tim nation – Peace Learning Center

5 12, 2016

A TED Talk Inspired Spiritual Talk Series WALK THE TALK: COMPASSION

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:41:48-04:00December 5th, 2016|Tags: community, tim nation|

The Vogue | Wednesday, December 14, 2016 INDIANAPOLIS - Walk the Talk: Compassion continues the innovative TED Talk inspired Spiritual Talk series, and will showcase six speakers discussing and sharing personal stories about compassion. The event will also feature live music, confetti, interactive activities and a Motivational Balloon drop, making it an over-the-top show unlike any other speaker series! Walk the Talk: Compassion will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:15 p.m.) at The Vogue in Broad Ripple (6259 N. College Avenue). Tickets are on sale now ($15, plus applicable fees) at the Vogue Box Office, TheVogue.com, and Ticketfly.com. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door on the day of the event. The six speakers of Walk the Talk: Compassion will inspire, motivate and awaken the mind with messages of how compassion has affected their lives by answering the question: What does compassion mean to you? Speakers will include: Jessica Froelich - Jessica Froelich is on a mission to make the world a more peaceful, loving place, and as a love warrior, has made a lifelong commitment to deepening her connection to the power of unconditional love. A storyteller at heart, she has always enjoyed performance arts and acting on stage and in film. Her authentic, open expression of emotions provides others with a raw, un-edited reminder of the beauty in our human nature, and through the lens of compassion, she will

19 11, 2015

We Cannot Change Others, We Can Change Ourselves

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:02-04:00November 19th, 2015|Tags: hope for the future, peace within, tim nation|

We are grateful for these students from Vision Academy who recently gave their time to volunteer at Peace Learning Center because they believe peace matters We Cannot Change Others, We Can Change Ourselves These are tough times for peacemakers. Locally, nationally and internationally violence and intimidation face us daily. The recent atrocities committed in Paris, Beirut, and Baghdad shocked and saddened all of us. While we cannot change others, we can change ourselves. Working for peace within ourselves helps us spread peace to family, friends, coworkers and the larger community. We are eternally grateful for your support because everyday Peace Learning Center's facilitators and volunteers witness personal change with preschool through high school students, parents, teachers and community members as we help each person find the peace and peacemaker within. When they are first exposed to PLC programs, many struggling teenagers believe they will not survive beyond 25 years of age, so they live with no hope for tomorrow. Tragically it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for way too many. "My mother worked three jobs and my dad was in prison," a 19 year-old young man told me at a meeting. "She wouldn't let me go outside to play so I watched TV all the time seeing all the things other people had. When I went outside at 14, I got a gun because I knew that was how I was going to get that stuff for me." After spending time in prison,

30 09, 2015

Indy Star Article

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:06-04:00September 30th, 2015|Tags: one indy, tim nation|

IPS 56 photo by Maureen Gilmer, Indy Star IPS students learn how to raise their kindness quotient Indianapolis Star, Sept. 14 by Maureen C. Gilmer Click here to read the article. Peace Learning Center in Eagle Creek Park teaches lessons in conflict resolution, compassion, and anti-bullying. It isn't very often that a news article perfectly describes what we do at Peace Learning Center AND why we do it. That's why we are excited to share this recent Indianapolis Star article with all of you. It showcases many of the critical components in our programs which we developed during the last 18 years based on research-based best practices and our own experience teaching people of all ages how to resolve conflicts without violence, maintain healthy relationships, and communicate well with others. This article also demonstrates the range of audiences we serve - preschool children, k-5th grade students, teenagers, families, teachers, organizations, and corporations. Finally, it describes how through our new One Indy initiative we are bringing the best of everything we have to offer to schools serving students who face tremendous challenges in their lives - students who deserve peaceful, supportive communities that help them achieve success in the classroom and throughout their lives. This is our city, these are our children. We are calling this initiative One Indy because it means we care about each other and we are working together to create a better future for

18 06, 2015

If it’s to be, it’s up to me

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:14-04:00June 18th, 2015|Tags: conflict resolution, tim nation|

