Canada

London Dad’s Counter Racist Acts with Love

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A group of dads who belong to Dad Club London did a secret fundraiser to make Maurice Ellis and his family know they were welcomed into the community. This happened after Jeremy McCall, the head of the club, learned that Mr. Ellis, a newcomer in the community, had received racist acts. The group raised nearly $7,000 towards the tuition fee of Mr. Ellis wife-Carline-Leslie. Mr. McCall said it was the honor of the group to take the school’s stress off the shoulders of this couple.

Image by Megan Stacey/The London Free Press

The Black family felt welcomed and cared for in their new community. Also, the fundraiser took care of the tuition fee, hence taking off that stress.

The surprising kindness from the dads/community. The Ellis family was surprised when the dads visited and presented them with the $7,000 check.
There are enough love and care to counter hateful words and deeds.
Racial equity was increased by helping a member of a Black family complete school by providing the tuition fee.

Story shared by Margaret Sergon, USA, based on a story originally collected by the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies of Ball State University, Indiana, USA.

More info here or at msergon@my.nl.edu

LifeSchoolHouse: barter-based folkschools in Canada

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We have launched a network of barter-based folkschools to support grassroots community leaders in convening skills-sharing workshops as a means to reduce social isolation and loneliness. We have offered more than 1000 workshops in less than 3 years and our work has become even more important in our community with the rise of Covid and it’s associated social restrictions. Our volunteer-based organization has mobilized in-person and online workshops, emergency community food pantries, makers swaps and meal drives using the assets in the community to support a more resilient and interconnected world.

LifeSchoolHouse

We asked 150 people what benefits they received from LifeSchoolHouse programming and they said “Enjoyment and happiness” – 90.2%, “Creativity and idea sharing” – 86.9%, “Sense of community / neighbourliness” – 88.5% , “Meeting new people” – 75.4%, and “Social connection and friendship” – 75.4%.

We started with less than $5 in hand and ran workshops for MONTHS using this barter-based approach of asking for what we need and offering what we have. For instance, when we needed mason jars to teach a preservation workshop to reduce food insecurity by teaching an essential skill, we received tangible inkind donations of 100’s of jars from folks around the community – enough to keep us going for months! Our community has embraced this inclusive approach and run with it to create spin off caremongering activities and events for the community and the work continues to grow everyday.

Story shared by Jennifer DeCoste, Canada

More info here or at jennifer@lifeschoolhouse.com