Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Youth Justice Awareness Month

Click to learn more
I met Michelle Stephens just about a year ago. She was referred to me as a mother who was working to bring awareness of the issues of youth justice. 

As she shared her journey as a mother, a citizen and a woman, she revealed her faith that change is possible. She also expressed her fear that working for change would put her son at risk within the system. As we continued getting to know each other and continued to speak about the issues, she became clear that she wanted to DO something. I bore witness to her courage and deep belief in what is right.

After  a bit of researching she found the Campaign for Youth Justice. As she learned more, it became clear that their work aligned to her beliefs and her passion to create change.

As she explored, we began discussing being brave enough to create an event here in Jacksonville. One conversation led to another and as she became impassioned about the event, enthusiasm built.

She worked to bring meaningful content and partners around the table including The Southern Poverty Center;  the Children's Campaign; Author, Betty Burney; Film Director, Karen Grau and Character Counts! in Jacksonville.

On October 13th in Jacksonville, Florida, Alliance for Youth Justice Parent Michelle Stephens and the Southern Poverty Law Center are hosting a film screening and discussion of Young Kids, Hard Time, which aired on MSNBC in November 2011. Film Director Karen Grau will attend to discuss the experience of filming young kids serving multi-decade sentences and her thoughts on the practice of trying youth as adults.

The event is designed to shed light on the current situation and educate on ways we can work together to make change. 

For more information call Michelle Stephens
at 904-338-1734 or krmdstephens@comcast.net

Friday, September 7, 2012

24 Hours Conscious Creative Jamming

The creative community is invited to create and donate! Come out for a fun action packed creative adventure with your bestest and most inspiring friends. AIGA, JAMA, to name a few...

Character Counts! is turning to the creative community to create a mess of upcycled objects, that we can then sell to raise funds so we can renovate our new space.

This initial Jamming session will help to stock the
Conscious Market at our upcoming fundraiser in January
at Intuition Ale works.

We shall be creating t-shirts, lunch bags, insulated mugs...to name a few! We will have sewing machines, paints, markers and all sorts of creative materials for you to express one of the Six Pillars of Character. Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

There will be music and food to fuel the fun...hope to see ya there!! Friday eve, BYOB. Remember this is Character Counts! so no raucous behavior, ok my creative peeps!!

Bring along any new/barely used ugly shirts you might have. Ties and scarves also welcome, especially those theme ones...all kinds of fun to be had with those...


Call Florence if you would like to Participate! 904-612-3934

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

CC!inJAX Bake Off Bakers | Mary Dronkers From Charmed Cakes

Meet Mary Dronkers, owner of Charmed Cakes here in Jacksonville. It was inspiring to hear her views on character and ethics. Love how her Navy background inspires her business and creative spirit. Who knew the Navy could inspire cakes!