Category Archives: Intentional Communities

Jim Kopriva believes the migration of youth away from rural areas isn't just a lack of career opportunity. It's a lack of habitat.

"What we see around here is land rented to the top bidder," Kopriva said. "Next thing you know, somebody from several hundred miles away is buying land right next door. The whole idea of renting for top dollar becomes like driving 40 miles to get gas for a penny cheaper."

For young people desiring to get started in agriculture, the concept of handing out land to the highest bidder becomes a challenging stumbling block. And on the heels of a short window when high crop prices turned marginal land into farm ground, many old homesteads that could have been handed over to young farming hopefuls are now gone.

Kopriva, who farms and ranches northwest of Raymond, initially began raising livestock on a small acreage while he held a daytime job in town. Without the chance to fix a rundown acreage as payment for a place to live, he might not have had the chance to pursue his ultimate passion of raising livestock. He believes that encouraging individuals to start small by making land available for them will bring young people back into agriculture.

"They need an opportunity to try and an opportunity to get their hands on some land resources," Kopriva said. "How nice would it be if land owners would prefer to rent to young people that are beginning farmers or just trying to get themselves established in agriculture?"

Living in the country provides families opportunities to become involved in agriculture even if it's not their primary occupation. Some of the most valuable ethics can be taught on a farm, and in Kopriva's mind those lessons are best taught through stewardship of livestock. Responsibility and commitment are quickly learned when those principles live right outside the back door for families that live in the country.

"Young people need livestock," Kopriva said. "If they don't go out and feed their bicycle nothing bad will happen the next day, but if they ignore their livestock, livestock teaches kids something they can't learn any other way."

Kopriva also sees benefits for the older generations that rent to younger families instead of holding out for the highest bidder. Younger individuals with families can tackle odd jobs to help out older neighbors while building a sense of community in the country.

"When that land owner needs a ride to town or needs snow removed from driveways, who's going to help them?" Kopriva asked. "I think it pays in a lot of ways."

The 2011 Center for Rural Affairs Census Report supports Kopriva's observation that fewer opportunities are available for young people to become rooted in small farming operations. However, SDSU Extension community development specialist Peggy Schlechter notes that South Dakota communities as a whole are growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Dakota's population swelled by 7.9 percent from 2000 to 2010. While this population boost bodes well for larger South Dakota towns and cities, it masks the 4.4 percent drop in the rural countryside and small towns seen over the past decade.

Schlechter notes that rural communities need to change how they develop opportunities for young people. Instead of providing scholarships for youth to move away and pursue an education, communities need to build more incentives that will draw back former residents, especially those who already desire to return but require economic or entrepreneurial encouragement. Schlechter has seen interest in young people wanting to move back to their home areas. The issue becomes creating a viable habitat for young people to work and raise families in.

"We need to change the conversation," Schlechter said. "The attitude of people needing to leave to be successful, that's really got to change."

Schlechter believes that rural areas offer prime potential for people to play a significant role in communities. Rural communities require involvement from everyone in order for roles to be fulfilled. According to Schlechter, these communities need to become more intentional in promoting themselves as well as ensuring that everyone in the community has the chance to play a part.

"In rural areas you really have an opportunity as a leader to make an impact on people's lives and make a difference dramatically," Schlechter said.

Both Kopriva and Schlechter agree that proactive steps need to be taken for rural communities to thrive.

"How many people die with money in their account that they never used, but it crowded young people off the land?" Kopriva asked. "It's worth more to rent locally and keep people in the country than it is to seek the top dollar. To me, that's habitat."

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Renting land to highest bidder a stumbling block for young people ... - AG Week

If It Walks Like a Duck

In the Donalds words, there is no one less Anti-Semitic youve ever seen. There is no one less racist, so sayeth our tiny handed, orange tinged, and unhinged leader. Trump, it has been noted, has Jewish grandchildren, a Jewish daughter and son-in-law. And according to Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu has been a friend for decades and never once called him an Anti-Semite. His defense is the equivalent of Im not racist because I have black friends / family! His daughter may have taken on the faith, but Trump seems willfully ignorant on any subject that doesnt concern his favorite subject, himself.

