connectingpoint
July
2007 The Monthly E-Newsnote for
Centerpoint Institute for Life and Career Renewal
…inspiring people to
discover creativity, passion, and renewed commitment in life and at work
“Roll out those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer, Those days of soda and
pretzels and beer, Roll out those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer, Dust off the
sun and moon and sing a song of cheer.” -Charles Tobias
…and while you’re busy having so much
fun, check out the latest class offerings and be sure to strike while the iron
is hot*.
In
this issue
Click
on the following links in order to jump ahead
Lot of News from our Managing Director
Greetings from the Front Office
Not to be Missed!
We Really Could Use
Your Help
I attended the National Career Development
Conference that was held last weekend in
First, after belonging to this organization for 26
years and generally keeping up with the literature that they publish, this was
actually the first NCDA conference I’ve ever attended. There was so much that I
was struck by; I’ll just pick out a few of the major points and areas for
opportunity to share with you today.
We’re Unique
As far as I can tell,
Centerpoint was the only nonprofit, community organization in attendance. Out
of the 900 people attending, I wasn’t able to find anyone who does anything
like we do. One of the smaller sessions I sat in on had to do with writing an
article for Career Convergence, NCDA’s online monthly publication. When the
facilitator saw I jotted down “nonprofit” under areas that I was interested in
writing about she said: “Someone will be getting in touch with you because we
can’t find anyone who can address this area.”
We Have a Very Different Definition of Career
Counseling
The way that NCDA members define career counseling
is quite narrow. It starts with a small bit of self-assessment (usually
traditional testing or online tools) and is mainly focused on the needs of the
job seeker.
They are just beginning to talk about more
narrative approaches to self-assessment, e.g., autobiographies, stories, even a
little creativity thrown in for good measure. The approach that Centerpoint
takes in helping people immerse in the passion search process over time is
unheard of. Actually, the word passion was seldom used throughout the
conference.
I shared our Passion Search curriculum in brief
with a counselor educator/practitioner from a midwest university. He
immediately saw how helpful the approach is. Then, I talked about the cycle of
change. It got him really jazzed and thinking about how he can get us to his
university to teach his graduate students. Our holistic, eclectic approach is
the wave of the future.
Meaningful Work/Spiritual Issues in Career
Counseling
You may not believe me
about this next part but I swear it’s true. For the first time in NCDA’s entire
history there was a session on spirituality and career counseling. It was
called: “Spirituality, Career Development and Calling: Emergent Phenomena.”
Presented by two of the biggest Ph.D.’s in the career development field and in
NCDA, it was held on the last day in the very last timeslot. You could argue
that they placed it there to get people to stay around but I’m not convinced.
Half the conference attendees were gone by then; I imagine that happens each
year and that the placement of this session was intentional.
They both talked about “coming out of the closet” on this issue. Nobody big in
the field has really been addressing it up to now. They were able to get this
topic on the agenda solely based on their reputations and experience. (It may
be one of the reasons that NCDA has been turning down my conference session
proposals for the past three years.)
They defined spirituality in the broadest way (as
we do):
§
finding meaningful work that makes a difference
§
the unity of who we are and how we live
§
the intersection of who we are and what needs doing
Now, here’s the real clincher… are you sitting
down? One of them talked about a whole new area within career counseling that
needs to be addressed: “the importance of transition space.” If you know
anything about Centerpoint and our approach, it includes this concept and has
for 15 years.
What Does All This Mean?
1)
First it means that the work we are all doing at
Centerpoint is, no doubt about it, cutting edge. I want to congratulate all the
sacrifices and commitment that all the faculty and staff have made to get
Centerpoint to where it is.
2)
It also means that we’ve just begun to scratch the
surface of being able to make a difference in people’s lives. We need to find
ways to share what we’ve developed together here with counselor educators and
with practitioners so it can help more folks out there.
3)
So, what does this all really mean? The
Centerpoint Community needs to work together to figure out how we can make a
bigger impact in the world. No one person can do it alone.
