Update from your ED
Staff Update
Staff Directory
Holiday Store

Year End Campaign
Teachable Sale
Little Miracles

Fall 2024

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Update from your ED

Oh my goodness, these are challenging times of change! Here are some news tidbits:

• Goodbye and much gratitude to Rita Canning, our Development Manager who is retiring after more than 11 years with Veriditas. She will be missed.
• Welcome to Jenny Slama who will become our Development Manager along with managing the Online Store and Auction!
• Congratulations to all those involved in our Annual Online Auction. We met our fundraising goal thanks to Jenny, Stephanie, Marilyn, Chuck, Annika, Lars and to all of you who donated items and services. And, of course a big thank you to all of those who bid!!
• Our Year-End Fundraising Campaign has begun. We rely on those of you who know and appreciate the value of the labyrinth to pitch in so we can continue to offer programming that trains and nourishes. Hope you can join our donor community.
• A warm welcome to new board members - Patty Kohler and Christine Wiles. Watch for articles introducing them in subsequent newsletters.
• A sad goodbye to board member Stephanie Reib whose term ends in January of 2025. What a hole she leaves! She was the idea behind the Friday Walks and she spent many hours improving and upgrading Veriditas.
• The Board has been building an even stronger infrastructure to sustain us through the many changes and challenges.

• Our two Initiatives of Labyrinths in Higher Education & Inclusion have produced (or planned for) some valuable resources for the labyrinth community in webinar form.
• Our Council (with new members to be announced in the next newsletter) is currently planning its annual Virtual Facilitator Renewal Day and scheduling Meet Ups for Facilitators sprinkled throughout the year.
• Happy to report we held two very creative and successful Chartres programs this past September with Brian Swimme & Phil Cousineau and Cynthia James.
• Our array of monthly workshops continue to flourish with an always widening range of topics and an increasing variety of excellent presenters and faculty.
• Friday Walks continue to be well attended and a lifesaver for a loyal labyrinth community. Join us!
• Watch for the 2025 Calendar to be posted in mid-December.

We are so grateful you are a part of our community.

Much love and gratitude,

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.”
– Marcus Tullius Cicero

Goodbye and Much Gratitude to Rita Canning and Welcome to Jenny Slama

by Marilyn Zimmerman

We are grateful for Rita Canning, Veriditas Development Manager, who will be leaving us at year’s end . . . .

Rita Canning, who has been Development Manager at Veriditas for eleven and one half years, will be leaving her position at the end of this year. A woman who prioritizes her spiritual life and seeks ways to serve, when she found Veriditas she was seeking a part-time position with a non-profit organization that included a spiritual component. After years of experience fundraising for non-profits, Veriditas seemed a perfect fit.

During our conversation, Rita pointed out that forty percent of the Veriditas budget comes from fundraising. Rita’s position has been, and will continue to be, vital to the organization. Despite her hours with Veriditas being limited to ten hours per week, Rita has managed the mid-year, end-of-year, and ongoing fundraising campaigns. Although she is grateful for the funds raised during recent difficult times, she emphasizes that we still need more donations to keep Veriditas afloat.

Rita’s spirituality and love for the work of Veriditas was evident during our conversation. In particular, she expressed how impressed she was with the dedication and hard work of all the Veriditas staff. Rita’s time and energy have been gifts to Veriditas and for that we will remain grateful. She is currently training Jenny Slama to take over as Development Coordinator when she leaves. We will miss Rita and wish her well in her new endeavor.

And we are grateful for Jenny Slama, who will be taking over Rita’s work with Veriditas . . . .

In the Spring of 2015, Jenny Slama was working in the financial industry, as an Operations Manager.   The position and field were challenging and required an intense schedule.  Realizing that she and her husband, Nick, wanted to prioritize starting a family, they knew that big changes were necessary.  Jenny planned to step away to focus on health and finding balance.  Nick wisely suggested Jenny find a part-time job that “brought her joy" during this time so she could feel like she was contributing to her community and using her skills to do something good in the world, during a rather stressful path to parenthood.  Jenny began looking for a position at a non-profit, and came across an ad on Craig’s List seeking an Administrative Assistant with Veriditas. She met with Dawn and Annika at the Petaluma Retreat Center and interviewed for the position.

During this time, Jenny visited her parents in Arizona and at her mother’s request, walked a nearby labyrinth in Tempe, Arizona.  It was Jenny’s first experience on a labyrinth.  So it felt like fate when Jenny received a job offer from Dawn, which she gladly accepted. In early 2017 Jenny was able to share the news that she and Nick would welcome their first child that summer.  Veriditas staff had become to feel like family for Jenny, and they joyously celebrated alongside the happy parents with the birth of Wyatt (now 7) and a few years later with Colton (now age 5).

Dawn then asked Jenny to consider taking on the jobs of managing the Veriditas store and the Auction, since both positions offered her flexibility and she could usually work from home.  Jenny happily agreed.  Now that her sons are both in school, Jenny has agreed to expand her role again at Veriditas, and this fall accepted the position as Veriditas Development & Sales Manager.  She has loved connecting with Veriditas supporters of all types over the years and looks forward, in her new position, to “Opening the Door” for people to learn about the labyrinth and seeing how the labyrinth has impacted their lives.

Staff Directory

	Lauren Artress, Founder lauren@laurenartress.com Media interviews, facilitator trainings, Grace and Chartres pilgrimages
	Dawn Matheny, Executive Director dawn@veriditas.org Leading Veriditas, managing staff and budget, liaising with Board, planning event calendar, contracts, fundraising
	Annika Moore, Communications, Marketing & Technology Manager annika@veriditas.org Communications & marketing, website, supporting registration, lodging, internal systems and VIA membership. Handles event listings, graphics & materials
	Kathleen Stewart, Event Coordinator, Facilitator Support kathleen@veriditas.org Event support & coordination, facilitator certification, scholarships, canvas labyrinths, Friday fiinger labyrinth walks, facilitator list serve

“Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality.” — Jen Sincero

Holiday Store

There is so much that awaits shoppers at the Veriditas Holiday Store... a gift for everyone on your list - including yourself! We have a special savings available now through Cyber Monday (December 2nd) with the following Thanksgiving Discount Codes...

When you shop at the Veriditas Online Store, every purchase is appreciated and helps to support the work of Veriditas!

10% off all orders under $100 (before tax and shipping) with code THANKSGIVING10

20% off all orders over $100 (before tax and shipping) with code THANKSGIVING20

Teachable: Save 50% OFF All Labyrinth Classes!

Take some time this holiday season to deepen your labyrinth practice with our self-paced classes. The Veriditas Faculty offers pre-recorded multi-session courses, facilitator renewal, and intro classes. Our founder Lauren Artress also hosts a diverse series of webinars featuring guest experts for a one hour conversation. Use coupon code GRATEFUL for our biggest savings of the year with 50% off Veriditas Online Learning through Cyber Monday, December 2nd!

You can use the code multiple times, but must enroll in each course individually. Remember to enter GRATEFUL at checkout and email Lars@Veriditas.org with any questions.

View all of our courses at: https://Veriditas.Teachable.com/

Year End Campaign

Thank you so much to all those who have donated to our Year End Fundraising Campaign, which began on November 15!

Little Miracles on the Path

"Little Miracles" is produced by Linda Mikell. Each month she shares an inspirational story from a labyrinth experience that is sent to her by a facilitator. She welcomes YOUR story. I'm sure you're got one, and we all benefit from this sharing. Thank you, Linda! Please send your story to Linda Mikell at edlinmik@optonline.net

“When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is
that I am thankful I have a cup.” — Sam Lefkowitz