday of each month
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
We participate together over Zoom video conferencing in a lightly-facilitated, educational and interactive conversation. We have time to deep dive into our topics using an Elder and social justice lens…always provocative, meaningful and community-oriented.
We began, three years ago, by looking at issues related to racism, white privilege, wealth inequality and Islamophobia, and have recently studied Native peoples’ history, reconciliation and the moral voice of an Elder. Each month’s topic grows from the previous month’s and the interests of those attending.
Approximately two weeks before each meeting we may post resources about our subject which include relevant readings, videos, articles, and introspective questions. Our meeting format is participatory, and everyone has a chance to interact and share. All meetings are via Zoom video conferencing. Click for instructions and access to Zoom conferencing. ALL ARE WELCOME.
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, August 15
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
Bystanders to Activists:
Ways of Being Engaged in Ensuring Social Justice
In this month’s Community Conversation we turn toward taking specific actions on developing an EASJ project to end the separation of immigrant children from their parents at the border. Your task, should you decide to accept it, is to look up and read everything you can find on recent actions taken by the US government, state and local border governments, prison facilities housing immigrants and ICE officials to change separation practices.
Also, think about how you would actually define the problem and its underlying causes. Be thorough in asking yourself “Why?” or “What does that mean?” because we’re setting this up as a serious project. We’re not just talking about or protesting the problem. We’re developing responsible action for finding and enacting positive solutions for this terrible, heartless situation. Join us!
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here.
July Conversation:
The terrible issue of immigrant children detained at the U.S. border
At our July 18 meeting we asked What can I or We do about [the] problem [of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the border]?…. As Elders who care deeply but who are not necessarily able to get up and go to protests – although some do – determining what can one person do presents the usual question of just that – what can one person do? The power of positive action of any type was deemed to be essentially of a personal choice, but whatever it is, it’s important – whether it be writing letters to editors, senators or representatives; joining local or bigger groups and jumping on the bandwagon; donating money for aid or bail for immigrants, or writing to our mutual fund investment managers about divesting from prison complex companies like Geo Group (GEO) and CoreCivic (CXW), it’s all good.
But, perhaps the best way to help is to follow Shannon’s information she found in the New York Times on June 24, 2019: Children Shouldn’t Be Dying at the Border. Here’s How You Can Help
Donation of money (100%) to the National Bail Fund Network aids in disrupting the injustice of bail requirements in the immigration detention and mass incarceration systems. For more information contact Pilar Maria Weiss, Director of Community Justice Exchange at 202-279-1656 or go online to: www.communityjusticeexchange.org/national-bail-fund-network
So…show up…speak out…and ‘be the light’ because it all matters!
Resources:
Letter from Santa Fe Dreamers:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We know that you have all been reading and watching the absolutely horrific news unfold about the conditions of detention on the border. We know that many of you feel scared, frustrated, angry, and powerless by the way that our government is treating vulnerable people, especially children. We are writing today with information and direction towards action but also to urge you not to feel powerless. We are always capable of making change through our collective power. Of course this requires courage, stamina, and an intelligent, disciplined, and organized theory of change. It will not be easy. We encourage you to turn away from despair and towards this place of collective power knowing that it will test you. We will be with you the whole way. Below you will find some ideas for inspiration.
Love,
Your friends at Santa Fe Dreamers Project
- Educate yourself: Here at SFDP this is always our number one piece of advice. The more you know, the fiercer you will be as an advocate and a voter. There are plenty of explosive news articles to read but here are a few that we have learned from recently: We suggested this piece in our last newsletter but if you haven’t had a chance to read it we highly suggest Dara Lind’s “The Border is in Crisis. Here’s How it Got This Bad”. The New Yorker ran an incredibly thought provoking piece written by a historian about “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camp”. Again from the New Yorker, a report from the lawyers who were recently allowed in to inspect a children’s facility in Clint, TX, “Inside a Building in Texas where Government is Holding Immigrant Children”. Another really important thing to learn about (and something that is not highlighted enough in the news) is the Migrant Protection Protocol or MPP program that has currently turned thousands of thousands of migrants around at the US border to wait in Mexico. This is an excruciatingly dangerous policy that is threatening the lives of migrant families day after day.
- Understand that this cruelty is not new and these tactics did not just begin. In fact, the Obama administration reignited the practice of family detention in 2014. One of the reasons this summer feels so out of control is because the sheer numbers of people asking for asylum are so high. The Obama and now Trump administrations’ policies attempted to deter migrants through punishment, suffering, and torture but their success was dependent on the flow of migrants actually stopping. Now that the numbers are so high, these cruel and failed policies have now turned deadly.
- Engage with politicians: Here is the thing: The Trump administration cannot be swayed with moral arguments or blame. They are doing this on purpose. One way of thinking about engaging with politicians is to remember that Congress has the power of the purse and is funding this enforcement regime. One theory is that we can defund ICE and CBP and redirect that money to agencies or NGO’s that are capable of handling a humanitarian crisis of this scope and are not killing people for political motive. This means we have to pressure progressives and democrats and republicans with a conscience to do more than just signal compassion for immigrants. We need these leaders to articulate how they are going to disempower the Trump Administration and make sure it is part of the work they are doing to secure our votes. We can and must demand courageous leadership from our Senators and Representatives and that their actions reflect our deep desire to end the state sponsored violence on the border.
- How to respond to the threat of ICE raids: Trump’s twitter threat for a massive enforcement action last week was credible and achieved its purpose of scaring the shit out of immigrant and refugee communities all over the US. While it has been “delayed”, now is a wise time for communities to get organized. The American Friends Service Committee published this resource about how allies can support their immigrant and refugee neighbors during this time. Here is the ACLU’s guide to knowing your rights during ICE encounters and we suggest exploring it. Santa Fe Dreamers will be holding walk in hours for people to help families with power of attorney and family prep plans every Friday in Santa Fe from 1-5 at our 1213 Mercantile Rd office. If you work with concerned families let them know about this resource.