Im really starting to wonder: at what point does his silence, outright deflection, and actions outweigh any pronouncement to the contrary? Trump took his sweet time in denouncing David Duke. His right-hand, Steve Bannon, is a man with very troubling thoughts on Jews and Judaism. Trump readily parrots stereotypes of Jews, sayingyoure not going to support me because I dont want your money, and in the process bombing in a room of conservative, Jewish donors. Retweets of white nationalism with anti-Semitic and racist overtones featured prominently in his campaign.

Jews were conspicuously left off the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation. There was no mention of the 6 million plus murdered, or how centuries of vibrant European Jewish life was snuffed out. True, Jews were not the only victims - Roma and Slavs were also targeted because of their ethnicity. Yet, Nazism hand-picked the Jews from the outset, a convenient minority that had sheltered blame since their European arrival. Discussing the Holocaust and leaving out the Jews is a lot like saying All Lives Matter when discussing a singular issues like police treatment of African American communities. There was speculation that its was either ignorance or oversight, but evidence shows the contrary. This was intentional.

The Jewish community represents perhaps 2% of our national population, yet we Jews represent 53.3% of religiously motivated hate crimes. Crimes went up 9% in 2015 alone, to say nothing of the rash of attacks and threats since election day. In January 2017, 57 bomb threats were made to 48 Jewish centers throughout the United States, prompting evacuations, police sweeps, and closures. While nothing was found, it has rattled the Jewish community. White supremacists have been emboldened to spray-paint swastikas, or vandalize synagogues (including here in Chicago). According to watchdog groups, the amount and tenor of Anti-Semitic language has skyrocketed. We cant afford to view these developments as idle threats. Even in a country where Jews have flourished, we remain targets of hate.

Against that backdrop, Jake Turx, an Orthodox Jewish reporter from Ami Magazine asked a softball of a question. While taking great pains to comment that Trump wasnt seen as Anti-Semitic, how was the government going to deal with the rise of Anti-Semitism? An easy answer would have been to say, The United States does not tolerate, nor condone Anti-Semitism. We will do everything we can to prevent its spread and prosecute those who perpetuate it. Easy. 15 seconds at most. Our fears are somewhat placated, and he can move on to whatever insanity he chooses.

Instead, Turx was cut off mid-question. Trump gave a customary non-answer while self-aggrandizing (surprise!). Turx persisted and was cut off yet again (quiet, quiet, quiet and sit down). There was nothing offensive about the question, but ever thin-skinned, Trump took it as a personal affront despite the lengthy preface. From CNN, later on in the news conference, Sirius XM's Jared Rizzi said, I'll follow up on my colleague's question about anti-Semitism. It's not about your personality or your beliefs. We're talking about a rise in anti-Semitism around the country. Some of it by supporters in your name. What can you do to deter that?

In response, Trump said, Some of it is written by our opponents. You do know that? Do you understand that? You don't think anybody would do a thing like that? He went on to insist anti-Semitism was coming from his political opponents, who were doing it to generate anger: Some of the signs you'll see are not put up by the people that love or live Donald Trump.

What?!?! I cannot wrap my head around a man who somehow believes that being labeled an Anti-Semite (even though he wasnt!) is somehow worse than actual Anti-Semitism. And its not as if we dont know who is saying what or what groups are most committed to anti-Jewish ideology and action. We know there is a subset of the Right who do this. Richard Spencer, for one with his intimidation campaign in Whitefish, Mont. Trump is on the warpath against any group he believe to be opposed to him, whether its the entire mainstream press corps or anyone from the Democratic Party. Its true that Anti-Semitism is not unique to the Right, but in addition to deflecting the original question, hes perfectly fine spreading any lies that suit his agenda.

If walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck - it is a duck. I hope the pressure increases for Trump to formally denounce Anti-Semitism. I hope it leads him to actually address this rising tide. I hope he goes deeper than tired stereotypes. I hope, maybe, he listens to his daughter and son-in-law and acts, if for no other reason than deference to them. I hope he actually listens to real fears and concerns from the Jewish community. But, Im not holding my breath.

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If It Walks Like a Duck - ChicagoNow (blog)

Gwinnett County Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said all residents of Gwinnett County should be respected during her State of the County Address on Thursday, directly referring to the ongoing controversy surrounding Commissioner Tommy Hunter even if she didnt mention him by name.

The commission has been bombarded with calls for Hunters resignation, or for his colleagues to remove him from office, since he called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a racist pig and referred to Democrats as Demonrats and Libtards on Facebook a month ago.

Nash previously sent a letter of apology to Lewis, but she took a firmer stance with Gwinnettians on the issue in her address during a luncheon at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth.

Inclusion does not just happen, she said. It takes intentional effort. Let me be perfectly clear failure to respect all Gwinnettians and welcome their participation in our community is neither acceptable nor smart. Gwinnetts future success depends on all of us, working together to build the community.

We must engage and empower leaders from our diverse population who love Gwinnett to champion this important work.

Hunter has been under fire since his remarks surfaced in the media, and it has since grown to engulf his colleagues on the commission and others. On Tuesday night, a Gwinnett NAACP meeting where Hunter was the guest speaker erupted into turmoil as members expressed displeasure at his being invited to the meeting and called for the chapters president to resign.

County leaders have made efforts to learn more about minority issues recently, including visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta on Tuesday.

During Nashs speech, which highlighted Gwinnett as a remarkable place, Nash addressed the countys efforts on community outreach and bringing leaders from diverse population groups together to address community issues.

Her remarks on the need to show respect toward all people in Gwinnett drew applause from the hundreds of people who attended the luncheon.

Efforts outlined by Nash to increase that include improving outreach efforts related to small business and minority applicants, making sure the history of Gwinnetts African-American community is featured in next years bicentennial celebrations, establishing a TV Gwinnett program aimed at highlighting diverse cultural communities in the county, getting more young people into the Gwinnett 101 government education program, getting county leaders to make site visits to cultural groups around the county, raising the among diverse community interaction taking place by opening up county facilities more.

Theres more to do, as recent events have shown, Nash said. I have made a personal commitment to seek ways to increase my own understanding of varied racial and cultural backgrounds. I hope that my fellow commissioners will do the same.

To symbolize our deepened commitment to engage with our diverse community, we are adopting the tagline Many Voice, One Gwinnett.

She even took a page from the younger social media savvy generation and encouraged Gwinnettians to use #ManyVoicesOneGwinnett on places such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote unity among the countys diverse populations.

Forthcoming projects also teased

While Nashs comments on diversity and inclusion was the most timely part of her speech, she also gave attendees a hint at what can be expected.

She said work is progressing on the countys partnerships with Norcross and Duluth leaders to build new downtown libraries in both cities for example. More than that, however, she said there have been talks between the county and officials in Lawrenceville and Snellville to build new library branches in those cities as well.

Work to develop an extensive trail system around the county was also highlighted.

The county, cities, and CIDs are developing a countywide plan to guide the creation of a remarkable trail network, Nash said. Not only will a robust network of pathways give folks another choice for travel, the connections and activity add to the feeling of community that so many are seeking and thats good for development, too.

She also said demolition work is expected to begin in the near future on the former Olympic tennis center near Stone Mountain and Snellville.

Well be seeking a private sector partner through a competitive process, so start thinking about what makes sense for the site, Nash said. The Evermore CID is anxiously awaiting the venues transformation.

