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Making Miracles Happen
Opening Hearts. Building Connections. Changing Lives.
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Greetings!
Autumn's abundance is here, and we're celebrating a harvest of new blessings!
We're delighted to announce that we have secured a
formal contract with Harpo Productions to appear on a minimum of three episodes
of The Oprah Winfrey Show over the
next year.
With these episodes, Harpo Productions intends to
highlight the principles and mission of Challenge Day, and to support us
in spreading the word about the Be the
Change Movement. We see this arrangement as an opportunity of a lifetime! How
better to spread the message of love and acceptance?
Needless to say, we are very excited about the
possibilities. We see this as a huge win for us personally, and for the
entire Challenge Day organization. It's our intention to do all we can to open
doors for Challenge Day, the other Leaders, and to launch the worldwide Be the Change Movement of all of our
dreams. We hope you'll join us in holding this vision.
We'll be sure to keep you informed about upcoming Oprah dates and airtimes. Thank you so much
for everything you have done, and will continue to do, to make this dream a
possibility!
With much gratitude and love, Rich and Yvonne Dutra-St. John
Challenge Day Co-Founders
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Challenge Day Miracles
"I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice and have been working with teenagers in Manatee County for 25 years. It may take weeks or months of individual counseling to get to the amount of honesty and empathy that a student has in one day at Challenge Day. Students connect on a real level that allows them to understand each other and let go of many of their preconceived notions of who other people are that tend to keep them separate and even at 'war' with each other...One of the best parts of Challenge Day is that it doesn't have to stop that day. Students stand up and challenge their peers to take what they learned that day and apply it every day."--Mary Ellen Stahr, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Florida
 "[At Challenge Day,] we were challenged to face our biggest fear: standing up to a person and say sorry for something you had said to them in the past. I was so nervous, but at that point I knew exactly who I was going to reach out for: a girl I thought nothing of, someone whom I thought was a complete jerk and had no feelings. I walked over to her with a tear falling down my cheek, and I looked at her and said, 'I want to say I'm sorry for everything I had ever said in the past. I never would have thought of you as the wonderful person that you are if it weren't for today. Thank you!' She sat there listening to me with tears flowing from her eyes, eyes that I knew I would see more often. She has become a friend from that moment on. She said nothing but thank you and gave me a great big hug! 'I finally did it,' I thought to myself, 'I opened my mind up to the world.'"--Marce, Student
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Teens Being the Change
 "Four years ago, I attended my first Challenge Day...In the following
two years, I would attend over 25 Challenge Days, two Next Step
workshops and one Living the Change workshop. I cannot begin to
describe the profound impact these experiences have had on the way I
live my life...I recently began a journey across the country, living in
different areas and getting involved through volunteer work with
various communities. In only two months I have met so many amazing
people who respond best when I am able to approach them with an open
mind and an open heart. Without developing that ability to be
vulnerable, I doubt I would have had such an ability to meet and
connect with people who would otherwise have been strangers. To
be able to know someone beyond their façade, and to be willing to let
your guard down and let someone know the real you, is such a valuable
gift. Years ago, I made a choice to commit myself to spreading the Be the Change
Movement, and in one form or another, I believe I am succeeding...The
first program leader I ever met gave me her Challenge Day hoodie as a
gift before she returned to California. To this day, it is the most
precious of any tangible gift I have ever received. I carry her, as
well as all of you whom I have had the pleasure of meeting, with me.
Words of wisdom, encouragement, and love still echo in my head, and I want to thank you so deeply for assisting me in creating the life of my dreams." --Tim Bradley, Calgary, Canada
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First Circles of Change Conference Set for 2008
Prepare to be inspired! We
are thrilled to announce the first annual Circles of Change conference:
Changing the World, One Community at a Time.
The
conference will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area on July 17-19, 2008. The weekend
will be a perfect opportunity for Circles of Change members to build new
relationships, share their knowledge
with one another, and take part in interactive trainings based on the
principles of Live It, Fund It and Support It.
