Commitment, Community, Cooperation

Archive for September, 2010|Monthly archive page

The DREAM Team

In Refugees & Immigration on September 23, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Dream Act

Nearly 65,000 undocumented children graduate from high school every year in the United States. Although they can legally attend most colleges, they are not eligible for most forms of financial aid including in-state tuition.  The DREAM Act (Development, Relief & Education for Alien Minors Act) will create a conditional pathway to citizenship for undocumented children who complete two years of military service or college education.  The DREAM Act would provide 360,000 undocumented high-school graduates with a legal means to citizenship, and could provide incentives for another 715,000 youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17 to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education.

The Kentucky Dream Coalition

The Kentucky Dream Coalition is a network of student and immigrant youth led organizations that are working diligently with allies and educators for immigrant and refugee youth rights, access to higher education and empowerment through leadership, networking, community building and esteem building programs.  The KDC and its allies have focused their efforts in 2010 on getting the Dream Act passed by participating in marches/lobbying in Washington, D.C., fasting for 65 hours, organizing Dream Universities/Graduations in Kentucky, and many other educational advocacy programs.

Partners

Kentucky Dream Coalition; BCTC Enlace Latino Student Association; Migrant Network Coalition (Lexington); United We Dream Network

Katongole Intensive

In Culture on September 22, 2010 at 3:45 pm

Emmanuel Katongole and Intensive participants

[Originally posted August 3, 2010]

In July, One Horizon co-sponsored Amahoro Africa’s first “Theological Intensive,” intended to introduce African church leaders to cutting edge thinking and practice from some of the world’s leading theologians.  The intensive was hosted in Entebbe, Uganda and led by Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, a Ugandan priest and professor of theology at Duke University. Held at Dr. Katongole’s guest house on the banks of Lake Victoria, the intensive welcomed twenty leaders from Congo, South Africa, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and the United States.

Amahoro Africa is a growing indigenous movement focused upon facilitating “holistic transformation by encouraging, resourcing and connecting emerging African leaders who are committed to the tangible manifestation of justice, mercy and goodness in their local context.”  One Horizon is proud to be a sponsor of the work of Amahoro and the ecumenical spirit that animates this work.

“Kilowatt Ours”

In Environmental on September 22, 2010 at 3:29 pm

"Kilowatt Ours" director Jeff Barrie

[Originally posted March 29, 2009]

One Horizon was honored to help bring Jeff Barrie, director of the acclaimed documentary “Kilowatt Ours,” to Lexington to participate in a screening of his film that was hosted at the Kentucky Theatre by The Sayre School. The film was followed in the evening by a conversation between Jeff Barrie, representatives from the Kentucky Environmental Foundation and other local leaders about the issues facing our region in the domain of energy policy and clean energy. One Horizon is a committed partner with these and other local, regional and national organizations in the quest to find cleaner, more sustainable and less environmentally destructive sources of energy for our region. We’ve joined with them to help promote solutions-focused conversation, research and practical action designed to raise awareness about these important issues and empower people at the grassroots level to get involved.

EnterChange Sponsors “Side-by-Side”

In Community on September 22, 2010 at 3:05 pm

[Originally posted September 13, 2009]

In the summer of 2009 One Horizon-supported EnterChange Clinical Counseling, launched a training and support initiative for local social-service organizations and programs in Lexington in cooperation with the “Side-By-Side” drug court mentoring program of the Lexington Leadership Foundation. EnterChange helped to design and implement a training and support program for about two-dozen volunteer mentors working with “Side-By-Side.”

In addition to “Side-By-Side,” EnterChange is currently working with Kentucky Refugee Ministries and the Lexington Leadership Foundation’s “Amachi” program to help design, implement and support training programs for their respective volunteers.

The overall vision is to use the “action-reflection” model to assist volunteers who are engaged with the local community and help them think about their engagement, reflect on the practical issues and opportunities related to their involvement and assist in moving them through the experience in a healthy and sustainable manner. In the long run EnterChange hopes that helping facilitate such practices, and training others to do so, will help to foster greater partnership and collaboration between local churches and agencies and empower people at the grassroots level to deepen and expand their volunteer service in the wider community.

Seedleaf

In Environmental on September 22, 2010 at 2:28 pm

[Originally posted May 9, 2008] One Horizon is pleased to announce the launch of Seedleaf, Inc. a new non-profit organization linking community gardening and community mental health to the growing community supported agriculture movement (CSA). Launched with the support of a One Horizon grant, this visionary project is already creating change in the local community.

Led by founder Ryan Koch and assisted by an experienced CSA farmer, Seedleaf is working on multiple sites in Lexington, Kentucky. Seedleaf’s mission is to promote a local food system, work for nutritional justice, teach and model environmental stewardship, and preserve and develop interpersonal connections across barriers of race, age, and socioeconomic status by installing and maintaining community gardens.