July-August 2010 Newsletter

Wanna throw out the first pitch in a Twins game?

It's perfectly doable – provided you purchase the winning ticket in this year's PMF Twins Raffle.

The Twins raffle is a fun way to get people excited about helping to solve the problem of school violence – combined with the crack of the bat and a box of Crackerjack.

There are five prizes for the September 18 drawing:

1st Prize – 2 tickets to a 2011 season game, including a coveted ceremonial first pitch

2nd Prize – 4 tickets to 2011 games

3rd Prize – a Michael Cuddyer-autographed bat

4th Prize – a Harmon Killebrew-autographed ball

5th Prize – a limited-edition Target Field commemorative bat

Not bad for a $1 ticket, right?

Of course we want to sell you raffle tickets. More important, we would love to get you involved as a seller of tickets to everyone you know who hates school violence and loves Twins baseball.

Think of it, you'd be like Wally the Beerman – only instead of lugging beer up the stadium, you'll be selling tickets at your school, at your workplace, church, union hall, wherever.

Last year's raffle raised $2, 663. If we can get 200 people interested in moving tickets, we'll hit a home run for schoolkids in Minnesota.

To take part, contact Vivian Greeninger, our Twins Raffle head coach, at (763) 559-4709 or email her at vgreeninger@gmail.com. And do it now – September 18 is coming this way.

Tell Vivien: “Put me in coach, I'm ready to play.”

Sponsors: Some folks want to go the extra mile

And that's what PMF is looking for in a sponsor. Sponsors are individuals or organizations for whom the problem of school safety is very important, and they want to go the extra mile.

Yes, the act of giving throws a little sunlight on their generosity – sponsors' names are often listed on banners, programs, and brochures, which can be good for business – but mainly, the reward is doing something good for kids.

An example of a current PMF sponsor that has "done well by doing good" is Bytek, an IT company in Eden Prairie. Bytek is not a giant company, but they have created a niche for themselves meeting the dataserver needs of Twin Cities businesses.

"We're a little like Peace Maker Foundation," jokes Bytek co-owner Jeff  Cheney. "We're small, we're fast, and we're flexible. We came to PMF because we're friends with the people there. 

"But it means a lot to us to know that our company is not just serving customers, we're  doing something that makes the whole community a better place."

What did Bytek sponsor? The printing and mailing costs of our 2010 annual report, due out soon. Typically, a sponsor funds an event or a process:

· For $500, a sponsor can underwrite a campaign in their community, for their schools.

· For $1000, a sponsor can help PMF put on a presentation informing parents and teachers about our work.

· For $10,000, a sponsor can finance an entire year of campaign expenses, and be prominently featured in all our publications. We call this a Cornerstone donor, because they take the whole load onto themselves.

Maybe you're not ready to take on a Cornerstone load – but it's never too early to be thinking about ways to deepen your connection to the safety of your community's kids.

If you know a company that may have some sponsorship dollars available, please let us know about them. (call 651-285-7087 or email dmcneil@peacemaker.org) Or let them know about us!

For information on sponsorship levels, and what happens to the money, download this document.

And thank you for all you are already doing!

"We do hope a donor comes along ..."

It's the time of year when PMF receives reports from schools about how the school year went -- who learned what, and how the school is a different place now.

One good report came from Gideon Pond School serving Burnsville/Savage/Eagan. Principal Laura Pierce included several hand-written statements from 5th graders.

"We learned that passing on love instead of meanness comes back on you, like a boomerang," wrote Phil B., one of the 5th graders.

"I know funds may not be available for Gideon Pond next year," concluded Principal Pierce. "But we do hope a donor will come through, and see what we have accomplished thus far, and how it has changed the way students behave with one another."

South St. Paul holding three PMF presentations

One of the best ways Peace Maker Foundation has found to explain what it does has been its community presentations.

