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empowering and inspiring people from diverse backgrounds,

primarily youth, to be proactive agents of change

in their communities and in the world

About Us

Who is the Center

Who is the Center?

The Center is a non-profit organization based in St Cloud, MN, that, while it was formally established in 2003, emerged through the leadership of a number of people who have been involved in peace-and-justice education and action in a variety of areas of the community during the past three decades. Some of us have worked in the educational systems (e.g. mainstream K-12 and post-secondary institutions; Adult Basic Education). Others have worked in community-based organizations (e.g. domestic violence shelters; food shelves; legal services with people in marginalized groups). Still others of us have worked in faith-communities. The "Center" provides us with the opportunity to collaborate more extensively, and to promote the systemic development of such learning-and-action – in area schools, faith-communities, and community-based organizations, and beyond.

Mission - Values

Mission & Values

Mission StatementThe Center empowers and inspires people of diverse backgrounds, primarily youth, to be proactive agents of change in their communities and in the world.Core Values StatementOur view of how social justice can best be served:We believe in the importance of intentionally developing community among youth and adults concerned about social justice, by helping them connect with:others who share their concernsresources that support their ability to learn about and respond to their concernsOur view of youth, adults, and social justice:We view youth as well as adults as essential and dynamic resources to their communities.We believe that core capacities that youth and adults bring to active citizenship are abilities to:envision a world that is more just, not merely to accept the world they live in,recognize and confront injustice in strategically effective wayscontribute to creating a more just society. Our view of how to work with youth and adults to empower them to change their lives:We believe our methods of engagement are peaceful, non-judgmental and thought-provokingWe offer youth and adults a safe space within which to meet their basic development needs (Konopka, 1973) through programs thatengage in sustained efforts over time,actively engage participants in their own learning and developmentemerge from the goals and objectives of the participants themselves.Our view of the ethos of the Center:We believe in working for systemic change, while also recognizing the importance of charitable volunteerism in helping others learn about injustice.We believe that systemic change is a process that takes time.We pursue strategies that build bridges, and find common ground; and we seek to sculpt common ground where none yet exists.We believe that spirituality can be a source of energy and guidance in the work of social justice.We believe the work of the Center should be life-giving and joyful.

Support Us

The Center receives some funding from fees we charge for our various programs and services, however, those funds are only able to cover a portion of our costs.The Center has also been the recipient of grants from foundations. These grants have provided valuable funding for the development of a number of our programs, as well as enabled us to engage in key tasks of organizational development and strategic planning.We also rely on the generosity of donors – e.g. individuals, service-organizations, businesses, faith communities. Such donations are essential in order for us to provide our programs and services at an affordable rate, and to engage in the kind of follow-up work that such experiences require.To donate to the Center:Send a check made out to "Center for Service-Learning and Social Change" to:Center for Service-Learning and Social ChangeAttn: Kevin LaNave, DirectorPO Box 2352St Cloud, MN 56302-2352You can also click the green "Donate" button to the left if you'd like to donate online.

Contact Us

We are so pleased you've stopped by and are excited to hear from you! Feel free to use any of the following methods to get in contact with us -E-mail:For general questions, comments, or RSVP's: CenterSLSC_gmail.comTo contact the Executive Director, Kevin LaNave: KLaNave_victorcc.netUSPS Mail: P.O. Box 2352 St. Cloud, MN 56302-2352Phone: 320.259.5480Be sure to find us on Facebook where we'll keep you in the loop about what's happening at the Center and the opportunities for you to get involved!

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Staff

Kevin

Kevin LaNave

Founder & Director

While my formal resume lists several professional positions, at the heart of my journey have been the young people whose yearning has renewed and deepened my belief that, "“while life'’s not always fair, it'’s supposed to be" - and that our participation in the process of bringing about that way of life matters deeply.Born in Toronto, Ontario, in May, 1958, my family and I moved north to St Cloud, MN, in the fall of 1959; and while I have traveled a fair amount, I have lived here ever since– now with my wife, Katy, and our two sons (Marco and Paul). A service-learning trip during college to the headquarters of the United Farm Worker movement in California in January, 1977, awakened me more deeply to the reality of oppression, and to the courage of those who worked for justice. While my subsequent academic learning in philosophy and theology yielded significant intellectual growth, it also prompted a heartfelt, troubling question: How does one learn from, and communicate with, those who encounter life-issues and –questions in non-academic settings?That question sparked a search that has included a variety of positions – coordinator of youth ministry in a residential treatment center (St Cloud Children’s Home [1980-85]); teacher of social justice and morality courses, and coordinator of service-learning (St Cloud Cathedral HS [1985-2003]); coordinator of a foundation (Julianne Williams Foundation for Social Justice [1996-2001]); coordinator of service-learning (St Cloud Technical and Community College [2003-2010]) – and the decision to establish the Center (2003-present). I am still searching – because the insights I have gained have yielded further questions . . . and because the people I have met, and the process of learning-and-acting together, have nourished my life . . . and because I believe ever more deeply that, in the words of Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, “we have cosmic companionship; that the arc of the moral universe is long, but that it bends towards justice; and that truth, crushed to earth, will rise again, because no lie can live forever.”

