New Horizons for Learning: Giraffe Project, Fall 2002

What's a giraffe?

giraffe icon GIRAFFE IN THIS ISSUE

Making a Difference with LOVE
Twinkle Rudberg of Montreal, Canada

Twinkle Rudberg was driving down a Montreal street with her husband Daniel when they saw a teen-aged boy assault an elderly woman and snatch her purse. Daniel chased the thief into a park, where the boy stabbed his pursuer in the heart. As a widow raising young children and working to support them, Twinkle spent years dealing with the emotional and practical aftermath of the killing, and pondering the dynamics that would lead a 14-year-old boy to murder. Then, her children grown, she took what she had learned and set out to end youth violence—her way. "The more backlash you have against them, the more you'll have youth crime," Rudberg decided. "What these troubled kids need is a community and a voice."

Her nonprofit, LOVE—Leave Out ViolencE—opened its doors in 1993, welcoming in kids who have had their own violent experiences, both as victims and as perpetrators. In LOVE's programs, they all learn about anger management, conflict resolution, and leadership, using photojournalism and writing to produce a newspaper called One LOVE.

The paper is harsh and unblinking, as the kids depict experiences of mutilation, rape and beatings. Through all the horror, a bright spirit shines—Twinkle Rudberg's conviction that at-risk kids can learn and change and live meaningful lives. The kids take in her belief in them and begin to believe in themselves. Kids who complete the program take their new skills and their new attitude and become teachers of other at-risk kids.

"It's especially inspiring when a person who's been deeply injured reacts as Ms. Rudberg has," says Giraffe Project founder Ann Medlock. "There are far too many stories of revenge and bitterness—we need to see there's another way, one that stops the cycle of harm. Ms. Rudberg has stuck her neck out to end the violence so that others don't suffer."

There is now a LOVE book—The Courage to Change: A Teen Survival Guide. LOVE has branches in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver.

For information about the Giraffe Project, about other Giraffes, and about our educational programs, go to www.giraffe.org or call 360-221-7989 during west coast (continental US) business hours.

We asked the folks at the Giraffe Project to let us share some of the wonderful stories of personal transformation and public service here at New Horizons for Learning. The people at the Giraffe Project believe in being "free flacks for heroes -- finding, commending and publicizing people who stick their necks out for the common good." Their mission is to get others to look up, notice, and appreciate the quiet leaders in our communities.

Visit the Giraffe website to learn about The Giraffe Program, a K-12 curriculum that teaches kids about real heroes and gets them going on lives of courage, caring and responsibility, and the Giraffe Partners Trunk--everything a business or club needs to help a classroom full of kids to stand tall.

Posted with permission by New Horizons for Learning

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