Dear Friends and Supporters of Mohonk Consultations,
For the last 40 years, Mohonk Consultations has sponsored programs to support the interrelationship of all life on Earth through dialogue. Our organization grew out of the Quaker values of the Smiley family, chief among them Equality and Peace. Caring for people and caring for Earth are central to our mission. Historically, Mohonk has been a place where “one can engage in a non-politicized dialogue with a view to finding solutions” (Noel Brown, 1994).
Our programs involve facilitating these conversations among people of differing backgrounds and viewpoints. Like countless organizations and individuals at this harrowing moment in our country’s history, the pain of this week has brought a renewed urgency to our reflections about how we, as individuals and as an organization, are complicit in systemic racism. We feel the need to educate ourselves about how we can more effectively engage as antiracists in our work.
Unless and until white America is willing to collectively acknowledge our privilege, take responsibility for our past and the impact it has on the present, and commit to creating a future steeped in justice, the list of names that George Floyd has been added to will never end. We must use this moment to accelerate our nation’s long journey towards justice and a more perfect union.
In the spirit of Quakerism, the Smiley family, and the ideals of our founders, we at Mohonk Consultations wholeheartedly join in the antiracism struggle. We encourage everyone in our community to engage in difficult conversations with your families, your friends, and your communities, to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We thank you for being a part of our journey.
Warmly,
Board of Directors
Mohonk Consultations
The mission of Mohonk Consultations is to foster a greater awareness of the interrelationship of all life on earth and to inspire and nurture the development of sustainable initiatives that respond to the critical issues of our region and the planet. This short video captures the essence of our work:
Our programs include conferences, forums, awards, and publications centered on the Hudson Valley—and attuned to global and national perspectives as well. Convening at the Mohonk Mountain House on Lake Mohonk atop the Shawangunk Ridge, our guests listen, share, brainstorm, and create grassroots initiatives that turn ideas into action for the common good.
Please Note: Although we have our office and hold our events at Mohonk Mountain House, we are a separate, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Please contact us at info@mohonk-consultations.org or 845-256-2726.
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Several grassroots initiatives have sprung from our programs. Just one example can be seen in our 2009 and 2014 programs aimed at countering food insecurity in Ulster County. One nonprofit organization attending, UlsterCorps, took the information and contacts gained to establish a collaborative county-wide Hunger Project in 2010.
Collaborating to Fight Food Insecurity
Seven years ago, a [Mohonk Consultations] forum on food insecurity at the Mohonk Mountain House brought together the executive directors of Family of Woodstock and the Rondout Valley Growers Association (RVGA). That meeting, between an organization that works with the food insecure and an organization that works with farmers, marked the beginning of a partnership that today is making a difference in the Hudson Valley by bringing fresh local food where it is needed most.
This year [ 2016], with the opening of food distribution centers across the Ulster County, connections between farmers and the food insecure are being streamlined in an innovative new way. More than 20,000 people in Ulster County are food insecure, including one in five children… Read More…
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Since the 1870s, Mohonk Mountain House, atop the Shawangunk Mountains of New York, has been a gathering place for those seeking solutions to a range of social and environmental problems. The natural surroundings at Mohonk, along with its Quaker traditions of peaceful inclusiveness, provide a tranquil, nonpartisan atmosphere for the useful exchange of ideas.
To carry on these traditions, the late A. Keith Smiley, a descendant of Mohonk’s founders, created Mohonk Consultations Inc., a charitable 501(c)(3) organization, in 1980. We depend on participants and supporters to help fund our work—thank you!