Donate

April 2018 Newsletter

Apr 11, 2018 | Uncategorized

Dear Friends of The Sunny Center,
Photo courtesy of Angela Gay Byrne

Happy Spring!
 
Easter has come and gone. The daffodils have raised their sunny heads. And the warmer temperatures raise our hopes for longer stretches of days.
 
As 2018 unfolds and the work of the Sunny Center continues, we are reminded of our many friends and supporters around the world that make our work possible. We remain so very grateful for your help, without which, the suffering and injustice of exonerees would continue as they are not be able find the help and healing needed in order to transition to a happy, productive life of freedom on the outside.

OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS

Picture

From left to right, our new Exoneree Support Coordinator Dorothy, exoneree Tyrone, Sunny, Peter, exoneree Jimmy, Lloyd and Anne outside the Lorraine Motel. 

We are completing our roster of upcoming guests who will enjoy respite and renewal at the Sunny Center in the months ahead. There was enormous interest on the part of many exonerees we met at the annual Innocence Network conference in March.
 
We also want to formally announce our new Exoneree Support Coordinator, Dorothy, who is providing on site support to our growing family of new and former guests. We are pleased to expand our reach to the many exonerees in need of continued support. 

OUR VOLUNTEERS ​

We will be welcoming our new volunteers from around the world beginning next month. This month we have local volunteers coming in to help us with the garden and getting the house ready for our guests. Spring is always a busy time of year at the Sunny Center!
 
Our corps of volunteers has been a great gift to us and we are grateful to each and every one of them for giving up at least a month of their time to help the Sunny Center to flourish and grow.
 
Our volunteers become part of our family and, in many cases, lasting friendships are developed between volunteers and guests. We encourage anyone who can TO VOLUNTEER! You can do so on our website. 

OUR FURRY AND FEATHERED FRIENDS ​

Petal and newborn Cásca and Císean. 

Petal’s twins arrived on Good Friday, also the first night of Passover. So we named them, in Irish, Cásca and Císean, Easter and Passover. Rosie, our Nubian goat, had a single kid born on Sunday and named Easter. All are doing well! Here’s a video link.
 
Unfortunately for us, our last hen was taken by the fox while we were at the conference in Memphis. Good news for the fox and her babies though! It is springtime after all, the time for babies to be born! Peter has cleaned out the henhouse so we will be ready for more hens next month.

OUR ACTIVISM ​

Sunny and Peter outside the Lorraine Motel where MLK was murdered. 
Sunny and Peter, along with Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Christopher, march with Innocence Network conference attendees in Memphis to Lorraine Motel. 

We went to Memphis for the annual Innocence Network conference and accomplished so much in two days! We worked with our colleague Dr. Lloyd Lyter to establish a network of social work programs to assist in supporting exonerees, connected with many new and old exonerees, and participated in many important and meaningful sessions, including one presented by the children of exonerees. It was the largest Innocence Network conference, with the most exonerees, the most exoneree family members and the most fellow travellers. It is getting to be a very big tent!
 
Especially poignant was the fact that the conference was taking place in Memphis almost exactly 50 years to the day when Martin Luther King was assassinated there. The conference attendees took part in a march to the motel where MLK’s life ended, but his spirit undoubtedly lives on. The closing party was held in the Civil Rights Museum built there. And the Exoneree Band played in his honor. 

Please know that this newsletter helps us feel connected to you all and we welcome your emails, texts, and donations. 


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.