- Actions happening in NM: There is a lot of talk about national protests to close concentration camps on July 12. One of the organizations that is involved with planning this is called Lights of Liberty. Their Facebook page is a source of info– although we don’t have much info yet about that organization. We are talking with folks in NM about planning more locally focused actions and as soon as we have more details we will announce it. Choose your social media of choice or keep reading our emails to stay in touch.
- Where to donate: Of course here at Santa Fe Dreamers Project we use your donations to protect vulnerable immigrants and refugees in a million different ways every day. Specifically, we need more help on the border. We just rented a much larger office space in El Paso for our expanding team there and are raising funds for a legal assistant so we can have greater impact in the borderlands. You can donate to that effort here. Write border in the note! We are grateful for any help you can give putting this donation link out there into the universe. For those of you wondering where else it might be useful to donate here is our list of several grassroots legal organizations that we know are having impact (we also know we have left many out!)
- And finally an offer of poetry from our director, Allegra, who likes to contemplate what this particular poem is trying to teach us when thinking about the horrors we witness:
Now you know the worst
By Wendell Berry
To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin
Now you know the worst
we humans have to know
about ourselves, and I am sorry,
for I know that you will be afraid.
To those of our bodies given
without pity to be burned, I know
there is no answer
but loving one another,
even our enemies, and this is hard.
But remember:
when a man of war becomes a man of peace,
he gives a light, divine
though it is also human.
When a man of peace is killed
by a man of war, he gives a light.
You do not have to walk in darkness.
If you will have the courage for love,
you may walk in light. It will be
the light of those who have suffered
for peace. It will be
your light.
Regarding Investor Activism:
Here are some groups focused on Social, Environmental and Governance-conscious investing:
- Proxy Impact
- Sustainable Investment Institute
- As You Sow
- Green America (and also: www.greenamerica.org/finance)
And finally, for your research about political donations, money flow and lobbying influence:
How to join the conversation:
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here.
Socially Conscious Leadership from the Inside Out
Our guest this week has come to believe that “No matter how wonderful a program is, if it is done as a bestowing – a certain group of people making decisions for another group – that is never going to bridge the divide in our city.” Does your work fit within this paradigm of “bestowing,” and how do you plant seeds for a deeper mindset or consciousness shift to address underlying structural issues? Share Your Reflection »
Dallas-based therapist, activist, writer, community leader and speaker Michelle Kinder examines and teaches conscious leadership “from the inside out.” She offers practical, achievable steps for parents, teachers and others to support children’s social-emotional health, and for business and other leaders to drive transformation in their lives and organizations. While exploring the lack of mental health resources in southern Dallas, Kinder got to know the work of the Momentous Institute, a 99-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit organization that has been building and repairing social-emotional health through education and mental health programs. Momentous Institute serves vulnerable children through therapy services, curriculum and teacher training focused on See full.
Five Questions for Michelle
What Makes You Come Alive?
Thank you for asking. Learning makes me come alive. Learning combined with contribution has long been a winning formula for me feeling most alive. Over the years I developed the habit of checking in with myself every six months or so with the questions “Am I learning? Am I contributing?” There have been interesting seasons on how the two balance each other. There are times that striving to contribute crowded out the kind of white space by brain needs for deep learning and I have had to course correct. And there have been other times that I was learning a lot, but didn’t feel like I was being a good steward in terms of making a difference for other people or for causes I care about. I should also say that because I am currently in a season of more white space and more time for discernment, increasingly, simple pleasures are what make me come alive. Listening to birds, watching our dogs, yoga, running, sunshine, good coffee and the sound of my girls laughing together. Things like that.
Pivotal turning point in your life?
When I was in High School I left my family in Guatemala and came to the states to attend boarding school. It was a transformational experience. The wonderful faculty there saw qualities in me that they nurtured into leadership and I really learned who I was and what I was capable of during those four years. Interestingly, in my previous school, there were teachers who experienced the exact same qualities as problematic, annoying or something to control. Having that experience has made me very interested in how adults show up in the lives of children in a way that respects the enormous privilege and responsibility. I always say there are no neutral interactions when it comes to our relationships with children – all interactions are either positive, negative or missed opportunities.
An Act of Kindness You’ll Never Forget?
When I was in college, my 24-year-old sister died suddenly and it was an enormous challenge to go back to school while navigating the grief process. Several weeks into it, when people had stopped checking in, I found a card tucked into one of my books. It was from a classmate I knew somewhat, but not super well. It said something like, “I know time has passed but your hurt hasn’t.” I still tear up thinking about that act of kindness. It meant so much and it has shaped my desire to show up for others in similar ways.
One Thing On Your Bucket List?
Have the kind of flexibility to visit different places for a month at a time and work remotely while folding into the local scene.
One-line Message for the World?
Regardless of the situation, if you ever aren’t sure how to be most helpful, regulate your own nervous system.
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Awakin Circles: A hub for local meditation circles that started in the Silicon Valley and have now spread to 80+ cities around the globe. The circle start with an hour of silence, followed by a circle of sharing and dinner in silence. A newsletter with a passage selected from various wisdom traditions and an audio reading is sent out to 87,000 subscribers each week. See also Awakin Calls that hosts weekly conversations with wide-ranging thought leaders.
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ServiceSpace is an organization run entirely by volunteers. We leverage technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. Our aim is to ignite the fundamental generosity in ourselves and others, creating both inner and outer transformation.
