drawing by brad
Dear friends,
We’re two days away from beginning our fifth year as New York Peace Institute! We’ve done so much — and there’s so much left to do, and we need your help. Our free services help thousands of New Yorkers prevent violence, heal relationships, build community, and create peace. Our work is needed now more than ever. Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to:
— We’re working to dismantle the school to prison pipeline, facilitating conversations in schools to help kids on the verge of expulsion stay in school and become the leaders they deserve to be.
— We’re putting restorative justice on the map in NYC — helping individuals, groups, families and communities find ways to heal, undo the harm, make amends and move forward in the wake of crime and disruptions.
— We’re turning cops into mediators! At a challenging time for civilian-police relationships, we’re intensively training NYPD officers from various precincts to use mediation skills on the beat, and to refer disputes to mediation citywide.
— We’ve been providing vital communication skills to neighborhood groups, community-based organizations, city agencies — and even NASA!
— We’re raising the profile of mediation and peacebuiding in the media — from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal to News 12 to NASH Radio to Telemundo.
Most importantly, we’ve touched the lives of thousands of people over the past year, through the heroic work of our 400-plus mediators, amazing staff, stellar board, and wonderful partners.
As we wind up our fiscal year at the end of June, please consider donating what you can to New York Peace Institute. And we have a very specific need for your help. We strive to build our mediator pool to be reflective of the communities we serve. We want to offer more mediation scholarships to New Yorkers who represent the diversity of our city. A full scholarship that will help a community member become come a New York Peace Institute mediator costs $2000.
We also want to continue to offer mediation to New Yorkers in need regardless of their language. The cost of an interpreter for a typical mediation session is $140.
Any amount you can spare toward these goals will be a huge help. We’re wrapping up our fiscal year on June 30 — and of course we will be honored to accept your generosity next fiscal year as well. You can make your tax-deductible gift here.
With deepest gratitude,
Brad
BRAD HECKMAN
CEO
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