The South Saint Paul Restorative Justice Council
Peace Maker Foundation
The South St. Paul Restorative Justice Council in cooperation with the Peace Maker Foundation and the South St. Paul School District are working to fund two Restorative Justice Culture Guides at Kaposia Education Center and Lincoln Center Elementary.
PEACE MAKER will be in the Kaposia Days parade on June 22th at 6:00 p.m. Want to join us? We need your name and tee shirt size. When we get our parade number we will send an email telling people where to meet. Join the fun!
Stand Up South St. Paul
Peace Maker Foundation, the South St. Paul School District and South St. Paul Restorative Justice invite you to join together to support violence prevention programs at Kaposia Education Center and Lincoln Elementary. Learn about the need and value of school-based conflict resolution and bullying prevention programs presented by the Peace Maker Foundation.
The next event to be determined.
Peace Maker Foundation
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010 SUBSCRIPTIONS RSS Feeds
news : front page September 21, 2010
9/20/2010 5:20:00 PM Email this article • Print this article
South St. Paul raises money to stop school violence
Heather Edwards
staff writer
Violence in schools is on the rise, but South St. Paul students will have the weapons to prevent it, thanks to The Peace Maker Foundation.
The foundation is the only federated fundraising organization dedicated to raising money exclusively for public and private K-12 schools, and only one of eight federated fundraising organizations in Minnesota. Gathering private and corporate funds, the foundation uses the money to implement anti-bullying programs.
The foundation offers “a toolbox” of anti-bullying strategies, according to Peace Maker founder Dan McNeil. In South St. Paul, money will be used to implement restorative justice guides in the schools during lunch and recess. In addition, students will attend a kindness retreat with the money raised by The Peace Maker Foundation.
The South St. Paul schools have a big goal: they hope to work with the Peace Maker Foundation to raise $22,000 for their district. “It seems like a lot, but it’s just $12.60 per student,” McNeil noted. “Isn’t it worth $12.60 to help students learn how to get along and have positive relationships and connections with each other?”
The district thinks it is. So volunteers, including members of the South St. Paul Restorative Justice Council, are working with the foundation to raise the $22,000. This is the largest goal the Peace Maker Foundation has ever encountered.
Volunteers are the backbone of the foundation’s work. In fact, the foundation and South St. Paul schools began their relationship when a Kaposia Education Center parent asked McNeil where her donation was going. He asked, “Where do you want it to go?” She informed him that she had a child attending Kaposia, and she wanted the money to go there. With the help of parent volunteers, both Kaposia and Lincoln Education Center received $3,000 from the foundation in 2009.
The benefits of living in a violent-free school could change the world, according to McNeil. “Imagine growing up learning how to resolve conflict,” he noted. “The world would be a lot different.”
The South St. Paul school district is hosting several events to raise awareness and funds for their $22,000 goal. They will host a presentation at Central Square Community Center on Wednesday, Sept. 29 from noon to 12:45 p.m. (please bring your own brown bag lunch) for those who would like to learn more about school-based conflict resolution. During this presentation, no one will be asked for a contribution.
In addition, the district is looking for corporate sponsors to attend a fundraising event at First Presbyterian Church on Nov. 18. This is an invitation-only event.
For further information on any of these events, contact Jodelle Ista at 455-4244 or bjista@comcast.net.
Heather Edwards can be reached at southwest@lillienews.com.
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