Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Peacebuilding Speaker, Tonight! (18 November 2009)

This is late notice but ...   Alexis Bilindabagabo, Anglican Bishop of Gahini, Rwanda,will be speaking TONIGHT at 7 PM at the State Museum.  He will speak about the process of reconciliation and building peace in the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda.  Here is the information about the lecture: 

Lecture: "Genocide and Reconciliation in Rwanda: A Survivor's Perspective of Hope"
November 18

Date: November 18

Description:

Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo survived the Rwanda genocide in 1994 that killed almost a million people.  Since that time he has become a recognized spokesman and author on the reconciliation process in Rwanda.  As part of his rebuilding efforts, Bishop Bilindabagabo has founded a foster care agency for genocide orphans and has been instrumental in rebuilding schools, hospitals and churches.

7 p.m., Auditorium, free.  (The museum is located at 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC  and the auditorium is on the second floor.)   

 

Map image

Monday, November 16, 2009

Peacemaking Opportunity

16 November 2009

Conflict occurs in all areas of life.  Have you ever thought about seeking additional training to deal with difficult (or even ordinary) conflict?  If so, register now for an opportunity to be trained in basic mediation! 

The Community Mediation Center, located at 4801 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC  29203, is offering a 24 hour course "Basic Training Mediation",  from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM on January 26th - 28th of 2010 (you must attend all sessions).  The 24 hour training will prepare anyone -- including parents, educators, business and human resource professionals -- to begin mediating conflicts. 

An additional bit of great news is that the $150 registration fee will be waived for participants who are being sponsored through community organizations, including churches.  All that's required for this discount is that the individual receiving church sponsorship must agree to act as a mediator in the future for members of their neighborhood or community as part of the Community Mediation Center's Community Mediator Initiative. 

Questions should be directed to Timothy or Dorothy at the Community Mediation Center, phone 803-714-1176. 

If you're interested in attending this training, the time is now to block out the days on your calendar and to ask your church or other nonprofit community organization to sponsor you! 

 

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Fundraiser for My Dad's Nursing Home

November 12, 2009

UPDATE:  THANK YOU SO MUCH, WE WON!!! 

 

Thanks to your clicks, the nonprofit nursing home that cares for my father will receive approximately $50,000 in corporate donations!  And just to clarify, my stepmother does NOT KEEP THE CAR!  This fundraiser was a method of advertising by Cadillac, but no, they are not giving away the cars!  She just got to use it for a week and write about it. 

 

 

November 4, 2009

My dad has a debilitating illness called Multiple System Atrophy.  It is a terrible illness.  In a very short period of time, he has gone from being the picture of health to a person who cannot manage basic functions of life.  Sadly, he can no longer be cared for at home.  He now resides in a skilled nursing center called The Pines of Sarasota, located in Sarasota, Florida.

The Pines gives very high quality care, but that care is expensive.  The Pines continues to care for people even after they have exhausted their resources.  It is also a nonprofit, and so it depends on private fundraising efforts to make up the difference between what people can pay and what they give. 

My dad's wife, Marjorie, has a great opportunity to raise money for The Pines, but it depends on her getting clicks on an internet site.  Cadillac has agreed to let her use a brand new Cadillac SRX for a week.  She must write about the car on a blog, and the company will donate money based on how many clicks her blog receives.  Can you help with this fundraising effort by clicking on her site, HERE

Please read her story, below, then click on the link she gives.  Please click often in the next few days!  You will be treated to photos of Marjorie's life as she and her dog, Bentley, enjoy the SRX!  If you're lucky, you may even be treated to photos of my beautiful sister Nicole and her baby, as well! 

2010-Cadillac-SRX-Live

2010 Cadillac SRX

Click

HERE

Please bookmark

and click often

this week!!!

Here is a photo of my Dad and Marjorie, taken about three years ago, before this illness struck.  He and Marjorie love their dogs.  The white dog in this photo is named Bentley, and he's still an inseparable companion.  Bentley can't live with my Dad at the Pines, but he visits often, and he rides in the car with Marjorie.  For this fundraiser, Marjorie is planning to write about her adventures in the SRX with Bentley along for the ride! 

m bill and dogs

Marjorie writes: 

Hello All,

I have been given use of a 2010 Cadillac SRX for a week. The only “string” attached is that I blog about the SRX and my activities using it each day. I’m competing with seven other women in this region of Florida. Whoever gets the most clicks on their blog will win all the proceeds to benefit their charity.

I hope that you’ll find my blog to be interesting and that you’ll click on it frequently throughout the next few days to see what I’m up to, and to help me win the funds for my charity!

The charity I’ve chosen is The Pines of Sarasota. There is a very personal story behind my choice of The Pines.

My husband, Bill, has a catastrophic illness. After more than a year of home care, he now lives at The Pines.  The Pines is a 61-year-old not for profit nursing center. It is home to several hundred folks who need rehabilitation and skilled nursing care. I have recently been elected to the corporate board of the Pines. I am donating (with your help) 100% of the charitable donation to them.

Our family can vouch for the top quality and compassionate care provided to all Pines residents regardless of ability to pay, including residents who have outlived their financial resources.

There are several matching donors.  Thus, a lot is “riding” on your taking the time to see where the SRX and I are and what we are doing. Please, click often on the link http://www.srxdrivingforce.com/influencers/influencer.php?cn=mbroughton 

The more clicks, the more chance we have of winning the competition and helping The Pines! 

Thank you in advance for your support!

Monday, November 2, 2009

I'm Famous!

Actually, another busy lawyer just wrote a very kind write up in the blog of the S.C. Women Lawyers Association, about my brand new, solo mediation practice. 

Click HERE for the article, written by Eve Ross of McNair Law Firm, and contained in the blog of the S.C. Women Lawyers Association: http://thebriefcase.wordpress.com

It's very interesting to begin a solo practice.  I'm drawing on experience that I never realized would ever be beneficial in my future life.  For example, when I graduated from college I worked at a newspaper for two years before I went to law school.  Long story, but I worked in ad layout and design, and guess what:  Businesses need logos and marketing materials, so thirty years later here I am looking at fonts and layouts!  As a young lawyer I was always the "computer guru" in the office, the first lawyer to type their own work (advised not to on the basis that it might cause me to be viewed as a secretary), the first lawyer in the office to do research on the web or to create a web page for my office.  Then, blogging for three years while I lived in China taught me a lot (though my old blog looks rather dated now).  So now, I've just done my own web page

I enjoy being creative, even if it's not as slick and professional as it could be.  It's my goal to bring a degree of professionalism to my work that is very evident, a tangible difference.  Peacemaking is serious business!  Now that I've jumped off the high dive, here's crossing my fingers that I'll find the wings I know are there.   :-D 

 

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