Dear Friends:

Seven years ago, Community Healing Network, Inc. (CHN), embarked on a journey to build a grassroots movement for the emotional emancipation, healing, and wellness of Black people--a journey from surviving as a community to thriving! And with your help, we've made amazing strides. As we come to the end of 2013, we want to thank you again for your support, update you on the progress we've made, and outline our next steps for 2014.

--Emotional Emancipation Circles have been launched in more than 20 cities across the Diaspora including Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Chicago, Capetown, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya. Our collaboration with the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) continues to grow and deepen. Together, we have developed the first edition of a guide to help local leaders establish Emotional Emancipation (EE) Circles, vehicles to help us on our journey toward healing. EE Circles are support groups through which we can work together to compassionately examine our community, family, and personal histories, and decide which of our attitudes and behaviors are worth taking with us--and which must be left behind--as we move forward to build a future in which we can thrive, not just survive, as a people. At its 45th annual convention in New Orleans in July 2013, ABPsi trained teams of psychologists who launched EE Circles during Community Healing Days in October 2013.

--Working with ABPsi, we will continue to provide webinar trainings to local leaders to launch at least 20 additional EE Circles starting in February 2014 with an initiative called Celebrating Our History, Transforming Our Present, and Taking Control of Our Destiny. During Black History Month, we will highlight and build on the work of historical figures who have emphasized the importance of mental and emotional liberation for Black people.

--In 2014, we will work with young people to adapt the EE Circles Leaders' Guide for use with youth groups. We will share our EE Circles work with teams of young people and invite them to take the concept and the Guide and "run with them" to create their own vehicles to expand the grassroots movement for emotional emancipation, healing, and wellness.

CHN depends entirely on voluntary contributions and we need your help to build on the gains that we have made so far. We are an all-volunteer and low-overhead 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax deductible.

Please consider a monthly recurring donation or a one-time gift per year, of whatever amount fits your budget. And please encourage your family and friends to support CHN as well. Please forward this email to at least one other person and ask them to support the movement for emotional emancipation.

You may click the link below to make a secure donation through Network for Good or mail your contribution to Community Healing Network, Inc., c/o Jill Snyder, Treasurer, 111 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511.

Thank you very much.

We wish you a safe and peaceful holiday season and a very Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Enola Aird, Jill Snyder, Dottie Green, Natalie Roche, Wizdom Powell, Sheila Warren, Tarice Gray, Ric Jennings, Gretchen Vaughn, Carl Miller, A.D. Carson, and all your friends at Community Healing Network, Inc.

www.communityhealingnet.org