ServiceSpace was conceived by volunteers, was built by volunteers, and is run by volunteers — all for the benefit of volunteers. Our projects range from a daily positive news service, to an acts-of-kindness portal, to a gift-economy restaurant. Regardless of the endeavor, we act in concert to create service opportunities for each other and to support each other’s service journeys.
In September of 2011, we formally changed our name from CharityFocus to ServiceSpace. Founded in 1999, ServiceSpace was originally started to help non-profits with technical services. Over the past dozen years, the organization has become an umbrella for many generosity-driven projects. Thus we have expanded our services from focusing just on helping charities, to encouraging everyday people to contribute in meaningful ways to the world around them. As the name suggests, our new expanded ServiceSpace platform allows people to stay connected with others interested in service, participate in service opportunities through any of our dozen projects, organize their own local service event using our tools, and stay connected to inspirational content. Above all, we believe in the inherent generosity of others and aim to ignite that spirit of service. Through our small, collective acts, we hope to transform ourselves and the world.
We hold these three principles steadfast within our organization:
Stay fully volunteer-run.
ServiceSpace was founded by volunteers and is run by volunteers. There is no paid staff, no office, and no central facilities. All ServiceSpace programs are conceived, designed, implemented, and administered by people who selflessly give their time so that others can benefit from those services.
Based on twelve years of our experience with a volunteer-run infrastructure, we’ve developed a streamlined process that structures projects in a distributed and decentralized manner. This allows more volunteers to give small chunks of time and still deliver high quality services to the end-receiver.
Being volunteer-run also allows us to organically self-organize. Instead of hierarchies and prefabricated business plans, our volunteer infrastructure is dynamic, low-cost and open to radical change. Everything is based on relationships and presence, and that creates a powerful context to BE the change.
We continue to be amazed at what inspired and dedicated individuals can do. Margaret Mead eloquently said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” We could not agree more.
Serve with whatever we have.
We have chosen a slightly different path than most organizations, and choose not to focus on fundraising, grants, or other sources of revenue – for example, none of our websites contain any advertisement. All services are distributed are gifted without any fees. Thus, we serve with whatever support and resources that come in organically when people are truly moved to give.
ServiceSpace projects are built within a gift-economy system, an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a traditional market economy, one’s wealth is increased by saving. In a gift economy, giving leads to increase: an increase in connections and relationship strength.
Our services are given freely, without asking for anything in return. Instead of scarcity and fear for an uncertain future, our second principle roots us in abundance and trust. We have realized that over time, if you serve with pure intentions, people’s cups of gratitude overflow. They don’t give to fulfill a need, they give as an expression of their own solidarity and joy. These genuine gifts, no matter how small or large, are what sustains us.
Focus on the small.
Our attempt is to do “small acts with great love”. As our tagline says, “Change Yourself, Change the World.” If we started out by having a goal to change the world, we might have been a little disappointed in our abilities; when we start with ourselves, we notice that the ripples around us continue to get bigger and bigger and as more people try to do small acts, we have every potential to change the world.
Just as every tiny bit of a hologram contains information of the whole, we feel that paying attention to the process, to the present moment, gives us plenty of information to become instruments of a larger, systemic change.
This is how ServiceSpace makes things happen. But essentially the engine that drives the organization is inspiration, pure and simple. We learn from each other, spur each other, help each other, and frequently amaze each other. Sure, we are stirred by the words and lives of great men and women like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa; but the examples set by our ServiceSpace colleagues–everyday heroes–are the real sustaining forces behind our projects.
ECOLISE
The European Network for Community-led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability, is the initiator and main organiser of the European Day of Sustainable Communities. We have 46 member networks and organisations across Europe
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A celebration of local communities taking action for a zero-carbon, regenerative and inclusive Europe.
This is an ECOLISE flagship event. #EDSC19 #SustainableCommunity
Become a co-creator of the day! For details see https://www.sustainable-communities.net/
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There’s only three weeks until Farm Aid 2019! We’re getting excited and
we hope you are too.
Even if you won’t be joining us in person in Wisconsin,
here are a couple of ways to join the Farm Aid fun
from wherever you are:
Stand with family farmers today! The people who grow our food deserve to make a fair living. But that’s out of reach for the livestock and poultry farmers who work in an industry where the power of giant corporations leaves them trapped in a rigged marketplace, vulnerable to abusive business practices.
Showing your support is easy with our online petition that will be delivered to the USDA.
TransOhio and Clintonville Counseling and Wellness present the 2nd Annual Trans Career and Wellness Day at Columbus Public Health! Local employers and community and wellness partners will be onsite to offer employment, health, and other opportunities to the transgender and gender non-confirming community.
10AM – 3PM: Job Fair with dozens of local affirming and inclusive employers and resources from Community organizations
11AM – 4PM: Wellness Workshops
10AM – 4PM: Medical testing by Columbus Public Health
Please check back to hear about the employers and community partners attending this year, details about the wellness workshops, and info about raffle prizes! Please share!
TransOhio, Inc.
P.O. Box 14481
Columbus, Ohio 43214
Email: TransOhio@transohio.org
Facebook: TransOhio Fan page
Our Mission
TransOhio serves the Ohio transgender and ally communities by providing services, education, support, and advocacy, which promotes and improves the health, safety and life experience of the Ohio transgender individual and community.
