“Bridge the Gap Campaign”

Four Volunteers Raised $10,000

in One Month!

Margie Bryce, Beverly Lowe, Bill Davidson, and Phil Reynolds all founders and early supporters of the center assisted the center in raising $10,000.00 from August 1, 2019, through September 30, 2019! This dedicated group of volunteers continues to provide leadership and direction to an organization they clearly love and believe in. In March of this year, we suffered a huge loss. Our beloved Carolyn Sullivan, one of the center’s founders, passed leaving a huge deficit in our Development team. Margie, Bev, Bill and Phil, a group of friends, stepped-up to fill that gap and help raise funds to assist with basic operations. The center depends heavily on the generosity of our donors and grants. In general, most grants do not cover operating expenses. However, the lights must stay on, the copier must copy, letters must be printed and mail and postage for those letters must be available as we strive to effectively and efficiently communicate with constituents. Thank you to everyone who donated and thank you to these four incredible volunteers!

Can We Talk?

Getting People to the Table

Success is bringing people from opposing views to the table. Of course, we love to see agreements, but sometimes the victories are in the details and not the end-game. Frequently during the intake process details are revealed that seemingly would defeat a mediation from the start. But the magic happens when we are forced to have difficult conversations and speak with intention, without charged language, in a guided conversation led by train professionals who can assist with digging deep into our vocabulary and pulling-out those gems; priceless expressions that allow us to be heard and to listen. Consider giving the gift of your time to assist the center as a volunteer , a mediator or with financial gifts to support the work of our staff.  

Helping People Help Themselves: Addressing Barriers to Participation

One of the greatest barriers to access to justice is participation in the process. You can’t participate if you don’t show up and that leads us to yet another barrier: transportation. For the last two-years, AACRC has provided transportation to and from prisons for people participating in Re-Entry mediations as well as residents who do not have reliable transportation to mediate. We hold mediations in the communities where our participants live and work and that includes Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Odenton, Severna Park, Annapolis, Brooklyn Park, etc. Through the use of Uber and Lyft, we have provided thousands of dollars in rideshare in transportation for mediation services. 

“Act Like a Child and Think Like an Adult”: School Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Georgetown East Elementary (GTEE) Principal Andre Dillard is a rockstar! We sat with him last year to discuss a pilot project focused on prevention, an evidence-based project addressing violence among children in school. This skill-building program has been proven to reduce suspensions, increase student attendance and ultimately close the achievement gap. The Annapolis Rotary Club incentivized the program by awarding the center a $1,000.00 gift. With partners like the Rotary Club of Parole, Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families, just to name a few, AACRC’s PEACE TEAM actively provides services to students at GTEE. We are extremely pleased with the opportunity to provide Attendance Mediation, IEP Facilitations, Community Conferencing, Conflict Management Training and a host of other services to parents, teachers, and students who live in the surrounding communities of GTEE. Please consider supporting the center to expand services like these throughout all of Anne Arundel County.  

Nomenclature’s Important:

Re-Entry Doesn’t Mean

Going Back to Jail!

We go where no man is willing to go and that is into the prisons and detention centers in our county to speak with people who are incarcerated. Like people who are not incarcerated, having necessary but difficult conversations is not limited to where you live. However, traversing the space where these conversations take place can be tricky. There are a number of steps we take before getting to the mediation table. For example, this month we participated in the annual Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCI-W) Resource Fair. We were able to promote both the mediation and Anger Management programs at MCI-W and formed a connection with partners and participants. These relationships lead to referrals and our referrals develop into full-blown mediations.