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February 2018 Newsletter

Feb 23, 2018 | Uncategorized

Dear Friends of The Sunny Center,

In Ireland, Spring arrives on February 1st, which is also observed as St. Brigid’s day. St. Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, along with St. Patrick and St. Columba but she shares her name with an important Celtic goddess, as well. She was said to have been born into slavery in 451 AD but was eventually pardoned by the king after recognizing her holiness and she then devoted her life to healing others.
 
That story of false imprisonment and the desire for freedom resonates for us and for the many exonerees we work with. We rely on your support to help us heal others and we do hope you will consider offering a donation to the Sunny Center.
 

OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS

We had a visit from our friend Donald, who played the part of an exoneree in our production of The Exonerated. He enjoyed meeting our menagerie and taking walks and promised to come back whenever we need a volunteer helper. 

At the end of this month, We will be hosting a visitor from Sweden who works with Amnesty International and is very interested in our work. 

OUR VOLUNTEERS ​

Tress enjoying the beauty of the Sunny Center.

Our special volunteer Tress returned for another month! She knows all our animals and our routines and is a happy member of the Sunny Center family.

OUR FURRY AND FEATHERED FRIENDS

A hen party. 

As the weather begins to warm and the sky begins to brighten, our hens are enjoying the change in seasons. Our happy hens have been giving us eggs all winter. 

OUR ACTIVISM ​

Picture

NUIG Irish Centre for Human Rights
 
We went to the Irish Centre for Human Rights at National University of Ireland at Galway to hear our friend Brian O’Farrell, co-founder of the Innocence Project of Iowa, speak about the forensic science of wrongful convictions. We also shared our experience and perspectives, as well. 
 Sunny and friends from Afri. 

On February 3rd, we also took part in Féile Bríde 2018: Light out of Darkness organized by Afri: Action from Ireland. We shared our stories as a way to illuminate the journey of light out of darkness.

Sunny and Peter plant a tree in honor of Féile Bríd or St. Brigid’s Day. 

SPECIAL NEWS!
We have initiated a new pilot project and taken on a new member of our team! This month we began our Outreach Program. We will be happy to introduce our new Exoneree Support Coordinator at the Innocence Projects Conference in March! Stay tuned!!

STAY CONNECTED ​

We want you to know how important you all are to us. It’s through your support that recently we’ve been able to host those who have suffered injustice at the Sunny Center, send money to an exoneree to cover his phone bill and arrange for an on-the-ground support in helping another Exoneree transition from an unsustainable position. With your help, we are able to grow and extend our support to so many more in much more lasting ways. It’s difficult to continue to heal the soul when the body is hungry. Many of our clients live in extreme poverty and have no hope for anything better in the future. Now we can offer the kind of help through our healing program that will create an atmosphere in which a person can continue to recover and begin to enjoy their new freedom.
 
Thank you and may the blessings of Spring fill your heart with the promise of the months to come. 
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.