Read RCNV Intern Karren Morrer’s letter about why she is passionate about nonviolence. (Text below; See printable reply form)
November, 2018
Hello friends: My name is Karren Moorer. Since early March I’ve been interning at the Resource Center for Nonviolence as part of UCSC Community Studies. Many young people believe that anything is possible. I believe that people are able to fulfill their highest potential. This is my outlook. I support RCNV staff in programming and the lessons come back full circle, building human compassion. The more I learn about nonviolence, the more passionate I become about it.
I’m asking for your financial support of the Resource Center for Nonviolence where I’m working to enhance and challenge human potential.
People want to feel that their lives truly do matter. This happens when they are able to have access to resources that meet their basic needs. People also need to hear uplifting messages other than the rhetoric from the Trump administration. At RCNV I meet people from many different walks of life and often they simply want someone to listen to them and share a moment of compassion.
That is why coordinating the Santa Cruz County Poor People’s Campaign with RCNV staff member Drew Glover appealed to me. It is part of the National Campaign for Moral Revival, a non-partisan effort to uplift the community from systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and the war economy. Each month we partner with community organizations to host Town Hall meetings throughout the county to hear personal testimonies and invite participation.
The Resource Center provides a stable foundation for young people like me to be the best nonviolent activists we can be. If we wish to be rid of the roots of violence we have to teach nonviolence to young people and encourage youth leadership.
As part of RCNV’s Project ReGeneration, we discuss the steps for nonviolent conflict reconciliation with students in three local private and public high schools. I’ve been inspired by how this program gives students the opportunity to speak about the situations they want to change, like the normalized violence that is embedded in the power structures of their school. Students learn to creatively and successfully confront the issues and how to make those changes happen.
I am a bookworm and like to absorb the books in the RCNV library. I honor the leaders before me who took a stand for socio-economic justice such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, King said, “Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to humankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.” He was searching for how to bring back human compassion. Trump says all these things to aggravate people and to motivate his base. But his rhetoric has also inspired nonviolent movements. People are now engaged who would otherwise remain complacent.
Please join me in building compassion and encouraging nonviolent activism.
I invite you to be generous in your support of RCNV’s vital work. Thank you! GIVE NOW online or mail your donation to RCNV, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060. See Ways to Give below. Thanks again for your support! – Karren Moorer
WAYS TO GIVE:
* via Santa Cruz GIVES. RCNV was selected to receive donations through the 2018 Good Times’ Santa Cruz Gives campaign! Funds will support Kingian Nonviolence for youth, plus nonviolence education and training for all. Be part of RCNV’s steps into on-line giving. Donate at SantaCruzGives.org by December 31.
* Give directly to RCNV. Your donation supports advocacy and education for nonviolent social change.
*Pledge. Include nonviolence in your monthly or annual automatic payments. Arrange for automatic deductions to RCNV from your bank account. Or commit to donate monthly or quarterly.
*A matching gift with your employer may double your commitment.
*Donate Stocks and bonds to support RCNV.
*Planned Gift. Designate RCNV in your will, IRA donation or other planned finances.
*Designate your donation for a particular program or in the memory of a loved one.
* Questions? 831.423.1626, Peter@rcnv.org