Our Vision
- to serve as a bridge to other LGBTQ+ and ally communities
- to provide a focus for matters of concern to the Ohio transgender community and their allies by providing open, affirming, visible and tangible support
- to promote opportunities and networking that increase awareness of the Transgender and gender-nonconforming community’s needs and concerns such, as discrimination and violence
- to increase lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual, and ally understanding and cultural awareness of the Ohio Transgender community
- to help ensure that Ohio educational programs and services are inclusive and supportive of Ohio Transgender issues, perspectives, and concerns
- to provide social activities that are inclusive of all LGBTQ+ and ally communities, access to safe-spaces, people, forums for confidential discussion, support, and local and national resource information
- to foster Ohio Transgender community pride
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On September 25th we’re hosting a live event in Chicago! At AWE Partners we LOVE the idea of blending profit and purpose to change the world. So we have created an event for business women who want to learn how they can support women’s empowerment. The event is called How to Invest, Shop, Give to Empower Women and will feature a panel of extraordinary women whose lives are a testament to doing good. At the event you will learn about…
The struggles our sisters are facing
Who is implementing solutions to change lives
How you can support these solutions in the way you invest, shop, and give
There will be plenty of time for Q&A, networking with other amazing women, and yummy food & drink. The event will be held at Susan Crown Exchange (4 East Ohio) and the price is only $30 – but space is limited so register early. Here’s the EventBrite link…
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
How to Invest, Shop, Give to Empower Women
$15 – $30
Event Information
Are you passionate about creating impact with your actions? Do you want to learn how to empower other women through investing, shopping, and giving?
Join a diverse community of heart-centered, mission-driven, and socially conscious women for a night of networking and learning. Our panelists and fellow impact-oriented women will help us discover how we can best incorporate the principles of Conscious Capitalism into our life and business for more passion, purpose, and profit!
We are embracing a paradigm shift to a more feminine approach to solving our social challenges that says “yes” to a new way forward and “no” to what’s not working.
Our guest panelists are:
Invest – Peg Quinn is a financial advisor and Certified Financial Planner for Paradigm Wealth Management. She works with individuals and families to simplify and organize their financial matters by providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management services. Her studies include a BS and MBA concentrating in finance. In addition, her 35 years of experience within the investment industry provide her a unique perspective into impact investing’s evolution. She is a friend of Gilda’s Club Associates Board and a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
Shop – Daniela Ancira is a human rights lawyer, an Ashoka Fellow, and founder of La Cana, a social enterprise working with incarcerated women in Mexico and creating social reintegration programs in prison. Daniela has promoted public policies on issues regarding prison labor, and is currently working closely with legislators to create a framework that guarantees basic working and social standards to inmates to incentivize companies to formally employ convicts, in order to help reduce recidivism and delinquency rates in Mexico. She has worked as a Human Rights lawyer defending victims of torture and enforced disappearance at a national and international level, and has collaborated with several organizations in litigating human rights violation cases before the UN and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. She is a member of the Technical Working Group of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime to create the United Nations Advanced Standards for the Mexican Penitentiary System; and in private practice has worked in prestigious firms in Civil and Commercial litigation, Corporate Law and Intellectual Property matters. Daniela is an Ashoka Fellow and was named Citizen of the Year in 2018.
Give – Izabel Olson is the Founder and CEO of Salt and Light Coalition here in Chicago, a non-profit organization which works with victims of human trafficking. She is dedicated to the empowerment of women, especially survivors of human trafficking, as they reframe their trauma experience and find success in the workplace. The unique combination of an academic background in cognitive science and a passion for holistic self-care gives her a unique ability to have a positive impact on women’s lives. Olson holds a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University and is the founder and CEO of Salt & Light Coalition, a grassroots organization focused on job training and mind/body restoration for survivors of human trafficking in Chicago and beyond. In 2017, Olson was awarded the Illinois Secretary of State’s Latina Humanitarian Achievement Award.
Light appetizers and drinks will be served. The event starts at 5:30 and our panel will begin at 6. Hope to see you all there
WHY WOMEN
Women are the future
of Social Impact.
If you’re here, we’re willing to bet you believe this, too. Here’s some AWEsome news: no matter if you’re a solopreneur just starting out or a seasoned exec, you absolutely can make a social impact (and inspire others to do the same)!
AWE Partners is a social enterprise created for women who are eager to give, invest, and shop for maximum impact on the causes they care about most.
In business…in life…in every area of our world, women aren’t just rewriting the “rules”. They’re redefining them, shattering the status quo, and leading the way on social issues that demand our attention.
Are you determined to create social impact…
Are you a female entrepreneur or executive determined to create meaningful social impact… but not quite sure where to start?
If you…
- feel confused and overwhelmed by the giving process
- don’t know where to begin
- aren’t sure where to find the information you need
- want to save time and money
Welcome home! Prepare for a whole lot more passion, purpose, AND profit in your life and business!
7 in 10 Americans think companies have the obligation to take actions to improve issues that may not be directly relevant or related to their everyday business. They are expected to help solve social problems.
That’s according to a 2017 study by Cone Communications
Working with AWE Partners
- Discover Your Purpose
- Ignite Your Passion
- Grow Your Impact
- Make a Positive Difference in the World
- Create a Meaningful Legacy
We understand this desire.
We can help.
- Identify the social issues that matter most to you
- Define your unique goals
- Maximize your social impact
- Connect you with a supportive community of like-minded women
There has never been a better time to unleash your AWE-thentic Impact!
Learn more about our on-line course Impact from the Inside Out
Subscribe to our e-mail list and receive this FREE Guide, Give & Grow: Business with Purpose delivered directly to your inbox!
Start: Monday, January 13, 2020• 5:30 PM
End: Monday, January 13, 2020• 8:30 PM
Location:Cherokee United Methodist Church•2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
Host Contact Info: southcarolina@poorpeoplescampaign.org
Join the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival in South Carolina for the eighth stop of the We Must Do M.O.R.E. national tour as we Mobilize, Organize, Register and Educate.
Click here if you’d like to volunteer and help make this tour a success!
The tour in South Carolina will culminate with a Moral Monday March and Mass Meeting on Monday, January 13th in Charleston, SC. This will follow a weekend of activities a community canvas to register people for a movement that votes and a community site visit.
