New Year, New Beginnings

Jan 23, 2017 | Uncategorized

Dear Friends of The Sunny Center,

This has been a month of looking back and looking ahead, a time of respite and renewal. And we are happy to share this newsletter and connect with our many friends and supporters around the world. We are grateful for your steady support and love.

OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS

Our visitor braves a January swim at Coral beach

January and February are months of renewal and reflection at The Sunny Center.
It is also a time of preparation, and we are working on scheduling a full year of guests.
While enjoying some downtime between guests, we hosted visitors from Romania, Croatia and the US, and were interviewed by a French journalist for an upcoming feature about The Sunny Center in Marie Claire magazine, scheduled to be published in February.

OUR VOLUNTEERS

We were fortunate to have a wonderful line up of eager, enthusiastic and engaged volunteers in 2016 and are working on scheduling volunteers to join us in 2017. If you are interested in volunteering at the Sunny Center, please contact us through this link.

OUR FURRY FRIENDS

A visitor of the goat kind

We noticed the appearance of a wild goat making up to our girls. This wild young male spent a day with ours, and then disappeared up the mountain again. We wonder if there will be some new kids in the neighborhood soon!

OUR ACTIVISM

Sunny, BBC’s John Toal and Peter

We did a radio documentary called “Exonerated,” with John Toal, that aired this month on BBC Radio 4, which generated a lot of interest in helping us to help others and raised awareness about the difficulties of life post-exoneration.
Here’s the link or listen to it on podcast at Seriously BBC 4 podcast and search for “Exonerated.”
We have big plans for the coming year!
Our wonderful Board members will be hosting salon-style musical and artistic gatherings, to engage others in the work of The Sunny Center in a relaxed and intimate way. And we will begin work on our long range goal to replicate the Sunny Center in other places, starting with the US, and we have started to develop that model.
We expect a full calendar of talks, presentations, and interviews in 2017.

STAY CONNECTED

A cozy night at our home this month

We value our many friends and supporters around the globe and want to remain in touch. You can now find the Newsletters on our new BLOG PAGE here. Periodically, we will post a blog or video so you can stay connected. And you can always send us your thoughts, suggestions and ideas by contacting us through the Contact Page. And, for more frequent updates, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and T witter.
We hope for Peace and Love and Justice for the New Year!

Peace and Love,
Sunny and Peter

Remembering Peter

My dear Peter is gone.
We sang him home on the last day of the year, gathered around his bedside as we had done for so many days before.

‘Send them green.’ A special message from a Sunny Center supporter!

“I had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest at the Sunny Center this past July. My first trip to Ireland, it always is a magical moment to visit friends who live overseas…”

Exonerees are succeeding, thanks to you!

Helping people exonerated of crimes they did not commit, setting them back on the path to a fulfilling life, is a monumental task that we depend on the dedication of volunteers, both near and far, to achieve.

Even in summer, the work doesn’t stop

We’re in midsummer now, with its long days that stretch until 11 in the evening here in Ireland. It’s a busy time for everyone and everything.

The power of art to heal and renew

Did you know that Peter was a woodworker and an artist? He created so many things. But more importantly, he taught those skills to other Exonerees when they visited the Center.

Looking for green shoots

Photo by Samantha Bookman. Peter and I chose to situate the Sunny Healing Center here in this beautiful location in the west of Ireland. A newcomer may at first see only a barren, rocky, windswept landscape. But, put your hand on the earth here, and you can feel the...

A message from Sunny about Peter

The time has come to say farewell to our dear Peter, who is in the process of transitioning from this body and this plane.

Finding Peace, Joy and Hope

The events in Ukraine over the past several days have been ever-present in all of our lives through the daily news and constant social media. These times can be especially difficult for Exonerees because of the traumas they are working to overcome.

Love Is Always the Answer

Winter is always a little bit quieter than the rest of the year. After a long day spent maintaining the Sunny Healing Center and getting it ready for visitors, it’s time for us to cuddle up with the kittens and, of course, Barney, on chilly winter evenings with a warm fire in the hearth.

A Happy, Healthy and Healing New Year to All

Love has no barriers and no limits. And neither does our gratitude for your continuing support and friendship. Know that you are never alone, because you are part of our family.

Happy Holidays to Our Friends Near and Far!

These are extraordinary times. And you’ve all been extraordinary supporters. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to keep helping Exonerees in the midst of a global emergency.