A free personal growth workshop for people ages 15 years and older is being held in Williams Lake in the Gibraltar Room at the Cariboo Memorial Complex, April 1-3.
The Next Step to Being the Change Workshop (NSBCW) provides tools and life skills for addressing the separation, isolation and loneliness of social oppression, substance abuse, gender roles; stereotyping; bullying; racism; violence and teasing.
The workshop is available free in Williams Lake because of the generous donation from the Ryan Corbin Memorial Bursary Fund. The cost is normally $350 per person, says co-ordinator Darlene Doskoch.
The foundation was started in the memory of Corbin who lost his life in a hunting accident in the 1990s.
This is a community workshop and a personal growth workshop, and a great opportunity to work on self, says Doskoch. She adds people can feel free to voice their frustration and anger over community issues, such as racism and bullying.
While attending Challenge Day (a prelude to the workshop), which is a day-long interactive program to inspire Grade 7-12 students and adults to be the change they wish to see in the world by starting with themselves.
It will be facilitated by Challenge Day founders Yvonne and Rich Dutra St. John.
Doskoch says she can still feel the emotion from her first Challenge Day experience.
“When I went the first time, I told Rich that I felt like I had been emotionally scrubbed cleaned to the point of being sparkling.”
Participants have to commit to all three days, says Doskoch, because if they don’t attend all three days, the dynamics of the whole team is disrupted.
“It’s an amazing experience, a safe place to deal with frustrations, anger as well as happiness.” Stating that some peoples experience and perceptions may be different, Doskoch says, “It’s very personal.”
The workshop, which will be led by the Dutra St. John’s, has limited spaces available and starts on Friday morning (April 1). For more information or to receive registration forms, e-mail Doskoch at darlene.doskoch@cmhawl.org.