Also on the topic of CIDs, Nash said the county will be working with two of its districts, the Gwinnett Place CID and the Gwinnett Village CID, on projects this year.

Gwinnett Place is looking to improve connectivity around its namesake mall, Pleasant Hill Road and McDaniel Farm Park as part of its ACTivate Gwinnett Place master plan. Meanwhile, Gwinnett Village is working on an update to its Livable Centers Initiative plan and will work with the county on traffic flow and pedestrian access improvements.

All in all, there is a lot to celebrate when we look at our remarkable community and its prospects for the future, Nash said.

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Nash says 'there's more to be done' on diversity at State of the County address - Gwinnettdailypost.com

I posted recently on issues of migration and mission, and how each of those terms can be applied to the spread of religions. In particular, I stressed the many factors that might cause a religion to spread, quite apart from conscious, deliberate evangelization. Often, we exaggerate deliberate missionary activity while underplaying the role of other forms of population movement that might be non-intentional, casual, even accidental, and definitely not directed toward religious goals. To illustrate this, let me draw a parallel with the spread of material goods.

When I was an undergraduate, one of the people teaching medieval history was the great Philip Grierson, who was primarily a numismatist, a scholar of coins. His classes were so memorable because he actually passed around original late Roman gold coins from his vast personal collection, objects of great beauty and value and nobody left the room until every single one was accounted for. (There is a wonderful obituary of him). Quite apart from that showmanship, Grierson left a powerful impact on my own thinking by his remarkable ability to ask searching questions, particularly about issues of intention.

Grierson launched a minor revolution in history and archaeology, by asking the simple question of how a particular coin or treasure had ended up where it was found. (One key work was a 1959 article called Commerce in the Dark Ages: A Critique of the Evidence.) If for instance you found a hoard of fourth century Roman coins in Sweden or Ireland or Persia, earlier scholars had discussed this as evidence of trade or commerce. Nonsense, said Grierson. Well yes, he said, it might conceivably have been commerce in something like the modern sense, but there were any number of other possible ways of transmission:

There are other means whereby goods can pass from to hand, means which must have played a more conspicuous part in the society of the Dark Ages than they would in more settled and advanced periods. They can be characterized most briefly as theft and gift, using theft to include all unilateral transfers of property which take place involuntarily plunder in war would be the commonest type and gift to cover all those which take place with the free consent of the donor. Somewhere be two would be a varied series of payments, such as ransoms, compensations, and fines, while such payments as dowries, the wages of mercenaries, property carried to and fro by political exiles, would all form part of the picture. Our difficulty lies in trying to estimate their relative importance.

The hoard could have been plunder or booty, stolen during raids or warfare. (As career paths, raiding and trading merged seamlessly into one another). A precious object might have been tribute, given under a greater or lesser degree of coercion. It might have been a political bribe.

Or, critically, it might have been connected with the gift-giving that was such a critical part of early societies. That last mechanism was all the more important when we moved into societies where written evidence was sparse, as in the Viking era. Every heroic epic describes gift giving between chiefs and magnates, often on a scale that was well, epic.

This image is in the public domain

And whatever the means of connection, the coin (or helmet, or necklace) might have passed through twenty hands before it reached its final destination. It certainly need not have been a direct transition. The fact that object A was found in location B said precisely nothing about any direct relationships between A and B.

Grierson was highlighting the prejudices of mainstream economic historians, who naturally tended to see the past in rational and peaceful terms they could naturally identify with. Hence, they saw gold coins moving as commerce between peaceful communities, which made nonsense of old stereotypes of rampaging barbarians. In reality, those barbarian raids were by far the most likely means by which wealthy Romans might have been forced to give up their cherished treasures.

In fact, said Grierson, you shouldnt use loaded words like commerce without further evidence, as the very word implies some knowledge of intention. When in doubt about that intention, admit it: be agnostic. As he concluded,

In general, we do not know how coins or jewellery or similar objects reached their destinations, and with so many possibilities from which to choose any conclusions that we draw can only be of the most tentative description. Much evidence alleged to prove the existence of trade proves nothing of the kind, and in dealing with the Dark Ages, in cases where we cannot prove, we are not entitled without a careful weighing of the evidence to assume.