Challenge
Day is honored to facilitate this gathering of great minds and generous hearts.
To learn more, please contact circles@challengeday.org. Visit our website to find a Circle of Change near you!
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 Poetry Corner
The
Power Shuffle
by Yvonne St. John-Dutra
Shoulder
to shoulder, a crowd of strangers stands in anticipated silence.
A
line drawn to offer the possibility of vulnerability that can heal the world.
Do
we have the courage to open our hearts, reveal our souls, and risk
annihilation?
Do
we choose our false armor?
Do
we believe the illusion of strength and remain protected in the comfort of our
familiar isolation and fear, leading only once again to war?
An
unspoken yes to liberation, witnessed in each courageous step over the line.
Breathing
perhaps for the first time.
Revealing
a window into our lifetime prison.
Shadows
of oppression gone unnoticed, now
called forth, remembered, and felt.
Then
it happens, a moment of consciousness - a shared vibration.
An
awakening: You are right there matching me in my humanity.
In
a divine instance, the magic of our shared tenderness merges into a sea of love
and compassion.
I
am no longer alone.
I
was never alone, simply asleep in my pain of separation.
Praying for this day to come. |
Why Are These People Smiling?
They've just attended a Next Step to Being the Change workshop! This group of dynamic, open-hearted, and inspiring individuals took part in the Next Step workshop held in Concord, California this October.
At our three-day Next Step workshops, adults and selected teens (age 15-19)
gain the knowledge, leadership skills, and
personal
growth experience needed to keep the
Challenge Day
spirit alive in their homes, schools, and
communities.
As a result, parents, teachers,
administrators, and
concerned citizens can empower themselves to be
allies for teens, providing the environment
in which
compassion, acceptance, and respect can flourish
and become a way of life.
Next Step workshops are also exciting
explorations in self-realization and personal
growth.
As such, they're perfect for individuals who are
interested in growing, changing, and creating
relationships that are based on deep and lasting
connection.
Upcoming Next Step Workshops
January 25-28, 2008
Concord, California
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Holiday Giving from the Heart
 The holidays are approaching, and already commercials are telling us to "buy, buy, buy." Instead of a store-bought present for your loved ones this year,
consider making a donation to Challenge Day in their honor.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps the meaning of the season shining brightly,
and helps support Challenge Day's vision of creating a world where every child feels safe, loved, and celebrated. Visit
Challenge Day's secure online donation site to make your gift today!
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Students "Think Pink" in Support of Bully-Free Schools
This
October, students in the ACCT Club at Grand River Collegiate in Ontario, Canada
organized their school's first annual "Totally Pink" campaign to end
harassment and bullying. "It was a festive atmosphere," Bonnie-Lee Armstrong,
Grand River Collegiate's Challenge Day Coordinator, recalls. "The halls and
classrooms were awash in pink. For those who had no pink, pink-colored hearts
were available for students to attach to their shirts."
The
pink campaign got its start in Nova
Scotia, after a male grade nine student faced homophobic
teasing, taunts, and threats for wearing a pink shirt to school. Two older
students heard about how the boy had been harassed and decided enough was
enough. The
duo purchased 50 pink shirts and distributed them to male students to wear, and
e-mailed all their friends to join them in their "Sea of Pink"
campaign. The
next day, nearly half the school's population dressed in pink and gathered in
the school's lobby to show support for the grade nine boy.
One young man even dyed his hair pink, dressed head to toe in pink, and rode
his little sister's pink bike to school.
The grassroots
"Sea of Pink"
campaign attracted worldwide attention, and has motivated students
throughout North America and Australia
to organize similar school days. What an inspiring example of the way one
heartfelt act of change can make a difference!
Find
out more about the "Sea of Pink" campaign. |
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Can you believe 2007 is drawing to a close? Next issue, we'll feature highlights and delights of the past year at Challenge Day, and the exciting developments in the year to come.
As always, we love to hear from you! Email our Newsletter Team with your stories, poems, dreams, and miracles.
With much love and gratitude,
All of us at Challenge Day
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