Sharing Our Gifts and Privileges for a Better World

Sharing Our Gifts and Privileges for a Better World Daylong Workshop

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Kalliopeia Foundation (San Rafael, CA - click here for driving directions)
Coordinated by YES! and Co-hosted by World Cafe Community

Register for this workshop

In a world beset by lack -- of time, of money, of love -- what if we have enough, right now, to make a difference with our lives?  How can we use whatever gifts or privileges we've got, to make a difference for what we love?

Join a diverse, intergenerational community of leaders who are committed to using the resources and opportunities in their lives to make a difference. 

With the foreclosure crisis, healthcare gridlock, increasing warfare, tragedy in Haiti, and so much more, it can be hard to feel hopeful about the future. And yet, now, more than ever, each of us is being called to step up and contribute what we can to shift the direction of our world and unfold new possibilities. As the Hopi saying goes, “We are the ones we've been waiting for.

YES! invites you to participate in a day-long workshop entitled “Sharing Our Gifts and Privileges for a Better World.”   This workshop is an opportunity for each of us to engage in authentic conversations about who we are, our struggles and hopes, our gifts and resources, and the changes we'd like to see in the world. It builds on seven years of the widely renowned Leveraging Privilege for Social Change (LPSC) Jam program, and offers the opportunity to engage in honest, inspiring explorations of privilege, power, responsibility and opportunity.

We welcome to the workshop anyone who desires to make a difference with their lives, who feels that they have some gift or privilege (whether through earning, luck, inheritance, education, skills to share, public attention, professional position, or any other self-defined way) and who is willing to share about some of the important issues in their lives and our world.

"Sharing Our Gifts” will run from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Over the course of the day, we will engage in a variety of activities to examine our life journeys, our diverse identities, our relationships, our sense of generosity, and our visions of a better world.  We will build partnerships, and gain tools to help us make a bigger difference with our lives.

We ask participants to bring their own lunches – and, if you can, something to share; snacks and drinks will be provided. And, we invite people to contribute to the workshop on a sliding scale of $5 to $200. All donations to YES! are tax-deductible.

For more information on any of these workshops, please contact Shilpa Jain or Austin Willacy via phone at 415.652.9005.

“Connections. Vision.  Humanity.  Acceptance.  Love.  Friendship.  Hugs!  Insight.  Learning.  Growth. and so much I can’t put into words.  Thank you!” - Drew, natureopath, age 27

“It’s always reassuring and empowering to rediscover that people from varying circumstances have similar goals.  Support in the form of listening and respect is powerful, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to listen and be heard.” - Lizzy Stahl, University of Puget Sound student, age 19

“I was able to see how YES! is designing a much needed space for removing barriers to connections that would change the old destruction order. And, I could see and understand the English language world view in a different and meaningful way that is not oppressive and limiting but liberating for finding co-creative solutions.” - Patricia Davis, Diné elder, age 68