Monday, January 13th | Charleston, SC
South Carolina Moral Monday March & Mass Meeting
5:30 PM – Gather for the march
6:30 PM – Mass Meeting begins
Cherokee United Methodist Church, 2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
**No large bags or umbrellas will be allowed in the mass meetings and small bags are subject to being searched.
At the Moral Monday, we will hear from South Carolinians directly impacted by systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the corrupt moral narrative. We will also hear from Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis, Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing a 25-state We Must Do MORE national tour from September 2019 to May 2020. This tour will lead into the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, where thousands of poor people and moral agents will gather at the nation’s capitol on June 20, 2020 to demonstrate their power.
We will demand the implementation of our Moral Agenda and call all people of conscience to engage in deeply moral civic engagement and voting that cares about poor and low-wealth people, the sick, immigrants, workers, the environment, people with disabilities, first nations, the LGBTQ community, and peace over war.
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
Sneak Peek Showing of “We Cried Power: A documentary of the PPC”
Dayton: January 19th at 12:00PM
College Hill Community Church
1547 Philadelphia Drive
Dayton, Ohio 45406
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/
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EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
***************************************************************************************************
THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN AND WE THE WORLD ARE COLLABORATING
Visit OUR Facebook page to watch a virtual screening of “We Cried Power”.
There will be a panel discussion afterwards.
Visit the facebook page here – We, the World
to watch the live screening
of the PPC documentary on January 26th, at 6:00 pm.
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/
************************************************************************************************
EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
pictured above: Brooke Medicine Eagle
www.Spiritual-Wildfire-Summit.
com Joan D’Argo
I’m thrilled to invite you to a FREE global online Summit that starts Feb. 2-7 called:
Igniting the Worldwide Spiritual Wildfire We Need Now: A Call to Action
LINK TO: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
I’ll be participating with 23 other featured speakers including Sandra Ingerman, Andrew Harvey, Nina Simons, Cynthia Jurs, Steve Farrell and Lyla June Johnston and I’d love for you to join us! Each of us will be offering inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
The Spiritual Wildfire Summit is organized to address the fact that we live in epic times. In fact, we are experiencing nothing less than the reinvention of civilization. Yet as we dive into uncharted waters and move closer to a critical tipping, we see a worldwide awakening beginning to catch fire. The Spiritual Wildfire Summit offers inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
To register for this free event click here. Link to: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
Together we can create a new world based on compassion, wisdom, justice, and joy!
During this FREE 6-day global online summit, together we will experience & integrate profound ways to restore the Story of Our Awakened Hearts.
This transformational event is FREE to all registered attendees! You do need to RSVP in order to receive all of the info you need to participate in this unique and never before seen gathering of visionaries!
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My Queer Valentine Reception
Hosted by Torpedo Factory Art Center and Target Gallery
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Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7 PM – 10 PM
Next Week18–32°F Sunny
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105 N. Union St, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
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Art in Person and in Progress. Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to 165 working artists, seven galleries, The Art League, and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. Free admission.
My Queer Valentine Shows the Richness of LGBTQ Life
The warmth of recognition is strong inside the exhibition.
“Acrylic” by Aurele Gould, 2017
I took my girlfriend to see My Queer Valentine on a Monday morning; it was a date, I told her. We took the Metro down to King Street and walked to the Alexandria waterfront. Once we got there, we strolled into The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery, hands interlocked.
For My Queer Valentine, the contemporary gallery’s spring show, the small space is filled with large-scale photographic prints, paintings on both large and small canvases, and sculpture. Visually, the pieces cover a broad range of styles, including a digitally influenced take on Abstract Expressionism, geometric interpretations of fire, Basquiat-esque mark-making and writing over photographs, sculpture with few references to recognizable forms, canvases made three-dimensional by the attachment of glittery found objects, and small silkscreen prints. Thematically, they may at first seem to not cohere, but that’s only because My Queer Valentine’s juried works cover a diverse and rich swath of queer life.
As for taking my girlfriend, I had another motive that I didn’t say aloud, though she may have picked up on it. I wanted to enter that exhibition as a visibly gay person, and I wanted to see how that affected my experience of the art. It was the right choice. My Queer Valentine does more than curate work that examines what it means to be LGBTQ in the 21st century: It creates a queer space warm with the joy of recognition.
Some works speak directly to that joy, like artist Cat Gunn’s abstract canvases. Their dramatic patterns represent the harmony of being in a relationship where their partner sees them as their authentic, nonbinary self, they write in the wall text. There are glittering squares and wobbling lines moving back and forth across the plane, but things seem to be coming together the longer you look—parts that once made no sense have an internal logic that reveals itself with sustained attention and open mindedness. Recognition can be dangerous, and the closet offers safety, but it also means hiding behind a mask. The relief of dropping the charade and being seen is transcendent.
My Queer Valentine isn’t camp, not as a whole, but it’s full of artworks made by people who understand the humor and the wondrous pompousness of queer glamor. (That glamor and its high drama are knowingly self-important because there are still so many people who wish we didn’t have it.) The first pieces the viewer encounters play with the feminine trappings of artificial jewelry, glitter, plastic, and resin, all in bright, loud colors; one piece dripping with sequins invites viewers to “lick me until ice cream.” That kind of playful sexuality thrives in many of the works, even the more subdued ones. A beige canvas on the opposing wall asks the onlooker to “come (cum on my) back.” The half-joking, half-serious attitude toward sex is one of My Queer Valentine’s greatest strengths, highlighting the laughter and joy inherent in queer life and queer sex.
