2024 Winter Fundraising Campaign Letter

December 2, 2024

As we enter this season of gratitude, we simultaneously (and excitedly!) inhabit a season of growth and development.  Since August we have hired Mikhayla Smith as Senior Program Coordinator and two UGA School of Social Work interns chose placements with us for this academic year. Since writing to you last year, GCC  won two Athens-Clarke County (ACC) grants to help fund our Restorative Justice Diversion (RJD) work, and we were awarded a multi-year contract to support restorative practices training and implementation support at all 23 Clarke County Schools.  You may remember that last year our RJD work was unfunded, though we were receiving and facilitating case referrals from the District Attorney’s Office on a pro-bono basis.  It is because of your generosity and ongoing support that we find ourselves on solid ground taking steps toward our vision of a just and equitable community, where all can prosper and thrive, in Athens and beyond.

L to R:  Jo Barnes, Mikhayla Smith, Journey Perkins, Emma Wilson, and Danny Malec

Last year we’d received 7 RJD case referrals and had successfully completed our first 2 cases.  Since then, we have received 12 more referrals and have successfully completed 9 cases, including our first adult case referred by the ACC Solicitor General’s Office.  

With ACC funding and your continued support, we aim to more than double our case referrals to at least 25 RJD case referrals in 2025.

This is important because each case means at least one youth who will avoid incarceration, probation and/or parole, while receiving increased support for their family and their schooling. They will also have the chance to be directly accountable to and with the people that were harmed; all at the cost of less than $5,000 per case versus an estimated cost of $400,000 per youth incarcerated per year.

Restorative justice-aligned approaches to criminal law systems, communities, schools and workplaces build more positive cultures and work through conflict with increased accountability. Restorative (versus retributive) practices show higher individual engagement, trust, psychological safety, and productivity in every context.

Over our 2023-24 winter fundraising campaign, you helped us reach our goal of $30,000. This year, we ask you to help us raise $40,000 by January 31, 2025.

Your  donations will directly help us:

  • Expand our RJD program capacity
  • Fund a professionally, locally produced video to increase GCC awareness
  • Support a full-time (currently part-time) Operations Manager position
  • Help us meet rising insurance expenses

Will you consider increasing your support this winter and invite a friend or two to also support GCC?

Please donate by visiting us at https://georgiaconflictcenter-bloom.kindful.com/

Or include a check in the remittance envelope and send to:

Georgia Conflict Center

P.O. Box 82024

Athens, GA 30608

In deep gratitude,

Danny Malec, GCC Executive Director

other blogs and recommended reading

Pine Bluff School Introduces 'Restorative Room' to Help Calm Students, De-Escalate Fights

A school in Pine Bluff introduced the 'restorative room' as a way to help encourage kids to process their emotions and get through tough experiences.

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Update about GCC Winter 2023 Fundraising

GCC Winter 2023 Fundraising Campaign

GCC Fundraising Priorities for 2024

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The Gift of GCC Training and Whole-School Change

Clarissa Gonzalez shares the impact that GCC whole-school restorative practices implementation training has had on her Nevada school.

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Danny's Journey with Restorative Justice

Danny Malec's Recent Interview on "This Restorative Justice Life" with David Ryan Castro-Harris

This Restorative Justice Life is a podcast series that highlights conversations and storytelling with Restorative Justice Practitioners, Circle Keepers, and others about how they bring Restorative Justice philosophy, practices, and values into their personal and professional lives. Hosted by Amplify RJ founder David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris. Produced by Elyse Martin-Smith.

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Jabari Cobb

Jabari Cobb, the Director of Behavior Supports & Discipline for Clarke County School District, shares the impact that GCC has made--school by school--and how his involvement with restorative practices has strengthened.

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What GCC Means to Us at The Cottage

Linnea Ionno, executive director at The Cottage, shares how accepting the inevitability of conflict and building skills help her organization navigate both internal and external conflicts.

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