WCCC is looking for a Strategic Planning Facilitator/Consultant with a background in strategic planning to lead our Strategic Planning process. See more about what we're looking for at VolunteerMatch. If you - or someone you know - is interested, please contact us!
Thanks!
It's going to be a good week - we can feel it. This Thursday November 16 is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota! Schedule your donation to WCCC today to help us maximize our $500 matching grant from Ogletree Deakins!
Check out our page on GiveMN.org and schedule your donation today to make us competitive for those coveted Golden Tickets!
Only 14 days until Give to the Max Day in Minnesota! We are very lucky to have a $500 matching grant again this year from Ogletree Deakins.
Check out our page on GiveMN.org and schedule your donation today!
'Community' is WCCC's Buzzword This Season
Take a few minutes to read our latest newsletter here!
A part of WCCC's mission is, "building a better community." We continually strive to find creative approaches to build a better community in which we live in. Be sure to read this issue of Talking Circles to learn how WCCC has taken part in building Washington County's community and learn more about a new, innovative circle that offers another opportunity for you to get involved.
We're also ramping up for Give to the Max Day on Thursday, November 16. We hope that you will help us maximize our matching donation from our valued partner Ogletree Deakins. They're back matching your donations dollar-for-dollar up to $500!
WCCC hosted a Circle 101 Training this weekend for 9 current and potential volunteers. We are pleased that all trainees are planning to volunteer with our organization following the training (or they already are volunteering)! We are humbled by the strong value our community members have for service - for our organization as well as our clients and community members.
If you missed the training and would like to attend one in the future, please email us to get on a waiting list. We may schedule a training before next spring if there is enough interest to do so. Thank you all for your service!
Pardon our pun. We had the pleasure of talking Restorative Justice Circles with the Information Security Services team at Blue Cross Blue Shield MN today. We were invited in as a spotlight on nonprofits in the community. Lynn Schurrer and Jen Lenander gave an overview of WCCC's work and brainstormed ways for them, or people in their network, can support Circles by volunteering or donating.
Does your organization provide matches to your donations to nonprofits? Blue Cross Blue Shield MN does! Those corporate matches are an excellent way to maximize the impact of your generous donations. See more about the BCBS program here.
Last night we had over 40 Washington County community members and criminal justice professionals come together to discuss Sex Trafficking in Washington County. In our community. Our experts - Imran Ali, Paul Kroshus, Aimee Schroeder, and Kathy Woxland - provided important and compelling information about what our community needs to know about commercial sex exploitation. WCCC is humbled by the community interest and for our speakers to spend their evening educating us on their very important work. Their passion for this difficult work was humbling to see. We are grateful and in awe of the work they do every day.
We are inspired.
WCCC unveiled a protocol for Accountability Circles, developed with the Washington County Attorney's Office, aimed at building a culture in our communities of respect for all humans, starting with those seeking out commercial sex in Washington County. Contact us to learn more about how to get involved. contact@peacemakingcircles.org.
Imran Ali kicks off the Sex Trafficking Training on September 7, 2017.
Fall is ramping up to be a busy season for WCCC. We're getting ready to put away the suntan lotion and to set up our circle chairs.
Be sure to read this issue of Talking Circles for more information on:
If you have questions, please email us at contact@peacemakingcircles.org
or call us at (651) 492-4996.
Thank you for helping us build a better community, one circle at a time.
Today we had a great opportunity to meet with attorneys and staff at Eckberg Lammers to discuss when and how Circles could be beneficial in cases they process as part of their prosecution of misdemeanor cases in Washington County, namely the city of Woodbury. We look forward to future referrals and conversations about how WCCC can be a resource on the right cases and with the right individuals and families. Special thanks to Rebecca Christensen, Wendy Murphy, and Tom Weidner for taking time out of their busy schedules to hear what WCCC has been up to recently and commit to partner with us - and Tubman - for the benefit of the Woodbury and Washington County Community!
A university in Canada is increasing the diversity of their faculty to have more tenured indigenous professors. The university hopes the new professors will bring their personal experiences and world view to all subjects. As an example, they hope to teach more about restorative justice and sentencing circles, used my First Nations peoples to resolve crime.
WCCC was founded on principles we learned from the First Nations people in the Yukon. We're very excited to see that sentencing circles continue to be integrated into our traditional systems and institutions internationally.
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/university-of-windsor-to-hire-five-indigenous-professors
Forgiveness is an important and difficult value that we talk about in Circle often when we talk about how clients can repair harm to themselves, those they hurt, and the community. Ellie Krug - writer, lawyer, human in her own words - wrote recently about forgiveness and creating an inclusive environment in which forgiveness is valued. We've included an exerpt from her most recent newsletter. Sign up for Ellie's newsletter here and visit her website here.
Let’s face it: in diverse workplaces, there’s a greater risk for misunderstandings, misstatements (aka micro-aggressions) or hurt feelings between colleagues who themselves are diverse. This is in part because everyone brings to the workplace different perspectives and experiences, some of which may be rooted in historical and personal trauma. It’s inevitable that someone will say or do something that will adversely impact a co-worker; ordinarily this is a problem but when the subject matter of the offending action is tied to one’s identity as a diverse person, things get even more complicated.