People are different from inanimate objects, and in modern cases, you can actually ask them why they moved. But words like migration and mission absolutely imply intention, which might be obscure. Historically, people might move as missionaries or slaves, as refugees or utopian colonists, as economic migrants or fugitives from justice. In Griersons terms, these individuals or families might have been gifts, or plunder, or items of commerce. In any of those cases, they often carried their religions with them. (The same caveats apply to understanding DNA evidence in terms of deliberate migration, but that is a different story).

In modern times, migrants usually move in search of work and a livelihood. And someone could and should write a magnificent book on the role of students as vectors of faiths and denominations.

As with the economic historians, scholars of religion have some unacknowledged prejudices. When they trace the spread of faith or faiths, there is a natural tendency to concentrate on the work of identifiable named individuals, commonly professional clergy or missionaries. Such accounts have the advantage of allowing readers to trace the narrative through one or more individual lives. The problem is that writing the past in such a way tends to exaggerate the significance of such conscious mission activity. Often, it also means retroactively imposing deliberate intention on a process that was in fact much more haphazard and undirected.

And Philip Grierson would have been astounded to see himself cited in the context of missionary history.

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Spreading the Faith: Moving Coins and Moving Communities - Patheos (blog)

Anson NETworX for Hope invites the community to participate in an informative meeting Saturday, Feb. 18, at First United Methodist Church.

NETworX, formerly Circles, is a program designed to build relationships across lines of socio-economic class, culture and race with the goal of helping organize people for a better life. NETworXs strategy is not to end poverty though the well-doing for others but through the well-being together. It is individuals and communities seeking together to build intentional relationships through education and love of neighbor as well as love of self.

Under the leadership of the Rev. Norma Villagrana, the new ministry will work to help people move from poverty to self-sufficiency. Villagrana believes that NETworX will bring a new and fresh start to the community.

Anson County was one of the 64 Circles sites across America that made a positive impact in this community, Villagrana said. Circles empowered families with the knowledge and social capital they need to overcome the barriers of life in poverty and become self-sustaining. NETworX is a faith-based program committed to the core values of love for the neighbor and transforming lives.

Villagrana said that NETworX brings together members of the community who are middle class (called Allies) and members of the community (called Champions of Change). An Ally is an individual working with Champions to overcome obstacles and reach their goals, and a Champion of Change is an individual who wants to improve his/her life and to make changes to move toward greater well-being.

This is what NETworX does, she said.

Villagrana was born and raised in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. She graduated from the school of law in Mexico. For several years she worked in a law firm and later became the director of technical school in her native town.

She and her family moved to the United States in 2002, and along with her husband, Hector, they become missionaries for the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. They started a new Hispanic Ministry in the Springfield, Missouri area, and since then she has been involved with initiatives that help people to end poverty and assisting families that have domestic conflicts, sometimes involving neglected/abused children and substance abuse.

Last June, she and her family moved to North Carolina where her in-laws reside. She strongly believes that families need to be together. She is serving as pastor at the Polkton Charge in the Uwharrie District of the United Methodist Church. Her call to ministry and her passion has moved her to serve also as the director of NETworX for Hope in Anson County.

First United Methodist Church is located at 118 East Morgan Street, Wadesboro. The meeting is from 9 to 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 18. Refreshments will be provided.

NETworX will meet every Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Wadesboro. A meal, childcare and transportation will be provided by NETworX at no cost to the participants.

To find out more information about participating in this program, email Norma Villagrana at nvansonnetworx@gmail.com or call or text 816-351-4232.

