Welcome to the last day of February. Leap Year babies, inquiring minds want to know - do you celebrate your birthday on February 28th, March 1st, or just have a big splash every four years? Growing up (when birthdays were a big deal and not something we tried to avoid), I had a friend born on February 29 and claimed both February 28 and March 1 as their birthday. They even demanded presents and a party on both days! For the rest of us, that were only allowed one day for a self-celebration, this naturally evolved into some conflict. Those days we could have used some good dispute resolution skills from an organization like our own local Dispute Resolution Center.
Thurston County Dispute Mediation Center
You have heard the term ____ happens; well as we all know, conflict happens as well, and these days it seems to happen more often than ever (not that I am pointing any fingers at my Next-Door friends). The mission of the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) of Thurston County is to empower people to resolve their disputes by providing conflict resolution services and training community members in those skills. They envision a South Sound community that has and uses healthy and respectful conflict resolution skills and values personal empowerment, integrity, respect, collaboration, civility, and trust. (Don’t we all).
The History of Mediation
According to the DRC website, community mediation began during the Carter administration and Berger Supreme Court in the 1970s. The federal impetus was an over-crowded court system with increasing numbers of litigants suing each other (imagine what our courts would be like if DRC was not available!) The Washington State Reorganization Act of 1984 (RCW 7.75) allowed for communities to form dispute resolution centers (DRCs). DRC of Thurston County opened in 1991 as a not-for-profit DRC authorized by the County Commissioners under the state statute. Our DRC is one of 21 DRCs covering more than 94% of the state’s population. These DRCs work collaboratively through an umbrella organization, Resolution Washington, to provide a relevant and cohesive array of services. In 2022, DRC of Thurston County served more than 9,000 through mediation, eviction resolution, conflict coaching, information & referral, group facilitation, training, and community presentations which was an increase of 40% from 2021. To meet these needs DRC currently has 170 trained volunteers. Training for volunteers includes:
I personally took advantage of the Facilitating Effective Meetings training that was offered during the pandemic. It not only equipped me to more effectively facilitate my in-person meetings but virtual meetings as well.
New "Conflict Crash Course" Series
The DRC recently announced a new series of half-day online workshops designed to help people prevent and manage conflict in their personal, family, and work lives. Sessions will include:
Tuesday, March 7 - Skills for Active Listening
Tuesday, April 4- Skills for Forward Movement
Tuesday, May 9- Skills for Negotiations
Interested community members can register for individual sessions or the entire series by clicking here.
In addition to the mediation and training, DRC celebrates those who embody peacekeeping with the Evan Ferber Peacemaker Leadership Award. Established in honor of founding Executive Director Evan Ferber, this annual award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in strengthening civil discourse and promoting peaceful dispute resolution and civility. Members of the community are encouraged to submit nominations by Wednesday, March 15 for the 2023 award, which will be presented later this year at a special DRC event. The nomination form is available at https://www.mediatethurston.org/.
There’s a New Event in Town
The Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts (TCMoFA) is holding its first fundraiser Saturday, March 4, at Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia. TCMoFA is a project dedicated to creating public art in Olympia by offering an ephemeral museum experience featuring hyper-local artists from Thurston County. You may have seen their special Fall Arts Walk collection, which featured a selection of interdisciplinary artists. Known as Olympia's award-winning "museum without walls", TCMoFA turns vacant downtown storefronts into immersive museum experiences featuring art from a wide variety of mediums. This spring TCMoFA is partnering with the Olympia Artspace Alliance to premier a new exhibit on April 28th during the Spring Artswalk. According to a spokesperson for the organization, donations from the fundraiser on Saturday will fund this second iteration of the museum. For tickets or more information, go to tcmofa.org
Celebrate AmeriCorps Week
AmeriCorps week, March 12-18, 2023, is a time to recognize and celebrate everyone who has served in AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors. According to AmeriCorps 2021 National Service in Washington Year in Review report, a quarter million people serve in programs across the U.S. and in 2021, more than 5,600 people served in AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs in the state of Washington. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer to help close achievement gaps for school-age children, prepare low-income students for higher education, protect our environment, connect veterans and military families to resources, help prepare communities for disaster and recruit and manage volunteers. Their service helps communities thrive. This is your chance; if you know an AmeriCorps member or AmeriCorps alum, take a minute to thank them for their service and if you are a current AmeriCorps member or AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer or an alum, let me be the first to say thank you.
2023 AmeriCorps Formula Request for Grant Applications
Recently, Serve Washington announced the opening of the 2023 AmeriCorps State Request for Grant Applications, RFGA. Organizations are encouraged to apply to one (only one) of three opportunities for funding by Friday, March 17: For more details, click here.
Soliciting your ideas
If you know of a nonprofit that is doing something great, celebrating a success, needs some outstanding volunteers, or hosting an event, let me know! This column (aside from a little education) celebrates nonprofits!
Mary Beth Harrington, CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator) lives in Tumwater. She travels the country speaking at conferences and to individual organizations articulating issues facing nonprofits. Send your ideas to her at MaryBeth@theJOLTnews.com
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