Navigating Imbalance Together!
Winter Fundraiser
Dear SEEDS Supporter,
This was a year of both incredible challenges and incredibly high impact. Your generous support of SEEDS allowed thousands of individuals, schools, and organizations to access restorative justice and conflict transformation programs amidst complicated conditions.
In a continuation of multiple years in these conditions, the communities we serve seek to find balance; yet balance seems elusive and, at times, unattainable. Instead they rely on the skills SEEDS teaches to understand and navigate the imbalance in a world that is not yet skilled in the conflict transformation and belonging tools that allow us all to thrive. Together we build a world that engages in conflict generatively. A world where people lean on one another during the incredible imbalance and uncertainty. Thank you for your past gifts; please consider giving to SEEDS again this year.
As the SEEDS Board of Directors Co-President, I want to share my personal experience navigating imbalanced times with the tools SEEDS has taught me. By sharing my experiences and how SEEDS helps me navigate those experiences, my hope is it will help bring SEEDS’ work to life. I find myself impacted daily by the global shared experiences of a pandemic that continues to rage on, wars and acts of aggression, the subjugation of people for simply being who they are, and on and on. This imbalance is amplified by my news being filtered based on my identities. I see how my communities are faring while facing more acts of hate, whether identifying as queer, trans, black, brown, indigenous, a person with a disability, neurodivergent, a woman, a person of faith, a cultural identity and all intersections. What do I do with this world I find myself in? SEEDS helped me learn how to really listen and process, not just to respond, and to ask the questions that move closer to the root cause while reflecting back in a way that can allow people to be heard and seen, and understand what they sometimes knew deeply but couldn’t grasp yet. Thank you for your financial contribution that made this possible.
SEEDS training has allowed me to be able to navigate these imbalanced times in a way where I find joy, share my light, and continue to help others engage in new ways. I know that thousands of people could benefit greatly from increased access to SEEDS services. These skills help me work with friends, family, and folks that I have never met before. Through the utilization of the tools SEEDS has taught me, I have had people tell me that they’ve been able to better navigate their spaces and better know themselves. Your past support has made this possible and so much more.
I asked earlier, what do I do with the world we live in? I shared that SEEDS was the answer for me. What am I asking you to do? I am asking you to make the most generous contribution you can. We all know the imbalance of the current climate and we each experience it in our own ways, and yet we don’t often talk about how to create actionable change. Please join me in taking action by giving to SEEDS what you can. We know that there is inflation and many levels of uncertainty for many of you in our community and every bit helps. I give not only my time as a volunteer as Co-President of the SEEDS Board of Directors, I also give financial support by utilizing an employer match to make my contributions go even further. Thank you for joining me in giving to ensure the great work that improves our communities can continue.
I would like to thank AddieRose Mayer, SEEDS’ Executive Director, and the incredible staff and practitioners for investing their time in me. It is my honor to invest my time and donate my resources to see this work continue to impact thousands of people, organizations, and communities into the next year and beyond.
Join me by contributing to this incredible organization. Consider giving $250, $1000, $2500, $5000 or more today! To make your tax-deductible one-time or recurring donation, visit https://givebutter.com/SEEDSWinter2022 or write a check by December 31, 2022. Please make checks out to SEEDS CRC and mail them to 2530 San Pablo Ave. Suite A, Berkeley, CA 94702.
In community,
Ray Lader,
SEEDS Board of Directors Co-President