Villagrana

http://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Norma-Villegrana-fz.jpgVillagrana

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Anson County community meeting to fight poverty planned for Feb. 18 - Ansonrecord

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynamic Communities, the supporting organization behind the official user group for Microsoft Dynamics GP (GPUG) announces Eric Pearson, IT Examination Analyst for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as the GPUG Amplify 2017 Keynote Speaker.

Pearson is an Information Security expert with over two decades of hands-on experience protecting the nation's vital information. He has been involved in the protection of Information Technology, from the days when it was referred to as 'Operations Security' in the mid-90s, all the way to today's Cybersecurity. Pearson, a UCLA alum and regular speaker on this important topic, has also spent time at the Social Security Administration and Lockheed Martin.

"Keynote speakers frequently motivate attendees surrounding their professional careers, but what if one motivated you to become more shrewd in your day-to-day life at home or with your business as relates to cybersecurity?" said Bob McAdam, GPUG General Manager."We're happy to have 'secured' Eric Pearson for this unique topic and know you will thoroughly enjoy his presentation at GPUG Amplify."

"With over a billion personal information files stolen during 2016, there has never been a greater need for cybersecurity training than there is for 2017," said Pearson. "Join me at the GPUG Amplify conference and learn the essentials of cybersecurity and how to protect your vital information."

GPUG Amplify will be held March 20-22 at the Marriott Anaheim, Anaheim, CA and welcomes Microsoft Dynamics GP end-users and business leaders to discover the latest solution innovations, engage in industry roundtables, and attend decision-maker oriented educational breakout sessions, delivered by subject matter experts to help attendees extend the reach of their Dynamics GP investment. This year will also offer a Partner Sales and Marketing Pre-Day, exclusive to Dynamics GP Partners (separate registration is required). To register, or for more information on GPUG Amplify, visit: http://www.gpugamplify.com.

Members of GPUG receive discounted registration for GPUG Amplify. Not yet a member? Join the thousands of fellow Dynamics users who participate in this rich online community for learning and networking:www.gpug.com/join.

About Dynamic Communities: Dynamic Communities is the business management organization that supports technology-centric user groups, like GPUG, and associations - providing necessary resources and business operations such as staff, systems and event production. Dynamic Communities is independent from Microsoft; however, the two organizations maintain an intentional close working relationship so that our members can provide a collective voice to Microsoft on user concerns, needs, and requests.

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Dynamic Communities Announces Eric Pearson, Information Security Expert, As GPUG Amplify 2017 Keynote Speaker - MSDynamicsWorld.com (press release)

KOIN.com

Portland groups form coalition to eradicate hate KOIN.com Our bold and intentional collaborative efforts are designed to protect communities from hate and proactively, create a strong base of support, provide the tools and resources to combat oppression, prosper economically and thrive collectively ...

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Portland groups form coalition to eradicate hate - KOIN.com

YOUR LOCAL NEWS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY SUPPORT FROM

The following is a republished press release from the Child Development Council and NOT written by The Ithaca Voice. To submit community announcements directly to The Voice, email [emailprotected]

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In honor of its 50th Year Anniversary, the Child Development Council (1967-2017), which serves Cortland and Tompkins Counties, will unveil a series of celebratory programs and events designed to entertain, engage, educate, and appreciate the children, families, and communities it serves. One such program launches next week and will run throughout 2017. That program is Random (and International) Acts of Kindness Year, which piggybacks on the theme of National Random Acts of Kindness Week, that occurs annually in February.

The Councils new campaign will be an ongoing collaboration with Mamas Comfort Camp and its Founder Yael Saar.

Child Development Council CEO, Sue Dale-Hall, states, Our children have no political parties, no ability to vote, and yet they are often in the middle of political rancor and unease. Now, more than ever, its important that we support children by promoting and demonstrating kindness at every level in our lives (at work, at home, in childcare and in the communities we all live in and serve.

Thats why the Child Development Council Board of Directors and staff, along with Mamas Comfort Camp, encourages friends, neighbors, providers, and caregivers to support both random and intentional acts of kindness throughout their workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities throughout the year, particularly how we treat one another and of course, children.

