Photo of Howard Thurman  

Gifts for Peace

This holiday season consider contributing to the Gandhi Institute as a gift for someone you care about! We'll send a holiday card to celebrate them as well as a handmade ornament assembled with love by Gandhi staff members.

 Any size gift donations are welcome.

Make a Donation!      

Enter 'gift donation' into the purpose line--we'll follow up with you to get address details for your friend, colleague or loved one.

Or send a check along with the name of the gift recipient and their contact information to:

MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

500 Wilson Blvd Rochester, NY 14627

   P.O. Box 270501 

Transforming Conflict, Building Community: Restorative Rochester

Join us for our monthly meeting on 

December 15, 7-9:00 pm @ 111 Hillside Avenue

We're a group of volunteers working to create a restorative community* in and around Rochester, NY. We use public education and grassroots organizing to support the growth  

*A restorative community is one that uses restorative processes to promote safety, peace, and equality and to address conflict and harm.

Please feel free to join us on Monday, December 12 at 7:15 pm for our first Talking Circle. We will gather together in the Village Gate lobby on 274 N. Goodman Street.  

This event is sponsored by Restorative Rochester 

The Power of Nonviolence

 Philosophy seminar on  

M.K. Gandhi & Dr. King

All are welcome! 

Last class is Thursday, December 8, 2011 

6:00-8:30 pm 

 Gandhi Reading Room in 

UR Rush Rhees Library

Instructor: George Payne is a peace educator with the M.K. Gandhi Institute   

      

Visit your local Occupy Movement! 

http://www.facebook.com/OccupyRochester    

Dear Friends, 

We are busy this month at the Gandhi Institute prepping for the annual celebration of the Season for Nonviolence, January 30-April 4.   

We are thrilled to have the support of a major media campaign by the Ad Council for the Season this year, and the support of 15 local groups involved with planning the Season since last summer. 

Highlights of the 2012 Rochester

Season for Nonviolence include:

*A partnership with Monroe County Health Department to distribute materials about nonviolence, conflict resolution and anger management to all of their home visit clientele; 

*An initiative to train 100 Monroe County youth (suburban and urban) in the principles and skills of nonviolence;   

* Outreach to incarcerated men and women in the local community and beyond;  

*Community events such as a lecture by legendary civil rights leader Rev. James Lawson, a colleague of Dr. King's (Feb 3-4);

* The return of the Americans Who Tell the Truth art exhibit at Central Library (March 7-April 2).

We are looking for sponsors to cover the remaining direct costs for the campaign. Most of the funds have already been raised! If your faith community, school, workplace or agency wants to be involved, we invite you to learn more about the benefits. To start with, I encourage you to watch the video down below and request one of our sponsorship packets by clicking here: SNV Sponsorship       

Help make this campaign a success in Rochester-because while conflict is inevitable, violence is not.  

In peace and hope,

Kit Miller

Director,

MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

Season for Nonviolence

  This issue is dedicated to Tariq Aziz, a 16-year-old boy who wanted to draw attention to civilian deaths caused by U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan. On October 31, he and his 12-year-old cousin were themselves killed by a drone missile strike in the North Waziristan region on the Afghanistan border.

Gandhi Service Fellows

 Class of 2011-12

 

Joseph Gardella  

Hometown: San Diego, CA  

 College and Academic Pursuits: Joseph is a Kauffmann Entreprenurial Year (KEY) senior at the University of Rochester. He is currently studying Human Development and Psychology.    

Nature of Gandhi Service Project:  Joseph has selected three students from the University of Rochester to receive extensive training in nonviolence and ahimsa (the force of acting based on truth) principles, methodologies and applications in the classroom. Currently these students are working in an In- School Support (ISS) room at nearby Wilson Foundation Academy.   

Anupa Gewali       

Swanson: In growing up in the south during the Civil Rights Era and living as an adult in cities struggling with mitigating violent crimes, I have witnessed the immediate and residual devastation of physical violence. The book, however, reminded me that not all violence is physically inflicted; some of the most damaging influences of violence on relationships and humanity result from passive violence that is cumulatively experienced. It also conveys a strong message that anger, in and of itself, is not the problem, but rather how we chose to direct the energy associated with it that influences the outcome. It was personally enlightening to reflect on nonviolence as more than behavior that is acceptable or proactive, but rather as a way of thinking and being that ultimately reflects how we interact with others to demonstrate acceptance, understanding, and respect.  

Institute: Speaking as a professor of adolescent development, what do you hope to achieve by working with the M.K. Gandhi Institute?

Swanson: Research on adolescent identity development demonstrates that the strategies youth develop to deal with stress and conflict remain fairly consistent well into their young adulthood years. Reactive responses, such as acting out and hyper-masculine behaviors, provide protection against immediate threats, but often create problems, like school suspensions or incarceration, that undermine future options. Even emotionally withdrawing from situations may have short-term effectiveness, but can also contribute to disengagement from even supportive activities or depressed tendencies that, again, impact future options. It is my desire to provide effective alternatives for young adolescents that contribute to their repertoire of options for dealing with conflict. The focus on the word effective is to acknowledge that this is about more than just managing students' behaviors or facilitating emotional regulation- it's about helping students to identify and try options relevant to them that are also consistent with principles of nonviolence that have a longstanding history of effectiveness.  

Institute: What are some of your goals for the Nonviolence Education Program (NVEP) at Wilson Foundation Academy?

Swanson: Given my research focus and work as a faculty member of the Warner School of Education where social justice is central to our research and student training, I believe the collaboration with the M.K. Gandhi Institute in providing the NVEP at Wilson Foundation Academy offers an opportunity to address several goals. The following are particularly significant to me:

• To offer young adolescents an enhanced understanding of the types of violence that can be imposed on others, effective strategies for responding to them, and perspectives to mitigate inflicting them;
• To collaborate with teachers to identify effective approaches for establishing and encouraging nonviolence, particularly in addressing behavioral problems;
• To encourage a cultural shift that inspires creativity, reinforces nonviolence, and facilitates youth's engagement in their academic progress;
• To encourage and train young adolescent middle school students as co-facilitators of nonviolence education.