Announcing the New Sustainability Toolkit
Completed in July 2023, our Sustainability Toolkit offers an overview of the recent Cal Poly sustainability study and its findings, including highlights from the students’ literature review and data analysis. The toolkit suggests key areas for improvement, provides a tool and manual, plus links to related data.
Reflections from the Racial Healing Initiative Team
The Racial Healing Initiative team is committed to co-creating a society filled with equity, belonging, wholeness, and collective wisdom and beauty. In this article, the team shares more about the RHI approach, what they’re learning, and how your center can participate.
Healing and Integration with Plant Medicines at Retreat Centers
Psychedelic-assisted therapy, and the transformative inner journeys that participants embark upon, have the potential to become deeply connected to the work of retreat centers in the future. In this article, RCC Program Director Ben Scott-Brandt shares some of his observations, and invites continuing conversations within and across the RCC network as retreat centers respond to this quickly-changing field.
Crafting Your Center’s Online Presence
The RCC Community Call on June 27th featured a discussion with Editorial Director John Ferro and Chief Digital Content Officer Racquel “Rockie” Joseph of the Omega Institute, where we explored ideas, best practices, and the benefits of crafting your center's online presence.
Racial Healing Workshop: Dreaming Our Way Forward
Special guest Michelle Cassandra Johnson led an RCC racial healing workshop where participants found out how collective dreaming disrupts systems of oppression and acts as a catalyst for our shared healing and liberation.
Sabbath as Sacred Rest
In this interview with the producer of the new documentary film, SABBATH, RCC program director Ben Scott-Brandt explores how the concept of sabbath connects with the work of retreat centers.
Key Factors for Sustainability in Retreat Center Business Models: Cal Poly Study Update
In partnership with a team of industrial engineering students at Cal Poly University, the Retreat Center Collaboration is studying models for financial and programmatic sustainability at retreat centers. Find out what the team has learned from their eight-month study.
World Cafe: Connective Conversations on the Menu
On this world-cafe-style Community Call, retreat center leaders were invited to bring a topic to discuss or select from a “menu” of discussion topics.
Engaging Your Center’s Volunteers and Program Alumni
On this Community Call, we discussed ways retreat centers can inspire volunteers and program alumni to give back and deepen their participation in the community.
Collaborative Fundraising as a Network of Retreat Centers
On this Community Call, we explored RCC's role as a mutual partner with retreat centers and how establishing formal partnerships might pave a clearer path for collaborative fundraising efforts.
RCC Annual Retreat 2023: Restoration and Resilience
Registration is now open for the RCC Annual Retreat, taking place this October 22 - 25, at Five Oaks Centre in Ontario!
Racial Healing Workshop: Reconciling Trauma in the Body with Trauma in the Land
On a recent Community Call, new RHI Program Director Brenda Salgado demonstrated through storytelling how healing our human relationships also means healing our relationship with the land.
Gratitude and the Future of Retreat Centers
During a recent retreat at the Whidbey Institute with the Racial Healing Initiative team, RCC Program Director Ben Scott-Brandt got a taste of intergenerational and intercultural gratitude during every dinner.
Stewardship Circle Transitions
Last month, Yolanda Ramirez Salto announced her resignation from her position as program specialist at the Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College, and has therefore stepped down from her role in the RCC Stewardship Circle. We’re grateful for Yolanda’s infectious inspiration and contributions to the team, and we wish her much success in her future endeavors.
Collaboration with Change Agents, Movement Makers, and Community-Based Organizations
Learn about how retreat centers are building relationships, establishing partnerships, and starting collaborative projects between retreat centers, movement groups, and community-based organizations.
Cal Poly Study Update: What Makes Retreat Centers Sustainable?
In partnership with a team of Cal Poly University students, the Retreat Center Collaboration is studying models for financial and programmatic sustainability at retreat centers.
Racial Healing Workshop: Antiracism for the Love of It
Rev. Lorren Buck joined us on our February 14th Community Call to facilitate a racial healing workshop grounded in Resmaa Menakem’s The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning.
Save the Date! RCC's Annual Retreat Is This October
We’re excited to gather with the Retreat Center Collaboration community this October 22 - 25, at Five Oaks Centre in Ontario!
Staffing Models and Supports at Retreat Centers
On our January 24th Community Call, we exchanged best practices for staffing, discussed ways to develop a culture of equity within our centers, and brainstormed mental health supports.
Racial Healing Initiative Announces New Leadership
We are pleased to announce that the Center for Healing and Liberation has expanded its capacity by hiring Brenda Salgado as the new program director for the Racial Healing Initiative.