What YOU Can Do: Promote Kindness & Interview Children

The Council encourages workplaces, child care providers, caregivers, neighbors and community members to promote and support random (and intentional) acts of kindness this month and throughout the year. This would involve kindness to one another as adults and to, of course, the children we may interact with each day.

The Council also asks that you capture the VOICES of children. Please record children responding (with permission from caregivers and families naturally!) to the following questions:

1. What does kindness mean to you?

2. How can adults make the world a kinder place?

Videos from smartphones or other devices can be uploaded to the Facebook Random and Intentional Acts of Kindness Page: located here: fb.me/kindnessforkids

The Council has a Pinterest Page with resources on kindness and early childhood education here: https://www.pinterest.com/childdev2017/

The National Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website is located here: https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

RAK Week, which will be observed Feb. 12-18, 2017, is an annual opportunity to unite through kindness. Formally recognized in 1995, this seven-day celebration demonstrates that kindness is contagious. It all starts with one act one smile, one coffee for a stranger, one favor for a friend. Its an opportunity for participants to leave the world better than they found it and inspire others to do the same. Since inception, RAK estimates that millions of celebrities, businesses, schools, and partners have participated in these weeklong celebrations.

Demonstrating kindness is linked to decreasing stress, improving mood, health, and over wellbeing in children and adults.

About the Child Development Council

The mission of the Child Development Council is to promote the healthy development of children and families at home, in child care, and in the community, by:

In promoting the healthy development of children and families, the various program activities of the agency are aimed at enhancing the quality of care that children receive and the environments in which they grow up, whether in home, child care, school, or neighborhood settings.

The Child Development Council is a proud member of both the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce.

About Mamas Comfort Camp

Mamas Comfort camp is an online peer support network using social media to strengthen mothers in the real world. We believe that Mamas don't need more advice, we need more support!

We are thousands of mothers, (almost 2000 are from the Ithaca area) connecting via a free private Facebook group, where support is available 24/7/365. Together we normalize the challenges and celebrate the joys of the roller-coaster ride called motherhood, all in a safe space free from judgment, protected from unsolicited advice, and steeped with respect and kindness. In Ithaca we enjoy a vibrant and responsive network of local moms helping each other out. We hold free support meetings, fun gatherings, and classes.

Free and open to moms of kids of ANY age: from moms of newborns to grandmothers and every stage in between. You can ask to join the group at: https://www.facebook.com/mamas.comfort.camp/

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.

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Ithaca organization encourages people to participate in National Random Acts of Kindness Week - The Ithaca Voice

Discussion on the initiative will continue at one-day forums sponsored by the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Monday (Feb. 13) and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Tuesday (Feb. 14), where school teams comprised of a small group of coaches and administrators will be trained to create a school-specific implementation action plan to help reclaim the educational purpose of sports. Approximately 130 coaches and administrators representing 40 different high schools in Ohio are expected to attend the forum in Cleveland, while another 115 coaches and administrators representing 35 different high schools in the state and a few in Indiana and Kentucky have signed up to be part of the conference in Cincinnati.

In October, Ohio became one of the first states to launch this initiative, thanks to comprehensive funding from the National Football League Foundation. In the Columbus suburb of Dublin, the OHSAA, OIAAA and NFL Foundation hosted approximately 90 leaders in the educational and sports communities to discuss the initiative and plan for its implementation.

First piloted by the NFL in Colorado and Texas in 2015, the InsideOut Initiative encourages educational leaders, state athletic associations and local NFL teams to partner together to address the brokenness of the sports culture since, without intentional leaders, coaches and supportive communities, sports are more likely to undermine the development of the very character it claims to build. The initiative is engaging stakeholders in strategic conversation to re-define the role of interscholastic sports in the lives of students and communities.

