News from Peace Maker Foundation
Dec. 1 deadline for schools wishing to work with PMF
We are nearing “crunch time” in our ability to work with new schools in 2011. We are asking that schools apply by December 1, using our new online Statement of Interest Form.
The new form is similar to the old one, but it allows schools to process the entire application on their PC screens. When you hit SUBMIT, it comes directly to us.
Why the December 1 deadline? Because PMF needs time to evaluate each application individually.
If you have not seen the Statement of Interest form yet, you should spend some time with it. It is the #1 tool in the way PMF chooses what schools to fund.
Annual Report tells the PMF story
Billionaire Warren Buffett was asked why he didn't feature a mission statement in his annual reports. “See this?” he'd say, displaying the page showing where all the money went – “Our mission statement is what we do with the money.”
Well, Peace Maker Foundation has published its 2009 Annual Report online, and while we don't deal in Warren Buffett billions, the income and outlays are right there for anyone to see.
We raised $109,000, we spent $21,000 doing PMF business. Think about it – we raised five times what we spent! We are proud of that ratio, and hopes it boosts your confidence in us.
During the 2008-2009 school year, 14,300 kids from 27 different schools benefited from PMF funding.
Beyond the numbers, though, the Annual Report contains quotes and stories from kids whose lives were made safer and more peaceful because of PMF funding.
“Being a peacemaker helps me stand up for what's right,” testified Paris, a senior at Crossroads Alternative School in Coon Rapids.
The report also contains a list of everyone who made a contribution in 2009. If you helped out and want to see your name in print, check out the report at the PMF website.
Research: Bullying affects kids' brains much like PTSD
Every month we scan the web for stories relating to school violence that help us better understand it.
This month, a Texas Plano psychiatrist says brain scans show similarities between a person who has been bullied and someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Using an ordinary CT scan machine, Dr. Todd Clements of Plano told the local CBS affiliate that the brains of children who had experienced bullying “lit up” in much the same way as soldiers who have been exposed to explosive devices.
The bullied individual's brains interpret the bullying experience as an attack on one's safety and well-being.
If this finding holds up, then bullying may have the same negative effects that military “shell shock” have on soldiers struggling to maintain relationships and careers.
"It's almost like a survival issue and the brain doesn't know the difference between being attacked by a bully or being attacked by a sniper," Michael Devine, a counselor, says in the article.
The story reminds us that there is nothing trivial about the problem of school violence, It's nopt a schoolyard game. It's a social problem that has the potential to affect individuals their whole lives.
For the entire article, go here.
Do you know anyone who works here?
As you know, PMF is a federated charitable organization, like our much bigger cousin United Way. A primary way we work is by soliciting money through “annual giving check-offs” through people's employers.
But a lot of people who work at PMF-affiliated companies don't know about Peace Maker Foundation, and so never click the box next to our name.
We are always asking friends two questions:
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Would your employer like to add PMF to its employee check-off?
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Do your friends and colleagues working for participating check-off employers know that PMF is one of their options?
So we are asking you – do you know anyone who works at any of these places? Why don;t you tell them about PMF, and ask that they consider us in this year's check-off!
PARTICIPATING EMPLOYERS
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ANY of the state's 37 community and technical colleges (see map)
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Minnesota Historical Society Minnesota Public Radio American Public Media
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The State Of Minnesota Ramsey County Dakota County City of New Brighton City of Saint Paul League of Minnesota Cities |
Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Assoc. Lake Park Audubon Schools Mounds View Public Schools Stillwater Public Schools Avalon School Great River School St. Anne's School Schoolcraft Learning Community |
The employee check-off is a great deal for Minnesota schools. It makes it easy for the employee to give, and fighting school violence is something lots of people agree is a good thing.
Highview Middle School tackles bullying head-on
For some time the leaders at Highview Middle School in New Brighton knew bullying was a problem, but only in the past year did they decide to go at it head first, by working directly on student character issues.
“We have been implementing the Olweus program for the past couple of years,” said Tim Iverson. “But we wanted to move beyond the question of what's nice and what isn't, to actually decreasing the number of students who engage in deliberately unkind behavior.”
Highview accomplished this with $7,396 in financial help from Peace Maker Foundation. That money went to staff training, bringing in a consultant who could help them identify and turn kids around, plus computer software to explain how to deal with bullies.
Testified one 7th grade girl, who got turned around by the program: “Everything I learned helped me be a better person, student, friend and daughter. What I learned was that if you set a goal and really try, people can change!”
Highview Middle School has applied for a third year of PMF support. Deadline for schools to apply is coming up – November 1!
March 30, 2010
Centennial High School group shows how it's done
Lots of schools want to go forward with an anti-violence regimen, but feel discouraged by the challenge of helping to raise money. A group of parents at Centennial High School in Circle Pines took the bull by the horns last month and held a wine and cheese party at one of their homes and raised a significant amount in one night.
The goal of the parents' group was $6200. The party raised $1515, from parents concerned about negative behavior at school. That, plus a gift of $3,100 from the Centennial Area Education Foundation and an additional gift raised in collaboration with MESPA, the state's elementary school principal association, brought the Centennial group within a wink of their goal.
The Centennial group's success is evidence that fundraising is not the odious task some groups fear. In fact, hosts Chris O'Donnell and Michelle Schutta, organizers of the wine and cheese party, described the event as fun and a great way to get people together to talk about school culture, and share their individual experiences.
There's no silver bullet to the issue schools face with relational aggression, said Chris O'Donnell. Our hope is to make this a priority for our schools so students can develop lifelong skills in dealing with others respectfully.
'I was a bully but not no more'
Some of the most eloquent testimonials we receive are from children themselves, who have personal experience of bullying on the playground or in the classroom.
Periodically we would like to share what kids say in their own words about the negative culture that is sometimes a part of their world.
This month, we have a handwritten essay from a middle school boy who used to be a bully, but experienced a breakthrough. We offer the story in its original form as remarkable evidence that even the youngest people are capable of profound change.
What works? What doesn't?
Schools seeking answers to the problem of violence need to know they are not alone and that there is power in hearing what ideas have proven successful at other schools.
Blueprints for Violence Prevention is an organization that provides information on what works and what doesn't. Its mission is to identify school violence programs that have shown they are really effective. (They also look at successful drug prevention programs.) To date, it has assessed more than 800 programs.
Schools researching this issue should visit the Blueprints website to help them make informed judgments about programs to invest in.
The Blueprints list can be controversial. Some of the best-known programs have come up short on their scoreboard, while others achieve high scores. Peace Maker Foundation is not in the business of endorsing specific programs, but it sees the value of knowing that programs exist that extensive research has shown to be effective at reducing violence and other anti-social behaviors like vandalism, theft and truancy.
Golf tournament drives in $3,450 to aid in the fight
Midland Information Systems of Florida held its 8th annual charity golf tournament Feb. 19, and proceeds went to Peace Maker Foundation.
The tournament was held at Forest Lake Golf Course in Ocoee, FL. Participants paid $95 to play, of which $30 was earmarked for Peace Maker. Altogether, the tournament raised $3,450 this year to fight school violence.
Helping PMF has become a wonderful tradition at Midland, which has raised a total of $53,567 over the lifetime of the event. This year it was especially good to get out and play, as last year the tournament had to be cut back because of the slumping economy.
PMF thanks Midland and other sponsors, and everyone who picked up a wedge to make schools safer.
And a suggestion to you. If you happen to be in Florida next February, as many Minnesotans are, consider being on hand for the 9th annual tournament. You do not have to be a good golfer!