As of about three weeks ago, I hadn’t edited a video in, oh, about five years. But since then, I’ve had a great time creating a short video for a tremendous non-profit organization, the Kansas City Community Mediation Center. I’d heard of their services from a friend of mine, Judy Heath, who volunteers with them and teaches bullying prevention in schools. And who makes beautiful mosaics as well.
Judy’s sister, Annette Lantz-Simmons, is Co-Director of the CMC, and she needed a video for a fundraiser she was organizing. The theme was “Ending Violence in Kansas City – Peace by Piece,” and Judy was nice enough to think of me to help them out.
Annette sent me a script and a PowerPoint presentation with a lot of pictures to use, and we spent a day or so shooting the video. I have to say, it was a nice vote of confidence from them to let me put this together, given that I was a bit rusty with my editing skills. KC Mayor Sly James was the keynote speaker, so it was a big deal for them, and I really wanted to give them something they’d be proud to show! (Me, too!)
The Community Mediation Center and their staff and volunteers perform a much-needed service for our city. They use a process called “Restorative Justice” to bring together people in conflict so they can work out their differences together, in a spirit that expects everyone involved to take responsibility for their actions, for them to come up with a solution they all agree on, and to be accountable for upholding their part of the agreement.
The miraculous thing is that this really works. 85-90% of the time, these agreements are honored by all of the parties, which is a fantastic accomplishment. And once people see they can work through their conflicts without violence, they can use those skills in future situations, as well as pass those skills along to others.
The event went off beautifully, and the speakers brought home the importance of the CMC’s work. And I think we were all pretty happy with how the video turned out! Check out the CMC video on YouTube, where you can leave comments if you’d like. And it would be so tremendous if you could also find a way to support the CMC in their valuable work!
