Letter from Executive Director, Cassie Lively | |
Dear CCR Community:
Happy Holidays!
CCR is excited to welcome new staff members, and new additions to families! Please join me in welcoming and in congratulations.
It feels like a long time ago now, in the summer sun, but we all had a wonderful time at this year’s Volunteer Appreciation Party. You can find pictures from that fun event, as
well as award winners, in this edition.
CCR is so proud to share some updates from our new Community-Police Mediation Program – see the update from Programs Director Rae Kyritsi below. This pilot program
has been in the works for a long time, and officially launched on October 15. Our thanks go out to the JAMS Foundation and the Chicago Bar Foundation, as well as many
generous individual donors, for making this program possible.
CCR is also excited to announce that we have received renewed funding from the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. The United Way has been a longtime supporter of CCR’s programs, and funding currently supports the Stalking/No Contact Mediation Program, in partnership with the Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
More details will follow soon, but we are pleased to make our first announcement about CCR’s 2023 Annual Fundraising Event. On Thursday, April 27, we will once again
gather at Kaiser Tiger, 1415 W. Randolph, for a Spring Fling!
Best,
Cassie
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We continue to make progress with the software and logistic implementation of Timecounts, the platform we’ll be providing for volunteers to complete “self-signup” for mediations. Timecounts will give you the ability to see mediation opportunities (both adapted model shifts and long model cases) and to sign up directly in the system. While it has continued to prove more time consuming than anticipated to get across the finish line, we are hopeful to start using it in a limited capacity by January.
However, in order to use Timecounts, volunteers MUST create profiles. We’ll be sending an invitation to create a profile once we have a critical mass of volunteers ready to invite, but before we can do that, we need to ensure we have the most updated contact information for you. Otherwise, you could inadvertently miss out on scheduling communications.
Please complete the google form here so that we can get you set up in the new system as soon as possible. Even if you’re unsure that you’ll use Timecounts, we still need you to complete the google form so we can update all our contact information for you. Please complete the form by Monday, December 12, 2022.
Thank you!!
| CCR's Parenting Mediation program helps more than 500 parents each year, and does not have dedicated funding. Mediation gives divorced and never-married co-parents the opportunity to meet with a neutral, third-party mediator to discuss conflicts related to parenting time, decision making, finances, education, health care and more. This program helps parents build understanding and reach lasting agreements that create more stability for children and families. | |
Core Values
Volunteer Spotlight:
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The Programs department wants to recognize Lisbeth Stone for exhibiting the Core Value of “Commitment to Serving the Community.” A few weeks ago, Lisbeth mediated an exceptionally challenging case. This case involved a stalking no-contact case between two neighbors. Although most neighbor disputes hinge on misconceptions and assumptions the parties make of one another, this case centered on the assumptions of a particularly difficult party whose incongruous communication style only exacerbated the situation. Lisbeth did a heroic job of meeting this especially perplexing party where they were at. In addition, Lisbeth used the model in a creative and flexible way to respond to the needs and limits of the parties. With practically unending patience and excellent reality testing, Lisbeth helped focus these parties on what mattered most to them and what they could control. The parties left the mediation with a new insight on their relationship and an agreement. Thank you, Lisbeth!
Kim Moran
The Training team would like to give a Core Values shout out to Kim Moran. Kim regularly exhibits all of our Core Values, but we would like to commend her on her Commitment to Serving the Community. Kim coaches for us regularly, often signing up for multiple days of coaching in a given training. Not only does she serve our community by participating in trainings, but she is always sending potential clients our way. Kim spreads word of our services throughout the communities she engages with and is often making personal connections between people seeking trainings for their teams and our Training services. Thank you, Kim!
