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April 5, 2012

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Join in the fun!
Auction starts Friday

 

 

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You can help Angel Charity help us

 

This year, Angel Charity for Children is raising $613,754 to help Our Family to build a new shelter for homeless children 12-17.

 

You can help them help us by supporting their Bags, Baubles & Ball Gowns fundraiser on April 26 and 28 at La Encantada. Check their website for details. 

 

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Announcing Southern Arizona's new hub for communication services and training

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"Dialogue is the most effective way of resolving conflict." -- the Dalai Lama

 

Our Family's Community Mediation program has been helping Tucsonans resolve their disagreements since 1979. Hundreds of volunteers have been trained in mediation, and they have helped thousands of Southern Arizonans come up with their own solutions to neighbor, workplace and personal disputes.

 

In recent years, people around the community have become deeply interested in helping Tucson become a better place to have good conversations about issues that matter. The program has expanded to include other services and training to help people talk about challenging issues in a skilled, civil and respectful way.

 

During the last year, several community groups and initiatives have joined with Our Family, our staff and volunteers to create a central hub for resources, services and training in a variety of communication and conflict resolution practices. We're calling it the Center for Community Dialogue.

 

The Center's current services and trainings include:

  • Eldercare Mediation, which helps families stop arguing and start having productive discussions about the care of aging loved ones.
  • Group Facilitation, which helps business teams, boards or other groups set goals and come to consensus through strategic planning or conflict resolution.
  • Circles Facilitation, which helps even larger groups of up to 35 (such as homeowners associations or community groups) build consensus and resolve critical issues by making sure everyone's opinion is heard.
  • Dialogue & Deliberation, which facilitates public forums for large gatherings of 100 people or more.
  • Training in all of these communication techniques -- for program volunteers or for people from around the community who simply wish to learn those skills.

 

If you'd like to get involved with the Center, read about our services or upcoming trainings on our website. Or email Center coordinator Catherine Tornbom to be added to our Center mailing list.

 

Whether you are having a conflict or trying to avoid one through any number of effective communication techniques, keep an eye on what the Center has to offer. Tucson deserves good dialogue, and Our Family needs you to help make this vision a reality.