The city of Urbana, recently designated the 140th International “City of Peace,” and Urbana University, a branch campus of Franklin University, are in the fourth year of promoting and sponsoring programs for the “Season for Nonviolence” through The Alicia Titus Memorial Peace Fund. The “Season for Nonviolence” (Jan. 30-April 4) is a national 64-day educational, media and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform and empower our lives and our communities. In 1997, to commemorate the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Season for Nonviolence was organized. The Season for Nonviolence has since become an important educational and media opportunity to bring communities together, empowering them to envision and help create a nonviolent world, one heart and one day at a time. This year we will once again kick off the season with the “Great Kindness Challenge” Jan. 22-26. Last year the entire Urbana City School District participated along with Graham, Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem Schools which involved over 4500 students performing acts of kindness. Our Champaign County Students were part of this global event which took place in over 90 countries, involving more than 15,000 schools, with more than 10 Million students performing over 500 Million “Acts of Kindness”!! We encourage everyone in our community to join in the challenge and support our youth in their efforts to be kind. You can go on the following website: https://thegreatkindnesschallenge.com/familychecklist/, and download a “Family Version” of the “Great Kindness Challenge” to practice at home and at work.
As we continue celebrating the “Season for Nonviolence” and continue our vision of creating a culture of peace, The Alicia Titus Memorial Peace Fund will offer another free six-week “Nonviolent Communication” class for community members, high school students and Urbana University students. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is an approach to living that has roots in Gandhi’s teachings on nonviolence. It refers not only to physical violence, but also to any other way we “attack” others or ourselves, such as through judgment, criticism, and blaming.
Many of us long to hold others and ourselves with consideration and respect, but we sometimes find it hard to live these values in daily life. NVC gives us practical tools for embodying these values in any situation.
Diane Diller, an NVC trainer certified by the Global Center for Nonviolent Communication, will share how this practice helps us to communicate in a more loving and respectful way.
Please join us on Mondays, March 19-April 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. The “Nonviolent Communication” class, will be held in the Moore Conference Room, downstairs in the Urbana University Student Center. To register please call Tammy Leiker at (937)772-9246. Space is limited and the class is free, so please RSVP.
