Dear Friends of The Sunny Center,
It’s 2020 and we can barely believe it! Since our dream of offering a sanctuary of healing and hope to exonerees was launched five years ago, we have attempted to assist scores of wrongly-convicted men and women from around the globe. It has been deeply satisfying work which has brought us to where we are today – on the dawn of a new decade.
Our exoneree guests cross our threshold with the burden of a wrongful conviction, but we hope they leave with lighter hearts. It is the magic that happens when ones’ darkest experience is validated and acknowledged by another with open arms and an accepting mind.
The nights may still be dark and long in Connemara, but we see the stretch of spring and hope ahead. 2019 brought many challenges but we believe 2020 is the harbinger of better days to come.
Please be part of our efforts to create a more just, more peaceful world. Let 2020 be the year in which we are all better off. Help us help others. Consider making a donation today. And especially consider making a recurring donation as it is the kind of gift that keeps on giving. For example, a $50 per month recurring donation can cover the cost of a cell phone for an exoneree who needs to connect with others or $30 per month can help cover an electric bill.
Thanks so much. We are deeply grateful for your kindness.
OUR EXONEREE GUESTS AND VISITORS
This month we are hoping to welcome our first exoneree family! We are so happy to be able to share our home with this deserving family who has suffered the deep pains of a wrongful conviction. We are also expecting two brothers who are looking forward to their visit to the Sunny Center! We are so glad to be adding these families to our Sunny Center family! And our old friend Brian Farrell, who founded the Innocence Project of Iowa, is due to visit today!
We also had a visit in Florida of our dear friends and supporters, lawyer Larry Golden and his wife Joanne. They met two of our exoneree residents Clemente and Danny and spent time with our outreach coordinator Dorothy. It was a lovely afternoon!
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Believe it or not, we are still unpacking some last boxes and putting the final touches on organizing our home so it is the most warm and welcoming place we might offer to our guests and visitors. And we have had help! Our volunteer Caitriona has been so dedicated in assisting the Sunny Center and has been a really huge help to us! Pictured above is Caitriona holding a reindeer a child once made for Sunny that we came across in our unpacking boxes!
Caitriona got involved with the Sunny Center after meeting Sunny as a child through Caitriona’s mom. Her mom was a yoga student of Sunny’s and Sunny went to Caitriona’s mom for reflexology. Now, an adult who works in TV and film production, Caitriona has maintained a connection as a volunteer at the Sunny Center. “It’s so nice. It’s like a continuing with the next generation,” says Sunny.
OUR FURRY AND FEATHERED FRIENDS
OUR ACTIVISM
We are expecting that 2020 will be a very active year for us in terms of our activism! We have been busy identifying our goals and strategies for reaching them and we look forward to sharing what we hope will be many more successes in the coming year.
STAY CONNECTED
We are never more than a Facebook message, tweet, text or Skype call away and we sincerely hope you will stay in touch. We love hearing from you! And please, when you are considering how to spend your donor dollars, consider making a gift – and especially a recurring gift – to the Sunny Center. We know your gifts are precious and we promise to spend your donations wisely.
Thank you for your ongoing support and love!
Peace and Love,
Sunny and Peter