Hatim

Hatim Kareem

Interfaith Specialist

My name is Mohammed Hatim Kareem and I am a native of India. I am pursuing my masters at St Cloud State and working with the Center on Inter-Faith issues. During my years as a student at SCSU, I was an active member of Muslim Student Association and was also the President of the organization for a year. One of the reasons I chose to get involved with SCSU was how the religion of Islam was perceived in this country and in this region. For example, I would be asked questions that were not related to the religion and were based on false information. Some of these questions were like "Do you pray to the moon?" or "Are you required to kill non-Muslims if they don'’t convert?” And some of the other questions were based on genuine curiosity and hovered around the central figure of Christianity, Jesus Christ (Peace be Upon Him) and how those of us who are Muslims see him and how important he is in our religion. I realized that as a Muslim, we have a job to portray Islam as it is and clear up all the misinformation that surrounds it. And the best way to go about it is by focusing on the common ground between Islam and Christianity. During one of my conversations with a Christian friend of mine on the topic of religion, he asked me if we pray to the same God that David, Solomon and Abraham (Peace be Upon Them) prayed to. When I answered in the affirmative, there was this new common connection we had discovered. Little conversations like this made me believe that there is so much to learn about how related we are in our belief system and how much learning we have to do.Recently, as part of my work with the Center, we held a presentation at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St Cloud for an audience of 100 people comprised mostly of teenagers from 7th - 12th grade and their parents. The event went on for more than 1 hour and 30 minutes, and a majority of the time was spent answering questions that these bright young people had been carrying in their minds. Every time I had finished up a topic in my presentation, I was bombarded with excellent questions, and some of the questions were "deep" enough to know that they did not just pop up in their minds during the presentation. After the presentation was over, parents, along with their youth, came over and thanked me for sharing my faith with them. I was also told by the Pastor that she was surprised to see so many students so actively engaged in the presentation. She actually had to interrupt during the presentation and tell the students that not all the questions can be answered, as we had to keep going and finish the presentation on schedule. The kind and gentle spirits who organized the events at the church contacted me later and said they were already talking about hosting a similar event in the near future. I was pleasantly surprised. This event illustrates how people, especially youth, are eager to learn about different faiths and cultures that dot our world. Looking at the response I received, I am very excited for my work and I am eagerly looking forward to coming months. I am already working with youth ministers and pastors from churches around in St Cloud, and they are very excited about having someone from Muslim faith come over and give a presentation to their congregation. Along with monthly presentations and other inter-faith engagement work, we are planning to hold events such as a "religious" book fair, a peace vigil, interfaith suppers, movies aimed at creating awareness, organizing trips to religious centers such as Islamic Center and churches for interested members of the community. To cap it off, by the end of next academic year, we plan to have students from both faith communities engage in some civic voluntary service. We are also exploring the possibility of having Eboo Patel, who is the founder of Interfaith Youth Core (and is also a member of President Barack Obama's inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships), come to the area to speak about interfaith work.I believe removing the misconceptions is an important step to build up relationships in our interconnected world, where so much of our work and success is inter-dependent. I am also blessed to have so many people around me who encourage me and are committed to our work in interfaith.

