Promoting CommUNITY—For Teens
Overview
This inspiring educational series invites us to explore ways to build awareness, compassion and kindness in our everyday lives. Each month centers around a new theme, offering opportunities to connect beyond our differences, foster meaningful relationships, and grow as better neighbors and community members. We will explore the monthly themes in two meetings per month, taking guidance from:
Guest speakers. We'll hear from experts who bring fresh insights on each month’s theme, helping us better understand and support one another.
Book clubs. We'll dive into curated reads tied to the monthly topic, sparking thought-provoking and heartfelt conversations.
Semester 1, Theme 2: Gender Equity and Empowerment
Join us in February as we break down what sexism and gender oppression really means, from its history to how it shows up in our daily lives. We'll talk about the harmful effects of stereotypes and objectification, and discuss simple ways we can challenge these ideas. We'll also explore how gender inequality affects our health and well-being, and how we can work toward a more fair and supportive world together.
Speaker Meeting
DATE: Tuesday, Mar. 11- TIME: 1 to 3 p.m. Please arrive 10 minutes early.
- LOCATION: Corner HUt (Youth Wing)
- REGISTRATION: Link to come
- SPEAKER: River Aaland, Training and Outreach Director at Ophelia's Place
River Aaland has more than 15 years of expertise in positive youth development, poverty, body positivity and Health at Every Size (HAES), anti-oppression practice, healthy communication, and mentorship. Before coming to Ophelia’s Place in 2011, she worked at Options Counseling and Family Services and St. Vincent de Paul’s First Place Family Center, working with families experiencing various forms of stress and marginalization. She is an experienced and capable public speaker and facilitator, who enjoys connecting with her audiences through relatable, humorous and thoughtful exchange.
River is dedicated to the belief that it is possible to change systems of power that exploit and isolate into spaces rooted in relationship and reciprocity. River is committed to approaching everyone she works with from a human-centered, compassionate, and respectful viewpoint and feels especially fortunate to be able to support adolescents and those who work with them.
In her personal life, River is a writer, fiber and mixed-media artist, forager, forest wanderer, potion-maker, and tiny-bird enthusiast. She lives with a bossy cat in a house full of books.