From an HR (or even a simple humanist) perspective, it’s important that the offending work colleague apologize for the statement or slight. As important, the team member who’s been offended or slighted needs to forgive the offender. A team member who harbors animosity toward a past offender often is less productive and a potential agent to degrade morale, particularly among other diverse team members.
Here are some quick tips about how to foster forgiveness in a diverse workplace:
Some of the above points can be found in “The Power of Forgiveness at Work” by Brooke Deterline.
In short, forgiveness needs to be a key personal value for anyone. It’s not always easy to forgive but doing so allows one the freedom to move on and grow as a person.
We've set our fall Circle 101 Training date early this year so that you can get the dates on your calendar early. The training will be Friday, October 13 (6 to 9) and Saturday, October 14 (9 to 4). Dinner Friday, and Breakfast and Lunch Saturday are included - and those meals are a definite highlight of the full training experience. Find more information on our flyer.
Register now here, and contact us with any questions you may have about the training.
There are some exciting opportunities for Restorative Practices trainings this summer.
Summer Events for Restorative Practices
Circle Training July 31-August 3, Brooklyn Center
You are invited to learn the Circle process! This Community Circle Training is opened to all interested in transforming their communities and building relationships through the Circle process. While the training is designed for all community members, some emphasis will be placed on implementing Circles in schools. The trainers are Ms. Alice O. Lynch and Dr. Talaya L. Tolefree. The training will be held at Paladin Career and Technical High School 308 Northtown Dr, Blaine, MN 55434 To register, send an email to Ms. Alice O. Lynch at aliceolynch@msn.com or call her at 612-387-4774 (day time) or 612-521-5012 (evenings).
Restorative Practices in Schools, August 16-18, St. Paul
St. Paul Public Schools and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers offer a Restorative Practice Institute at Education MN in St. Paul, August 16-18. All levels of learners in restorative practices are welcome. Our stories of restorative practice implementation will be presented though movement, arts integration, social emotional learning, student leadership and trauma informed practices during the morning break- out sessions. The afternoon sessions will provide intensive coaching and practice in foundational circle keeping. Registered here.
Trauma Awareness and Resilience-August 7-11, Minneapolis
Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience – the STAR TrainingMon-Fri August 7-11, 2017 in Minneapolis The 4½ day evidence-based STAR Training integrates neurobiology, psychology, trauma healing & resilience, restorative justice, nonviolent conflict transformation, and broadly defined spirituality setting the stage for authentic reconciliation for individuals and communities. Details and online registration at: www.staraug2017.eventbrite.comFor 2-1 RJ practitioner discount or scholarship assistance, please contact donna@mnpeace.org.
We brought out a classic pizza and cake party for one of our clients who completed his Circle last night. We're excited for his very bright future!
Thanks Shana for the delicious homemade cake!
For those of you in the metro, we wanted to share a great networking opportunity, hosted by Nancy Riestenberg. Here's the invitation from Nancy:
Greetings!
June will be busting out all over, so that gives us one opportunity to gather with our RJ friends, where ever we can, at a coffee house, café, park or playground Friday, June 2. I myself will be on the patio of the Dunn Brothers Coffee Shop on Fairview Avenue across from the Roseville Mall from 8:00-9:30.
Those of you who have never heard of First RJ Friday can participate by simply standing with another RJ person on the first Friday of the month and say, “Hi! How are you?”, and then listen. No agenda or talking piece necessary, and beverages are optional.
I am also including a listing of RP trainings that I am aware of this summer. Let me know if there are others, and I will add them to the list. Tell all your friends!
June is bustin' out all over
All over the meadow and the hill!
Buds're bustin' outa bushes
And the rompin' river pushes
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill!
…All because it’s June, June, June!
R Rodgers
Nancy Riestenberg
Restorative Practices Specialist
School Safety Technical Assistance Center
For our volunteers, clients, victims, and support people, we wanted to share news of an opportunity to learn more about our traditional justice system at a local event celebrating Law Day at the Historic Courthouse in Stillwater. Find more on the court's website.
On May 12-13, we held another wonderful Circle 101 Training at La Lake park in Woodbury. Each training is unique, shaped by the training participants themselves. We were incredibly fortunate to have a training participant open Circle Saturday with a smudge. Brought back wonderful memories of WCCC Circle Keeper and co-founder Mark LaPointe's openings. We're grateful for the new relationships built and look forward to seeing the training participants in Circle!
Thanks to Circle Keeper Lynn Schurrer for the delicious home-cooked food!
The Circle is open!
Many resources to shape our learning.
We're very excited for our flowers to be delivered this Wednesday! Please contact Jen Lenander for information on when you can pick up your flowers.
Photography by Gertens
We're excited to offer our Spring Circle 101 Training May 12 & 13! Our training runs Friday night and Saturday during the day. The training is highly experiential and has received top reviews for over a decade by training participants. See more details on our flyer. Sign up here. As always, reach out to us if you have any questions - contact@peacemakingcircles.org.
Updating the Washington County Community Circles website has been something the Board of Directors have wanted to do for a long time. Anyone who has every redesigned a website probably knows it is a lot more work than anyone ever imagines. We started this process over a year ago and we are so happy to finally have this new website up and running. We encourage everyone to poke around and check out all the information on our new website, as we have spent a lot of time updating our content and providing more resources to everyone. We hope you find this new website easier to find information and a resource to you. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!
Cheers,
Jen Lenander