It works simply. We hold a "meet-and-greet" where we show parents and teachers what can be done to put a lid on school violence. Teachers who have worked with PMF tell their stories. Parents get a change, too. We show our videos, nibble on some snacks, and we lay out the challenges of changing the way kids interact at school.

These presentations are not fund-raisers. They're just a way to get people talking about this important issue.

This summer we are holding three presentations in South St. Paul alone: 

• Wednesday, July 28
• Wednesday, August 25
• Wednesday, September 29

All three South St. Paul presentations will be 45 minutes long, starting at 12:00 Noon, at Central Square Community, 100 7th Avenue North.

If you would like to hold a presentation in your community this coming school year, let us know. We can't be everywhere at once, but we do want to meet you and hear your stories.  

Making big differences, one program at a time

Schools across Minnesota are experiencing positive changes in how students relate to one another. With the help of Peace Maker Foundation and the programs its funding supports, young people are transforming their relationships and environments as they learn tools that combat violence. 

Resolving conflicts, standing up for oneself and managing anger are just a few of the important activities in which students engage.

With their funding last year, Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville assisted students in character development and conflict resolution skills. Their student population is challenging in that many children live in families where parents are often working more than one job and have limited time with them. In families such as this, children are often more isolated in their own homes, socialize less with other kids and have less adult supervision readily available.  The school sponsored a Kindness Retreat with their funds and this was put on by Youth Frontiers. 

This retreat also assisted staff in presenting the “Steps to Respect Curriculum” to each third grade class.  The retreat was attended by 127 students and 246 students got to participate in additional peacemaking activities at Echo Park too.

After attending a similar Kindness Retreat at another school, one student wrote these moving words: “February 26th was a day of awakening…During the retreat we had time for apologies…I witnessed over 35 students approaching someone they had mistreated during the school year.” 

With only $1500 in funding, this school was able to provide training to 400 students over the school year and involve their staff in on-going peacemaking initiatives that promoted understanding, respect, cooperation, empathy and listening.

These skills are life-long and have effects outside the classroom. One parent remarked that she is very thankful her daughter is learning how to be assertive and not allow herself to be bullied- like she was. This parent, as a result of being bullied, ended up developing an eating disorder in middle school. 

The effects of being bullied are very deep to measure and have lasting consequences. Kids have so many stories of either being or seeing someone being treated badly- they want to share their stories and create happier endings. 

Third graders at one school know that with their school’s training program, they can practice the 3 R’s: Recognize, Refuse and Report and thereby learn to stand up for themselves and help others do the same.

Bowl-A-Thon a Huge Hit

Families sometimes ask, What can we do to bring people together over the issue of bullying in the schools?

A South St. Paul group representing Lincoln Center Elementary and Kaposia Education Center decided to go bowling.

The event was organized by Julie Monson, and raised $927.

Prizes went to the top two bowler ($25 best Buy card and $99 gift certificate in their name to Eyes for Mendota)

A prize also went to the bowler who rounded up the most sponsors ($25 Best Buy card and $45 gift certificated to JD Lettering).

Plus all the kids got pizza, and some cool gardening tools donated by Gerten's.

Said organizer Lucy Monson: “We wanted a way to raise money that was also fun. We had a blast."

Altogether, nine 6 kids from Lincoln and Kaposia took part.

“The kids told me there is something very satisfying about seeing those pins go down!” Monson said.

Talking about school violence in New Brighton

In terms of "telling the story" about school violence to Minnesota communities, PMF is still in the beginning stages. Which was why it was great to be invited to appear on "New Brighton Now" on CTV15 in July.

PMF director Dan McNeil sat with host Lynn Redlinger and discussed why school violence matters, how Peace Maker Foundation works, and how people can get involved in their own communities to nip bullying in the bud.

It is our hope that we can use the mass media more in the future to get the word out that "kids behaving badly" isn't just human nature -- that everyone can learn to respect one another. But first we have to admit the problem is there, and accept our responsibility to deal with it.