Kylie

Kylie Wojahn

Website/Social Media Specialist

Everyone says you find out who you are in college. I never thought much of it until I found myself at graduation - reminiscing on the years prior. Initially, my perception of college was limited: expensive social gathering ("party"). Something happened between my sophomore and senior year though. I realized I was starving.Originally, I was pursuing a major in Business - who wasn't? I hated the material though...it was a bunch of memorizing...rules, tactics...blah-blah-blah. It wasn't enough to keep me interested in the academic side of college but I still wanted to receive more than a few fun memories for all of the loans I was taking out. So, I switched my major to Communication Studies - mostly because I thought it would be easy, but also because I figured I would be good at it...I liked to socialize.My new major was challenging and time consuming - filled with essays, short-answer exams, and plenty of group projects. At first I was miserable but my attitude shifted when I began to establish relationships with my professors. Outside of their syllabus, I witnessed a passion I hadn't seen in my other major. They seemed to eat, sleep and breathe the material. It was like they lived it out because they saw the value in it. I wanted that.I chose Intercultural Communication as a minor after college introduced me to people from all over the world. Hearing their stories about their childhood and their customs was so intriguing. Hearing their stories about experiences with discrimination was very uncomfortable. But, learning about white privilege and how I've contributed to the perpetuation of racism made me sick. At that point, I felt that wishing the issues away was ignorant and similar to condoning the current way we operate in society. So, I searched for ways to get invovled.Among the activities I was involved in, I participated in the Dialogues About Racism where I first connected with Kevin. After every meeting, I would bug him about other opportunities to get invovled with this kind of work. Some time had passed before he mentioned that the Center was looking to update their website and tap into social media. Since I had gained experience in these areas from a previous job, I jumped at the opportunity. Working with the Center has been the best of both worlds for me! College started out as a party...but it completely changed my life. It established new friendships with people I wouldn't have been comfortable talking to before. It inspired me to try new things. It taught me how to persevere when I felt like giving up. It showed me how to take responsibility for my actions when I'd rather crawl under a rock. College developed a new way of thinking - critically and multi-dimensionally. It opened my eyes to real (and very present) issues of injustice. It stirred up a passion within me to be the change I wish to see in others (well, that was Ghandi - but still...). College has restored the dreamer in me but I'm still hungry for more!*Note: I have enjoyed designing the website and setting up the social media platforms for the Center. Because I was offered a FT job, I will no longer be coordinating the Center's social media efforts. However, I have full confidence in the staff's ability to make social media work for the Center and I'm excited to see where it goes!

Sarah

Sarah Drake

Immigrant/Refugee Specialist

I often get asked why or how I started working with refugees and immigrants. The realist in me thinks, “I don’'t know! I grew up in a small rural white town so I didn'’t learn it there.” The smart-alec in me thinks, “Why not? They are people too.” The truth is though, I don'’t know; I'’ve just done it and have done it with passion and compassion for about ten years. However, I can label a key moment about six years ago when I earned the trust of the Somali community by participating in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Around the same time, my Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship duties connected me to many people and thus my work and volunteer experiences with refugees and immigrants expanded as well.I received my education at St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Elective studies focusing on Ethnic Studies and Geography and a Master of Science in Social Responsibility. I have logged numerous volunteer hours and serve on the board of directors for organizations that work on refugee and immigrant issues. I am an avid anti-racist action qualitative researcher and trainer and am the most passionate about the following topics: Africa, refugees and immigrants, racism, discrimination, human rights, and cultural appreciation. In all of the work that I do, it’s very important to me that I work with a community, not work for or impose on said community.During the “"Journeying through Holy Week" with the Catholic Worker Movement,” I led the Friday event, “a “bridging social distance” experience with immigrants and refugees.” This day-long experience exposed participants to the history and stories of refugees and immigrants and provided the opportunity for reflection on an inclusive community for all. The hope is that participants leave the experience recognizing that everybody has value, talents, and gifts to offer the St. Cloud community, regardless of their home country, skin color, religion, or language, and that everyone desires respect. I look forward to the future opportunities to bridge the understanding between the greater community and refugees and immigrants through these types of experiences and bringing in my artistic abilities in some capacity as well.

Molly

Molly Weyrens

Faith-Community Specialist

My journey has meandered through Rochester, Duluth and now back here to Central Minnesota where I am enjoying my work coordinating Youth Ministry at the Church of St. Joseph in St. Joseph, MN. All along the way I have worked with high school, college students and adults in justice related activities. In my work with the Central Minnesota Catholic Worker, I was approached by Kevin to take on the work of organizing the Junior High Youth Service and Social Justice Conference. As my relationship with the Center continues I hope to be a liaison between the Center and the various faith communities in our area in doing immersion experiences and presenting on various social justice topics. I look forward to the impact we can have and the ways in which our community can be strengthened through involvement with the Center.