This initiative is something that we have talked about for several years, and now were seeing it come to fruition, said Dan Ross, Commissioner of the OHSAA. This is needed in todays society and will help us reemphasize what the real purpose is of our interscholastic athletic programs, which is to provide educational opportunities. Were certainly pleased that the InsideOut Initiative is in Ohio and will provide guidance for our schools.

We are excited to engage key educational leaders and sports organizations from across the state of Ohio in a conversation that reinforces the purpose of education-based athletics, said Jody Redman, a former college athlete and current high school athletics/activities association associate director and co-founder of the InsideOut Initiative along with Joe Ehrmann, a former pro football player and current educator and the author of InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives. The goal is to win we play, plan and prepare to win every game but this isnt the purpose of education-based athletics. The purpose is the human growth and development of the inner lives of students and connecting them to caring adults in their school communities.

In addition to the OHSAA, OIAAA and National Football League Foundation, the initiative also has support from the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA); the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA); the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), and the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA).

More details about the InSideOut Initiative can be found at http://www.insideoutinitiative.org/.

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Ohio Continues with Next Phase of InsideOut Initiative to Combat Win-at-All Costs Sports Mentality - Norwalk Reflector

Ohio is continuing this week with the next phase of the InsideOut Initiative, which is focused on transforming the culture of the high school win-at-all-costs mentality. The initiative, which has the support of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA), National Football League Foundation and other local and national organizations, takes a critical look at interscholastic athletics by encouraging a system that focuses on the development of the educational, social and emotional well-being of each student-athlete.

Discussion on the initiative will continue at one-day forums sponsored by the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Monday (Feb. 13) and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Tuesday (Feb. 14), where school teams comprised of a small group of coaches and administrators will be trained to create a school-specific implementation action plan to help reclaim the educational purpose of sports. Approximately 130 coaches and administrators representing 40 different high schools in Ohio are expected to attend the forum in Cleveland, while another 115 coaches and administrators representing 35 different high schools in the state and a few in Indiana and Kentucky have signed up to be part of the conference in Cincinnati.

In October, Ohio became one of the first states to launch this initiative, thanks to comprehensive funding from the National Football League Foundation. In the Columbus suburb of Dublin, the OHSAA, OIAAA and NFL Foundation hosted approximately 90 leaders in the educational and sports communities to discuss the initiative and plan for its implementation.

First piloted by the NFL in Colorado and Texas in 2015, the InsideOut Initiative encourages educational leaders, state athletic associations and local NFL teams to partner together to address the brokenness of the sports culture since, without intentional leaders, coaches and supportive communities, sports are more likely to undermine the development of the very character it claims to build. The initiative is engaging stakeholders in strategic conversation to re-define the role of interscholastic sports in the lives of students and communities.

This initiative is something that we have talked about for several years, and now were seeing it come to fruition, said Dan Ross, Commissioner of the OHSAA. This is needed in todays society and will help us reemphasize what the real purpose is of our interscholastic athletic programs, which is to provide educational opportunities. Were certainly pleased that the InsideOut Initiative is in Ohio and will provide guidance for our schools.

We are excited to engage key educational leaders and sports organizations from across the state of Ohio in a conversation that reinforces the purpose of education-based athletics, said Jody Redman, a former college athlete and current high school athletics/activities association associate director and co-founder of the InsideOut Initiative along with Joe Ehrmann, a former pro football player and current educator and the author of InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives. The goal is to win we play, plan and prepare to win every game but this isnt the purpose of education-based athletics. The purpose is the human growth and development of the inner lives of students and connecting them to caring adults in their school communities.

In addition to the OHSAA, OIAAA and National Football League Foundation, the initiative also has support from the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA); the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA); the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA), and the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA).

More details about the InSideOut Initiative can be found at http://www.insideoutinitiative.org/

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Ohio Continues with Next Phase of InsideOut Initiative to Combat Win-at-All Costs Sports Mentality - 13abc Action News