The Circle Keepers

Dear New Yorkers!!!!
Shape the Future of Your Borough — Apply to Be a 2026 Borough Assembly Member for The People's Money!
You’ll help decide how public money is spent in your community—through real, in-person conversations that lead to real change.

Application Link: https://bit.ly/bba-tck

Beloveds! 🌟 

In this post, you’ll find:
Free Resources (Creating Community Norms)
Organization News (New Green Fund Grantees)
Support The Circle Keepers (A $Grand Week!)

GET THE FILE on #linkinbio and thecirclekeepers.com/FREE-RESOURCES

We are so happy to finally publicly announce that the legal merger between IntegrateNYC and The Circle Keepers is finalized! 

I am humbled by our shared histories, vision and commitment to a social justice education praxis that yearns to leave the world better than we found it.

Martin Urbach

As the weather is getting colder, the nights are getting longer, and fall cycles into winter, we wish you a transition full of care, rest and restoration. See what we've been up to this week, the TWO free resources we have prepared, and support our programming by donating on our website!

Dear familia! 🌼 Enjoy this Free Resource! 📚 This Día de los Muertos Booklet embodies restorative justice as cultural practice. It creates a space where art and tradition meet reflection and healing.
🔗💀🔗Get the free resource at: https://bit.ly/diadelosmuertos-tck

The Circle Keepers is offering a 12 week artivist aterschool program to make the revolution irresistible!

We will meet IN PERSON on Sundays from 3PM to 6PM, and starting on 11/16. 

Snacks, Community Service & $300 stipends!

Apply By 11/5 

https://bit.ly/ldc-fall25

Some great program updates & freebies from us this week!
- We received a $100k grant for our 2-year THRIVE program
- We have a free resource on intergeneration restorative justice circle protocols
- Our youth fellows are meeting 2x a week, exploring visions of safety in schools
- Help us keep going!

Each Saturday, the Circle Keepers Youth Fellows meet to discuss topics related to restorative justice. This could include dealing with fights at school, mental health and barriers around seeking therapy, restorative justice vs. criminalization, and more. Our fellow, Dream, talks about our programs!

Come out to raise funds for NYCoRE and our upcoming convening! NYCoRE has been our political education home since waaaaay before we started The Circle Keepers AND so many of our collaborators, volunteers, adult allies and educators are NYCoRE members!

Buy tickets via their IG @nycore300

Are you passionate about singing, drumming, and justice? 🌍 Join The Circle Keepers' residency fellowship for youth ages 14-21! Dive into cultural work, compose protest songs, and lead with your voice in the movement for justice and liberation.   RSVP now: https://bit.ly/ldc-fall25

We are in Pittsburgh co-facilitating our theater of the oppressed and media based "Know Your Rights" workshop for the Dignity In Schools Coalition Week of Action alongside Casa San Jose and 412 Justice!

Happy Friday! Check out the upcoming programming we have for the rest of October, as well as our free resource for Free Files Friday. We can't do this without you, so if you want to support us, please donate at thecirclekeepers.com/donate.

The power of WE Will Help Us Lift As We Climb! We are The Circle Keepers — youth, educators, and artivists creating a beloved community grounded in justice, care, and creativity. Support youth-led restorative justice and artivist healing by donating today!

thecirclekeepers.org/donate

Dear friends

Join us on Saturday, October 25th for Communiversity's Youth Day, from 11am-4pm at Women Build Up in Downtown Brooklyn. 

RSVP: bit.ly/ic-youthday25

There will be 5 different workshops, ranging from YPAR, to food justice, to art making, to community building and more!

Dear friends

Join us on Saturday, October 25th for Communiversity's Youth Day, from 11am-4pm at Women Build Up in Downtown Brooklyn. 

RSVP: bit.ly/ic-youthday25

We need to raise at least $35,000 to help sustain our work.
Every donation counts. Let's hit $35,000 together and make a lasting impact! 🙌
🎁 Donate today: thecirclekeepers.com/donate
👉 Comment, share, and tag friends to spread the word! ❤️

Please make a one time or monthly gift to The Circle Keepers today to keep this powerful work strong for the long haul.