Linda Hesh’s “Kissing Booth” is another joyful artwork. It’s not a stunning feat of technique and construction; it’s just a wood and steel booth, like one you might see at a county fair in the ’50s. It advertises itself as, unsurprisingly, “KISSING BOOTH.” It’s not anchored to a wall. Instead, it stands out from a corner and beckons viewers to come in, where they might notice that its gingham pattern is made up of pictures of kissing same-sex couples. I’ll admit my biases here: I’ve always had a love for participatory art. But the booth’s standing invitation to come inside, to take a picture kissing underneath it, and to share that picture with the world is a brave act, even in 2020 in Alexandria—brave for the artist and the piece inviting those kisses, brave for the people who choose to do so. Even though queer desire is hypervisible in contemporary life, it’s not always recognized as a loving, human affect. By asking people to kiss, Hesh affirms the romance of the gesture and the genuine safety of the space around it.
The most striking pieces were by D.C.-based photographer Matt Storm, a transgender man. His work is challenging, cheeky, and hard to look away from. The two images on display come from his Act of Looking series, where he returns to the same studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the famous gay vacation spot, to photograph his body “to create an expanded lexicon of ways to see a body, inclusive of ways to see my body,” he writes in his artist’s statement. In the first image, we see him standing naked, in a pose that looks relaxed but requires him to hold himself in place with his own strength. His muscles are tense but not flexed. His face isn’t overly expressive, but there’s a spark of playfulness in his eyes and a hint of a smile on his mouth. And his arm drapes behind his back, coming to rest between his legs, where he holds his fingers playfully—an obvious commentary on how, as he says, “my body is incongruous with how we are taught to see bodies.” In another, he clasps his hands in front of his crotch, fingers crossed. We can’t see his face, but we can feel the humor. The piece is titled “Crossing my Fingers, Getting Away with Something.”
But a different series of works stopped me in my tracks. Aurele Gould’s photographs pulled my gaze from the moment I entered the gallery. When I saw her triptych of an athlete putting pre-wrap around another girl’s thigh, I felt a lump in my throat. “A moment of transference is constructed, a care and an intimacy among women,” she writes in the wall text. Immediately I thought of Barbara Kruger’s 1981 piece “Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals),” which famously says “You construct intricate rituals that allow you to touch the skin of other men” over an image of men roughhousing. But I thought of it less because of its artistic impact and more because, for years, queer kids on Tumblr have been using it as a memetic reference point for jokes about the forbidden, magnetic pull of another person’s skin. In the three images of the piece, we see hands grab the inner thigh, let go to wrap the tape around, and return to place both hands on the partner’s leg.
Likewise, I’d been primed to see Gould’s piece “Acrylic” before I walked in—it represents My Queer Valentine online—but I stopped myself from making a beeline to it. When I did make my way over and allowed myself to look, I noticed for the first time the two models’ sharp, long, matching acrylic nails gently cradling each other’s faces. That striking image is made more striking by those glittery nails. Gould knows this: “I like how thought processes can fold unto each other, like thinking about when stereotypes can be used and who they can be used by,” she wrote in the wall text. I felt a pang of recognition. I smiled. The two lovers in the photograph stared at me, nails shining, and I took my girlfriend’s manicured hand and stared back.
105 N. Union St., Alexandria. (703) 746-4587. torpedofactory.org.
Toledo/NW OHPPC Mobilizing Workshop
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Saturday at 10 AM – 1:30 PM
3 days from now28–46°F Sunny
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Vision Ministries South Toledo Campus1630 Broadway St, Toledo, Ohio 43609 |
We can’t wait to meet all the folks in NW Ohio who want to join the PPC and help Mobilize and Organize Toledo! If you are interested in attending please email us at ohio@poorpeoplescampaign.org.
For more information about the PPC go to Poorpeoplescampaign.org
Let’s get ready for National M.O.R.E. Tour stop in Dayton, on April 23rd and Poor People’s Assembly and March on Washington, D.C. on June. 20th!
We will introduce the campaign to those who are new, update those who have been involved, provide resources and information for mobilizing for April 23rd in Dayton, and June 20, 2020!
https://www.facebook.com/events/599486254167983/
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite
and amplify the efforts of people, organizations
and movements working for the common good
WE.net
This Special Broadcast
is part of our MLK Program
Carrying Forward the Work and Legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sign Up at WE.net/MLK
The Poor People’s Campaign
A National Call for Moral Revival
Rev. William Barber, Rev. Liz Theoharis, Other Leaders
and a Growing Coalition of Organizations
Drawing on the unfinished work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s
1967/68 Poor People’s Campaign
Panel Discussion and Interactive Online Broadcast
Sunday February 23rd at 6PM Eastern Time
Watch the Broadcast LIVE or Watch the Recording on
We, The World’s Facebook Page
Please LIKE the Page to be notified when our Broadcasts are starting
Featured Speakers Include:
Karen Palmer (Host) is a Global Kindness Leader and a Livestream / Social Media Expert who co-produces several popular online talk shows. She is a best-selling author and is Coordinator of We, The World’s Campaign for Women. She helps change agents and peacemakers find their voice, and share their message and gifts globally. Find her at http://www.globalkindnesstv.
Rick Ulfik (Co-Host) is the Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net. Rick is the Co-Creator of 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Change the World linking local awareness and action campaigns into an inspiring international movement with participants including Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Eve Ensler, Bill McKibben and many others.
The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis is Co-Chair with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival which has organized the largest and most expansive wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in US history. She is the Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and is a Founder and Coordinator of the Poverty Initiative.
Rev. Janelle Bruce, Esq. is a National Organizer with Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. She is also the Founder and Pastor of the Church Without Walls, Global Reach. Her life, ministry and work is guided by Micah 6:8, “He has told you O’ mortal what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord”.
