Tuesday, January 31, 2017

National Crime Victims' Rights Week is Coming Up - Local Ceremony Will be April 4


"NCVRW will be commemorated April 2–8, 2017, and this year’s theme— 
Strength. Resilience. Justice. 
—reflects this vision of the future. One in which all victims are strengthened by the response they receive, organizations are resilient in response to challenges, and communities are able to seek collective justice and healing."

Since loosing our son, we have supported this week of recognition at various capacities. This year we are taking a STAND with our Local Community partners to recognize our Strength, Resilience, and Justice at an increased capacity.

Teresa, President of the Matt Garcia Foundation has local Artist Mr. Chad Glashoff committed to create a Community Art Sculpture in Honor of ALL those that have been effected by Violence. The unveiling of this Community Art Sculpture will take place during a Community ceremony with the District Attorneys office, Police Chiefs of Solano County, and others that serve Victims of Violence. 

Ceremony Location: The Matt Garcia Career and College Academy, 1100 Civic Center Drive, Fairfield, CA 94533

Local Ceremony Date: April 4, 2017

Saturday, January 28, 2017

How to Avoid Miscommunication - Katherine Hampsten



Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem, only to realize that he just doesn’t seem to grasp why the issue is so important to you? Have you ever presented an idea to a group, and it’s met with utter confusion? What’s going on here? Katherine Hampsten describes why miscommunication occurs so frequently, and how we can minimize frustration while expressing ourselves better.

Lesson by Katherine Hampsten, animation by Andrew Foerster.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Join Us For Our Monthly Community Clean Up on Saturday!

 
When: Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 9am 

Where: Starbucks Downtown Fairfield 700 Jefferson St Corner of Jefferson & Texas (map)

Description: We meet every last Saturday of each month (weather permitting). We clean up different locations and neighborhoods. Please join us. All are welcome

At the Matt Garcia Foundation we don’t want to complain about this, we want to create solutions to problems. It is with this spirit that we began our Monthly Community Clean Ups.

On the last Saturday of every month, volunteers get together and clean up a neighborhood in Fairfield. We pick up trash, work on landscaping paint windows, fix fences – all in an effort to improve our community. This is another example of community coming together to help make a difference.

The Matt Garcia Foundation Dream Team, is all about stepping up and stepping out of ourselves to serve others and our communities to be a part of the solution. Matt would say ” if you see a piece of garbage on the ground, please just pick it up” How simple is that! So, that is what we do.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Where Does Compassion Really Come From?



Can compassion be learned? The answer is yes! Sometimes, all it takes is truly paying attention to the people around us.

Friday, January 20, 2017

National Crime Victims' Rights Week is April 2-8, 2017


"NCVRW will be commemorated April 2–8, 2017, and this year’s theme— 
Strength. Resilience. Justice. 
—reflects this vision of the future. One in which all victims are strengthened by the response they receive, organizations are resilient in response to challenges, and communities are able to seek collective justice and healing."

Since loosing our son, we have supported this week of recognition at various capacities. This year we are taking a STAND with our Local Community partners to recognize our Strength, Resilience, and Justice at an increased capacity.

Teresa, President of the Matt Garcia Foundation has local Artist Mr. Chad Glashoff committed to create a Community Art Sculpture in Honor of ALL those that have been effected by Violence. The unveiling of this Community Art Sculpture will take place during a Community ceremony with the District Attorneys office, Police Chiefs of Solano County, and others that serve Victims of Violence. 

Ceremony Location: The Matt Garcia Career and College Academy, 1100 Civic Center Drive, Fairfield, CA 94533

Date: Local ceremony To Be Determined...

Monday, January 16, 2017

10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation | Celeste Headlee



When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed."

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Jeffrey Brown: How We Cut Youth Violence in Boston by 79 percent



An architect of the "Boston miracle," Rev. Jeffrey Brown started out as a bewildered young pastor watching his Boston neighborhood fall apart around him, as drugs and gang violence took hold of the kids on the streets. The first step to recovery: Listen to those kids, don't just preach to them, and help them reduce violence in their own neighborhoods. It's a powerful talk about listening to make change.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Juvenile Offender Fights to Help Other At-Risk Youth



Starcia Ague discusses how she turned her life around against all odds and how she wants to work to help at-risk youth.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

How an Old Loop of Railroads is Changing the Face of a City | Ryan Gravel


Urban planner Ryan Gravel shares the story of how his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, rallied to build a massive urban park that will transform an abandoned railroad track into 22 miles of public green space called the Atlanta BeltLine. The places we live aren't inevitable, he says -- and if we want something different, we need to speak up.