The story we tell ourselves and others is our reality. All the triumphs, challenges, and ongoing battles we dwell on in our minds would be forever gone if we lost our lives tomorrow. The truth is - no one makes you feel or act - it is your choice. The only thing controlled by you, is what you say and what you do. Indianapolis is a city that studies say is one of the most difficult places to go from poverty as a child to prosperity as an adult. It is not because there are not opportunities - mostly a lack of relationships and access. Education is the ladder out of poverty. The further you go in education - the higher the ladder. But we all know, education is time and time is precious when we have families to feed and jobs to work. My work at Peace Learning Center involves helping people realize their true potential while overcoming their shortcomings. People ask me, "How do you help young people succeed, especially if they're in the juvenile justice system?" It starts with taking personal responsibility for your life. No one makes you feel or do things - you are responsible for your own decisions. Once we realize this, we see that no one holds us back but ourselves. Once you take charge - you start having hope for the future. Once you have hope - you realize that your education

21 05, 2015

Summer “Break”

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:17-04:00May 21st, 2015|Tags: summer, summer camp, summer opportunities, tim nation|

School is out for summer. Once those doors close, kids aren't welcomed back until August. Exploring nature during Peacebuilders Camp! Think about it - here in Indianapolis that is 221,664 youth, 19 years and under, who need adults to take care of them. While summer break is shorter for most youth because of balanced calendars (school is out for two weeks in fall, winter and spring) it still averages around 9 weeks. Youth are in school at least 180 days a year by law - that leaves 185 "out of school" days. While our city enjoys new school choices through new charter, magnet and private schools, I've witnessed a decline in youth enrichment programs that focus on out of school time. The Kaleidoscope Youth Center recently closed as did Ruth Lilly Health Education Center's building at 22nd and Senate. Now, Marian University runs Ruth Lilly Health Education’s programs through outreach. What happened? Because of multiple factors including funding, testing and competition for class time, many students do not go on field trips or only take one-two field trips a year versus the nearly monthly field trips they enjoyed before. In response to this trend, Peace Learning Center has modified our programs to go directly into classrooms, offices, and communities. While many of the field trip programs to Eagle Creek Park and Peace Camp in southern Indiana ended during the great recession due to school budget cuts, we still

16 01, 2015

Reflections on MLK’s life and legacy

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:28-04:00January 16th, 2015|Tags: diversity, mlk, mlk festival, race, tim nation|

Tim Nation, Executive Director and Cofounder of Peace Learning Center While we reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King's life and legacy, 2014 will stand as a watershed year for a civil rights awakening that is both sad and hopeful. Sad because racial disparities continue to rise despite Dr. King's call for all people to come together understanding we are all one human family - children of God. Schools, child services, police and courts continue to suspend, expel, remove from their homes and punish people of color disproportionately by ranges from 200% to even 1200% more than white people. Police action shootings and recent grand jury decisions bring attention to these disparities sparking a younger generation to wake up to these injustices realizing they could no longer say we are in a post racial society and that the civil rights movement was their parents’ and grandparents' fight. Hopeful because many people recognize we must address these problems. Our institutions are reflections of our history and cultural so we must know how we got to this place to be able to change things. Fear is a powerful force. Our country's dark history of slavery used fear as an economic tool. Imagine the mindset of slave-holding plantation owners - every night wondering if their prisoners would rise up at night and overpower them. Worried that their slaves would flee, the myth of the runaway dangerous slave who would rape white women

3 03, 2014

PLC’s Executive Director Interviewed on Radio Show

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:59-04:00March 3rd, 2014|Tags: executive director, KWMR, pieces of peace, radio interview, Susan Santiago, tim nation|

Tim Nation, PLC's executive director and co-founder, was recently interview by Susan Santiago on KWMR's Pieces of Peace radio show. He gave a fantastic overview about he and Charlie Wiles started Peace Learning Center 16 years ago and why peace education is still as important as ever. Click here to listen to Tim's radio interview.