Njimie Dzurinko is the founder and co-coordinator at Put People First and the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign. Njimie studied Urban Studies at Temple University and English Literature/Poetry at University of Pennsylvania.
Take Action and Be of Service
During MLK 40 Days of Peace
To Participate Now Through Feb. 29th
For Updates & To Participate
WE.net/MLK
Takes under a minute!Full MLK Broadcast Links and other activity details here:
WE.net/MLK-program
Don’t SLEEP through the REVOLUTION!Thank you!Rick Ulfik
Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
Subscribe to our WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter: WE.net/subscribe
Now is the Time For WE Video – Narrated by Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall for We, The World: WE.net/we-video
Manifesting The Dream – Service Activities to Honor and Carry Forward the Work and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. https://WE.net/MLK
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World
An Urgent Message from Your Children at WeYourChildren.org
GlobalUnityCalendar.org – See and post social change and cultural events for a global audience!
Volunteer Sign-up: https://WE.net/takeaction/
Organization Sign-up: https://WE.net/11days/
Donation Page: WE.net/donate
Facebook – Twitter – YouTube – News Blog
https://www.facebook.com/thewecampaign/
February 23, 2020
A National Call for Moral Revival
Panel Discussion and Interactive Online Broadcast
Featuring National Campaign Leaders
Sunday February 23rd at 6PM Eastern Time
Watch the Broadcast LIVE or Watch the Recording on
We, The World’s Facebook Page
Please LIKE the Page to be notified when our Broadcasts are startingThese Special Broadcasts are part of our MLK Program
Manifesting The Dream
Carrying Forward the Work and Legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the Compassion Games’ MLK 40 Days of Peace
To Participate in Manifesting The Dream: MLK 40 Days of PeaceSign Up Here
WE.net/MLK
Takes under a minute!Full MLK Broadcast Links and other activity details here:
WE.net/MLK-program
Info: manosunidasorg@gmail.com, kmcardot@gmail.com, mariamorengo2019@gmail.com
(413)-841-0298, (413)-464-6485, (413)-310-8944, se habla espanol
“I Have A Dream” / “Yo Tengo Un Sueño”
Four Kings Community Event
The Whitney Museum of Art,
42 Wendell Ave,
Pittsfield MA
February 28, 2020
5-8:00 pm
In the Latino culture , Three Kings Day is a very important event to celebrate the coming of the Three Kings to the Christ child, falling on January 6th, which includes re enactment and gifts for children. Additionally, the “ I Have a Dream” Four Kings event will promote the values of love and equity of the “King of Social Justice”, Martin Luther King.
“To inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization”- MLK JR.
“Para inyectar una nueva dimension de amor dentro de la venas de nuestra civilizacion”- <MLKJR.
Manos Unidas announces a collaborative community event with Roots and Dreams Coop and other dedicated collaborators, to shake off the winter blues! Come learn how to dance a dance from Central America, help create a giant mural on themes of peace and justice, add your dream to the Community Dream Tree, eat delicious Puerto Rican food, witness a colorful Mexican dance troupe, hear songs of peace, *ta gift sharing for our community children.
There will be concurrent tabling and a silent auction, as well as a material donation area for our *Unidos con Puerto Rico” project, which is seeking support again for our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters affected by the recent earthquakes.
At 7:00 pm, we will do a staged reading of our community bilingual play “I Had a Dream,” written by David Detmold, and performed by a dedicated group of Manos Unidas members. Connect with a diverse array of community members in this second annual “I Have a Dream” Four Kings Day tradition in the spirit of community generosity and love.
The event is free to all peoples, but there is a suggested donation of $10 per plate of food, and a suggested donation of $20 for the food and event per family, to raise money for the Hopeseed Empowerment Cooperative of Manos Unidas, which is helping build a multi-class, multicultural movement that assists in building cooperative business visions, as well as raising the capacity of our community to the next level of greatness.
Four Kings/ Cuatro Reyes Performance lineup
The Whit, 42 Wendell Ave, Friday Feb 28th, 2020
Concurrent 5-630: Puerto Rican Food by Gustitos Boricuas
Concurrent 5-7pm: Multicultural Muralmaking with Kristina Cardot of Funky Phoenix and Manos Unidas
Concurrent: Silent Auction and Info Tabling
5-5:30- background music and intros, readings by Manos team and TBA
5:30-6:
Tyramisu- soul music
Indigo and Anaelisa- songs for justice
Chris Stix- drumming
Imaran and Anu- spoken word
6pm: Sandra Bonilla- Salvadorean dance
6:20- Living through the Arts Multicultural Youth Initiative of Manos Unidas children sing
6:30- Hoping Machine
7:00pm staged reading of “I Had a Dream”, a bilingual play about border crossings and the struggles of our times. written by David Detmold and performed by Manos Unidas members and supporters with a special vocal and musical performances by Living through the Arts project children/ Manos team and the Gauadalupenas, a Mexican dance troupe
7:30- 7:50- words and generosity/giftsharing/ concurrent music
7:50 closing and musica
Info: manosunidasorg@gmail.com, kmcardot@gmail.com, mariamorengo2019@gmail.com
(413)-841-0298, (413)-464-6485, (413)-310-8944, se habla espanol
P.O Box 112, South Lee, MA 01260
and popup locations in Pittsfield, MA 0120
http://manos-unidas.wix.com/
For more information about a list of desired items for Puerto Rico or for gift signups for your children or those you know, please text or email one of us above!
Para mas informacion sobre las donaciones para Puerto Rico, para agregarse a la lista de los regalos de los ninos, o cualquier pregunta, porfavor comunicarse con nosostros en los correos electronicos o telefonos arriba!