| CCR partner and former staff member, Stephanie Senuta is featured in a podcast about Cook County's Child Relief Expediter Program. | An interview with Rae Kyritsi featured on the JAMS blog. | Congratulations to CCR Board Member Aaron Harris and his fiancé, Tia Fox, on the birth of Maia Aaryn Harris! | Congratulations to CCR Board Member Jenny Plagman and her husband, Benny Alexander, on the birth of Willow Rosemary Alexander! | Congratulations to CCR Finance & Operations Director Whitney Trumble and her husband, Matt Parrilli, on the birth of Jasper Cary Parrilli-Trumble! | |
Welcome Ryland Rich, Programs Manager – Early Resolution Program! | Ryland joined CCR in 2022. Prior to CCR, Ryland worked at The School for Ethics and Global Leadership’s London program. Her experience as a member and negotiator with the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers initiated her interest in conflict resolution. Inspired to gain skills in effective resolution methods, Ryland completed CCR’s mediation training in June 2022. | Welcome Jenna Silver, Assistant Director of Training! | Jenna began working with CCR in 2016. She has since served as an administrator and conflict resolution professional at Loyola University Chicago, where she was instrumental in implementing mediation principles and restorative justice practices. She works across the country as a training consultant, developing tailored workshops on conflict resolution and communication, including programs centered on working with youth and young adults. Jenna is a former middle school teacher and current adjunct faculty member at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Roosevelt University. She earned her BA from Brown University, MEd from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. |  | |
Welcome Njeri Williams, Programs Manager – Early Resolution Program!
Njeri Williams, J.D., M.S., joined CCR in 2022. Prior to working at CCR, Njeri worked in both legal and non-legal positions with the goal of using her knowledge and experiences to serve others. Njeri has always had a passion for serving children and families, which largely ignited her interest in community engagement work and alternative dispute resolution. Njeri earned her B.A. in Political Science and Africana Studies from the University of Notre Dame and her J.D. with a certificate in Family Law from DePaul University, where she also earned her M.A. in Public Service Management. Njeri completed CCR’s mediation training program in June 2022 and looks forward using the tools gained from this training to continue her work as a practitioner of alternative dispute resolution and as an advocate for community and social change.
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Volunteer
Appreciation Party
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At the tail end of the summer, CCR was thrilled to see the return of the Volunteer Appreciation Party, for an IN PERSON crowd of nearly 100 people! Historically the most well-loved event of the year, it hadn’t taken place since 2019 due to Covid.
As such, there were lots of folks to recognize for “years of service” milestones as well as the major awards we’ve traditionally given out to our stellar volunteer community. Over the course of the pandemic, volunteers stepped up in ways never before envisioned, making it possible for work to continue and expand. CCR as a whole remains utterly grateful and indebted for that.
By way of expressing our appreciation, the following folks were specially honored to recognize their contributions:
David Steiner Devoted Volunteer Award (for the volunteer who mediates the most cases in a calendar year) –
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Laura Weizeorick (2021)
Kim Moran (2019)
Lisbeth Stone (2020)
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2022 Peacemaker of the Year – Aracelis Baez
2022 Trainer of the Year – Lisa Sandlow
To see additional photos from the event, click here.
A giant “we love you” goes out to each and every volunteer who has made what we do possible over the last three years and beyond. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
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Have you seen a member of the CCR Community doing a great job demonstrating one of our Core Values? Nominate them to be featured in Caucus!
Do you have general thoughts/comments/ideas related to our Core Values initiative? Let us know!
Share your thoughts HERE.
| Community Police Mediation Pilot Program | |
The Community Police Mediation Pilot Program began in October. The program is a unique opportunity to provide mediation when community members file complaints against Chicago Police Department members. CCR has worked closely with the City of Chicago and the Civilian Office for Police Accountability to develop the program.
Referrals have been higher than expected and we opened over 30 cases in the first two months of the pilot. CCR staff is working to get cases scheduled for the end of the year and into early 2023. If you want to learn more about Chicago’s program and to hear about the work in a similar program in New Orleans, we recommend you listen to the segment on Reset featuring CCR Programs Director Rae Kyritsi.
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We are excited to share that there are now more ways to support CCR! Visit the CCR website HERE to find information about making donations via:
- Qualified Charitable Distributions
- Donor Advised Funds
- Matching Gifts
- Beneficiary Designations
- Bequests through Wills or Revocable (Living) Trusts
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