4)
We need to answer some specific questions: How do
we further share what we do so competently? Who do we need to connect with to
be leading this effort? One of the above presenters told me it’s all about
being published. How can we disseminate and share our approach more widely? I
made a lot of great contacts at the conference that we can draw on; what’s the
best way for all of us to utilize these folks?
Please let me know if you’d be interested in
attending a short brainstorming session; I’d like to schedule a couple of hours
to get together in August. Or, if you have any better ideas of where we go from
here, I’m open to any and all suggestions!
It feels like we’re so poised to have an impact; I
hope you will want to join in that effort.
With warmest regards and until next month,
Carol
Carol Vecchio
co-Founder and Executive Director
Hello to All of You:
Last month’s Career Forum: Working with Animals was highly successful. Headliners included
four panelists: Lola Michelin, Northwest School of Animal Massage www.nwsam.com; Dr. Marta Nobrega, www.mercyvet.com; Richard Huffman, Purrfect
Pals, www.purrfectpals.org and Karen
Stone with the Pima Medical Institute, www.pmi.edu/locations/seattle.asp.
They shared their expertise and insight of the
animal care industry with Forum participants. Great questions and answers were
presented with networking rounding out the evening schedule. These forums are
truly a quality, meaningful and relevant experience; I hope you will join us
for our fall event. Our topic is still to be determined so if you’d like to
learn about a particular industry, please contact me!
In addition to our new, free Wi-Fi service for
members, we now have conference calling capabilities. Speaking of which, we
invite you to utilize our meeting facilities for your upcoming conferences,
retreats, seminars, training programs etc. at our stunning setting that is one
of the hallmarks of Centerpoint’s vision. We are full service, have free
parking, wireless capabilities, beverage service and more. We can even assist
you with menu planning and meal service. And all at very affordable rates! Call
for information and scheduling.
To meet the demand for more individual counseling
sessions, we have added two more days per week and now have counselors
available Monday through Thursday. Please contact us at 206.686.LIFE to set up
your next appointment.
Check out our listing in the Seattle Networking
Guide under the education/ alumni section. www.seattlenetworkingguide.com.
Preliminary work is beginning for fall classes and
schedules. We’re planning on a couple new offerings focused on those in the
career management stage of the process. Stay tuned for more details. Any
additional ideas or suggestions you’d care to share with us??
Well, that’s all for now Centerpoint Community.
Enjoy your summer season and stop by for a relaxing, renewing experience or
just to visit. Coffee is on us!
All
the best,
Steve
Bullock
Managing Director
As
you know I field a lot of inquiries on various subjects related to the services
offered by Centerpoint. I really pay attention to any patterns that may emerge
in the conversations I have with the CP community. One theme I’ve noticed is
how carefully we all must plan our time and commitments. Once you have found a
class that coincides with your availability, it is best to give us a call and
pre-register. This secures your place in the class roster. Even
if you are still in decision-making mode we can always keep you listed as an
interested person and give you a reminder call closer to the start date of
the class. Occasionally we are unable to
run a class due to low pre-registration and then just days before the class was
to have started we get a burst of interest that can not be accommodated. This
is frustrating for all concerned.
So
with this long winded explanation behind me I would like to urge all of you to:
“Strike While
The Iron Is Hot!!” Listen to
that impulse and just say “yes”. The
sooner we know you are thinking about taking a place in our class roster the
greater the likelihood that it will happen. The power of intention really does
prevail to keep the momentum going.
Marcella Van Oel
Front
Office Manager
LifeWork
Renewal
If you or someone you know is in need of gaining a fresh new perspective
on the changes you have been experiencing in your life and work then this just
might be the right fit! Upcoming
classes: the condensed session on July 25th from 6:15-9:15pm with
Catherine Follett and Carol Vecchio (Condensed Session includes Associate
Membership) or all-day session Saturday August 11th from 9:30am to 4:30pm with Jeaneen Schmidt. Tuition for each
workshop: $145. Please call 206.686.5433 or email
us to register.