WORLD INTERFAITH HARMONY MEET
City: Mount Abu
+919079295525
Organizer: Brahma Kumaris
Location:: Gyan Saroval – Academy for a Better World, Mt.Abu, Rajasthan, India
Email: ecoshanti@brahmakumaris.com
World Interfaith Harmony Meet is being organized by Brahma Kumaris at its international Head Quarter Complex Gyan Sarovar, an academy for a better world.
This event is being celebrated during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Gyan Sarovar. Many spiritual, religious and faith leaders will be participating in the meet. The aim and objectives of this event are to share common interests and to also come to common understanding regarding actions that could be taken to mitigate climate-related issues, inter-regional harmony, and value-based education systems. The list of the invited guests include:
HH Dalai Lama Ji,
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Ji,
Sri Ravi Shankar Ji,
Dadi Janki Ji, and many others.
Gyan Sarovar
The Academy for the Better World, known in Hindi as Gyan Sarovar, offers residential programs and courses on development and practical implementation of human, moral and spiritual values and principles.
The Brahma Kumaris started building the campus for the Academy for a Better World, an institution of higher learning established by the Brahma Kumaris along with its sister institution, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust, and Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation, in 1991. The aim was to provide a training facility for the institution’s outreach to all sections of society. Within a few years, 28 acres of land near the institution’s headquarters in Mount Abu was transformed into a modern village complex in a quiet, rural setting.
The campus includes Universal Harmony Hall, an auditorium that can seat 1,600 people and has facilities for simultaneous translation in 16 languages; the International Spiritual Art Gallery housing sculptures, murals, audio-visual and laser displays and other works of art from around the world; the International Center for Higher Learning comprising 13 seminar and training rooms; accommodation for up to 1,500 people; kitchen and dining facilities that can cater to 1,200 people at a time; three man-made lakes that irrigate the 15,000 trees planted to provide fruits and vegetables and a rural retreat atmosphere; and a solar water heater for cooking. The telephone exchange, computers and emergency lighting systems are powered by solar and wind energy, and a unique waste treatment plant is capable of treating 200,000 liters of washing, kitchen and bathroom waste water daily, of which nearly 80 percent is available for re-use.
In 1996, the Academy was presented to Habitat II, the second UN Conference on Human Settlements held in Istanbul, Turkey. It was recognised as part of the Best Practice Initiative for Human Settlements.
“When you increase the number of gardens, you increase the number of heavens too!”
Greater Cincinnati PPC Organizing Meeting
· Hosted by Ohio Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Our Saviour Covington
246 E 10th St,
Covington, KY 41011
Sunday, March 1, 2020
at 4 PM – 6 PM
Take Action on National Refugee Shabbat
National Refugee Shabbat 5780, which will take place on March 20-21, 2020, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals around the country to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers.
Register: Learn more about how your community or group can participate at hias.org/nrs – it’s not too late!
There are also many ways individuals can take action for refugees and asylum seekers in the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, as well as on the actual Shabbat itself (in accordance with individual Shabbat practice). Feel free to share the list below widely with family and friends.
12 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION THIS NATIONAL REFUGEE SHABBAT
1. Advocate – Call your Member of Congress to ask them to stand for the rights, safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers.
2. Get Involved in the Election – Research the candidates running in local elections in your area, and let them know that the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are among your top priority issues this year.
3. Update Your Facebook Photo Frame – Show your support for refugees by updating your Facebook profile picture with the HIAS #JewsforRefugees frame. Click here for directions.
4. Join the “Jews for Refugees” Facebook Group – Joining this group is a great way to connect with thousands of other committed individuals across the country, access up-to-the-minute information about the Jewish response to the refugee crisis, and share the actions that you are taking. Click here to join.
5. Donate Your Miles to Asylum Seekers – HIAS has partnered with Miles4Migrants (M4M), a nonprofit charity dedicated to using donated frequent flyer miles and money for the relocation of refugees and those seeking asylum – including families recently separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. HIAS and Miles4Migrants (M4M) will work to identify refugees and asylum seekers who need assistance purchasing airfare to reunite with their families. Donate your frequent flyer miles here the week of National Refugee Shabbat.
6. Buy Refugee-Produced Goods – Support refugees and asylum seekers around the world and in your local community by buying refugee-produced goods and/or researching refugee-owned restaurants in your community and having a meal there. Check out this website to purchase goods made by a collective of African asylum-seeking women living in Tel Aviv, Israel.
7. Give Life to Refugees and Asylum Seekers – In the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, set up a Facebook fundraiser to benefit HIAS’ work.
8. Scholarships for Displaced Students – Research whether your local universities and colleges offer scholarships to refugees and asylum seekers. If not, reach out and ask them to consider starting such a program. Check out Columbia University’s program for an example.
9. Have A Difficult Conversation – Using the HIAS Conversational Guide for How to Talk About Refugees with Family and Friends, commit to having at least one conversation with someone in your life who has expressed concern about welcoming refugees to the United States or even someone who has made disparaging remarks about refugees or asylum seekers.
10. Light Shabbat Candles with Intention – As you welcome Shabbat on March 20, use this reading before lighting Shabbat candles to set an intention to stand with refugees and asylum seekers around the globe.
11. Host A Gathering In Your Home – Invite a small group of friends over to your home for Shabbat dinner or lunch or a havdallah (the ceremony for closing Shabbat) wine and cheese gathering. At the gathering, consider using the HIAS National Refugee Shabbat 5780-2020 Programming Content Resource. Use the text study on page 6 of this guide as a jumping off point for conversation, take a look at and discuss the refugee art on page 13 of this guide, or screen the movie suggested on page 14 and 15 of this guide.
12. Start A Book Club – Start a book club – for adults or young people – to read books by and about refugees and asylum seekers. Use this list as a jumping off point for suggestions or search google for even more ideas.