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Mission
To teach 20 measurable
Relationship Improvement SKills
that promote
"Relating with Respect and Responsibility"
Vision
R.I.Sk Seminars,
Inc. was founded upon the belief that
all people should have the opportunity to
develop the intra- and interpersonal forms of intelligence needed to succeed
at school and work, and in family, social, and community life.
Committed to
improving society by developing the awareness and behavioral skills need to
feel and express Acceptance, this nonprofit educational organization seeks
to empower people of all ages to:
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Modify the antisocial behaviors linked to REJECTION of self and others
that lead to social problems "from A to V" (Addiction, Divorce, Premature
pregnancy, Suicide, and Violence)
-
Improve their family/school /work /social relationships
-
Interact more comfortably and effectively in our culturally diverse
society
-
Function as leaders in any group
-
Build the communication and teamwork skills wanted by business and
industry.
History
The
R.I.Sk
mission began in the spring of 1991 as a response to the skyrocketing
incidence of violence against self and others, drug and alcohol abuse,
sexual irresponsibility, and other antisocial behaviors devastating our
society. Deeply concerned by these frightening trends, a Pennsylvania
educational psychologist became convinced that group process techniques
available only to graduate students could be demystified and used to teach
people of all ages the vital prosocial skills needed to live peacefully and
productively with themselves and others in an increasingly diverse society.
Defining the group as a powerful learning resource
almost completely overlooked in traditional education, she began to develop
a program in which people learn with and
through each other, and the same peer pressure that creates personal and
societal problems is redirected to provide the awareness, skills, and
motivation to make rapid and dramatic positive changes in behavior.
In late 1991 and early 1992, the first R.I.Sk group
of 20 culturally-diverse students from three Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
high schools met weekly. The powerful,
transforming impact of that experience on participants' self-esteem,
attitudes, and behaviors; their enthusiastic responses; and the strongly
positive reactions of their parents all confirmed the value of starting
R.I.Sk groups in schools and youth organizations.
Toward that end, the decision was made to establish
R.I.Sk Seminars, which was incorporated as a domestic nonprofit
in July, 1992, and was granted 509 (a) (1) status as a tax-exempt publicly
supported organization in August, 1993.
In the years since, the organization has broadened its
scope and extended its reach. Over 10,000
elementary, middle, high school, and college students; teachers and
counselors; parents; business people, and seniors in Pennsylvania and New
Jersey have received R.I.Sk training
through 12 to 20 hour in- or after-school customized programs; inservices;
1-, 2- and 3-credit continuing education courses for teachers at
Intermediate Units; parent-teacher night programs; presentations and
workshops; staff development seminars; adult education courses; and
Elderhostel courses.
State-approved
as a provider of professional development for educators in NJ and offering
state-approved courses for educators that meet Act 48 requirements in
Pennsylvania, the organization also provides customized classroom programs
featuring cross-curricular activities keyed to state Core Content Curriculum
(NJ) or Academic (PA) Standards. R.I.Sk concepts and activities
have been featured at leadership conferences and orientation inservices for
high school and college students; have proved effective with juvenile
offenders; and have been used to train community justice panelists and to
help parents and teens and couples create more positive family
relationships. |