Uncover what gives your life meaning and
purpose. Create a clear, compelling
vision for your next chapter. Upcoming classes: nine Mondays, starting July 23rd
or nine Thursdays, starting Aug 2nd both series are from 6:30-9:30pm
and with Catherine Follett. Please call 206.686.LIFE or email
us to register.
Crossroads
at Age 50+ For Women
A three-hour workshop designed especially for women
to enhance your sense of well-being in the world while understanding the myriad
of choices for a future full of purpose and connection. Join Jo Kelly Welch on Saturday,
July 21st 10:00 am to 1:00 pm for an enlightening experience. Please
call 206.686.LIFE or email
us to register.
If you are interested in a class but have
scheduling conflicts, Centerpoint keeps track of requests for date and time
changes or additions. Individual
sessions are also available. Please contact
us for more information.
Support
Circle Update: Kudos to Susan Alexander who has successfully lead
the formation of a Thursday night support circle. The seven member group has
contracted for a couple sessions of facilitation by faculty member, Trudy
Mcknight, so that all participants can strengthen their commitment to
encouraging, listening and offering support to each other. If you would like to join in or start a
Heads up all you volunteers
and leaders-in-training! We’ve been notified of a special event for the afternoon of
Sunday September 23rd. Parker Palmer will be in town for “Leading
From Within: An Afternoon of Insight, Encouragement and Humor with Parker J.
Palmer”. The sponsoring organization, Washington
Courage and Renewal is looking for some dedicated volunteers to help with
the many tasks of preparation for this event. If you would like to participate
please contact the volunteer coordinator, Catherine Follett, who is also a
Centerpoint faculty member.
How might you be able to help?
- Tell everyone you know about the benefits of working with
Centerpoint.
- Recommend our services to your organization.
- Make a tax-deductible donation to Centerpoint and get it matched by
your employer (see below).
- Renew your membership.
- Join the Board. (Meetings are
by conference call on the third Tuesday of each month from 8:00 to 9:30 am
and face-to-face once per quarter.)
- All of the above! J
The Board has some specific and concrete
initiatives for this year with which we desperately need your support:
Marketing, Media Connections, PR: We need to let people know we’re here to
help. Centerpoint is the best kept secret around! J We’ve been providing
the highest quality career counseling services for the past 15 years. Most of
our referrals come from word-of-mouth which is a very positive thing. However,
we need to find creative strategies to reach more people and organizations so
we can be of more assistance to them.
Developing a Sustainable Business Model for
Centerpoint: We need to
be a healthy business for the long haul. We’re looking to institute even more
operating practices gleaned from the for-profit world.
How can you help out to ensure Centerpoint’s future
so we’ll be here when you experience your next transition? J
As a non-profit organization, Centerpoint strives
to serve the community in every way possible. We need your help to do that.
Following is a list of items that Centerpoint will need to help us move forward
technologically and in our services. We would love it if you could donate an
actual item, but of course we’d also accept a cash donation to cover the costs!
Besides the tax deduction, you or your organization can be publicly recognized on
the Centerpoint website for your contribution.
Digital Camcorder with Internal Hard Disk Drive (1)
Adobe Creative
Upgrade to FileMaker Pro 8.5 (1)
FileMaker Pro 8.5 (2 @ $299)
Centerpoint Institute for Life and
Career Renewal
4000 NE 41st Street
Building D, Suite 2
Seattle, Washington 98105-5428
tel/fax: 206.686.LIFE (5433)
www.centerpointonline.org
...inspiring
people to discover creativity, passion, and renewed commitment in life and at
work
Office Hours: Monday –
Thursday 12:00 to 7:00pm, Friday 12:00 to 5:00 pm; Saturdays resume in the Fall
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Copyright ©2007 Centerpoint Institute. All Rights Reserved.