We need to raise at least $35,000.Every donation counts.
🎁 Donate today: thecirclekeepers.com/donate
👉 Comment, share, and tag friends❤️

NEWSFLASH!!!!!!!!🎥

The Circle Keepers presented our second annual Peace & Justice Conference, 
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: bit.ly/2025pandj
 
Follow us to learn more! @thecirclekeepers
#peaceandjustice #abolitionist #youthleadership #communitybuilding #socialjustice #brooklynny

Dear familia! 
We are going to say this loud and proud with joy and excitement!

\📣WE HAVE LOTS OF JOYFUL UPDATES, NEWS, & OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE WANT TO SHARE & CELEBRATE WITH YOU! 📣

✉️ thecirclekeepers.com/contact

As we kick off a new school year, The Circle Keepers is planning to organize alongside more young people than ever before!
🩷😀🩷 Donate today: thecirclekeepers.com/donate
👉 Comment, share, and tag friends to spread the word! ❤️

Thank you for making it possible by being part of this caring community!

Mediating Cell Phone Policy Issues with Restorative Justice

State policies, school rules, and family concerns often clash.
Students’ voices are left out.
Conflict doesn’t have to end in punishment—it can lead to healing.
Together, we can move from rules that silence to conversations that restore.

We at The Circle Keepers are devastated by the mass shooting on **Aug 27, 2025** at **Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis**.

🌿✨ What a day! Thank you to everyone who joined us for Our Island, Our Future on Governors Island this past Saturday 💜
Deepest gratitude to our visionary host Chicava for welcoming us into such a gorgeous space with so much warmth!
Check out the Know Your Rights resources! https://bit.ly/ice-ck

Dear Familia,

Meet Our Circle Keeper cat, ✨😺Minerva✨😺, has a mood for *everybody*. Some days you’re cozy like #2, other days you’re fierce like #3, or maybe mysterious like #8.

👉 Which Minerva Cat are *you* today (1–9)?
👉 And most importantly… WHY?

📣 Applications are open for The Circle Keepers 2025-2026 Fellowship! Open to high school & first-year college students passionate about restorative justice, art & community! ✊🏾✨

📅 Meets Saturdays | 10am–3pm | Midtown Manhattan
We have only 5 spots available!

🔗 Apply bit.ly/be-a-tck25-fellow

The Circle Keepers is recruiting 10 youth leaders in grades 9–11 for the D39 Peer Mediators 2025–2026 Fellowship in Brooklyn!

📍 In Person In Downtown Brooklyn
🗓 Tuesdays, 4–6 PM 
💵 $250 stipend per semester
📝 Applications due: 9/8
🚀 Program begins: 9/16

👉 Apply now at  bit.ly/d39peermediators

Join us on Friday, August 22 at  Chicaba's Sanctuary on Governors Island from 1 PM –6 PM.
 👉RSVP Now! bit.ly/tck-aug22

Can’t come but would like to donate?
👉 Donate Now [bit.ly/donate2thecirclekeepers

Dear educators, youth organizers, and all around good humans,

On Friday, August 22, our youth leaders are taking over Governors Island for a collaborative, restorative and transformative day of action they call: Our Island, Our Future: A Day of Restorative Power

 👉RSVP Now! bit.ly/tck-aug22

What will you do not if but when ICE shows up in your neighborhood?

 ROLE PLAY OUR RIGHTS is a restorative justice based, theater-of-the-oppressed-style workshop where youth + community members rehearse real-life scenarios—and build real skills.

Book us now:
👉 bit.ly/roleplayrights-workshop

#

BOOK A LIBERATION DRUM CIRCLES WORKSHOP!

We are offering  a 2-hour interactive experience for your communities to explore how global movements for social justice have used drumming, chanting, and singing to organize, energize, and amplify messages of justice!

 https://bit.ly/ldcworkshops25