Thursday, March 15, 2012

Closure of the International Center

The International Center, which has been a vital fixture in my life since 1985, is going to be closed by the "board of directors" at the end of April.

It seems to me that this is more the result of incompetence and disinterest than anything else. I have seen the good the Center does, and I know that it does me, too, a world of good. I do not wish to close my class.

If the Center can not be saved, I will try to continue to meet with people after, and I hope that we can all find a way to continue to share and grow and learn together, through this dark time.

I also ask those who love the Center, as volunteers and as members, and even ex-members and ex-volunteers, to be willing to join the task to rebuild the International Center again. Many and many are those whose lives have been not only enriched, but sometimes saved, by the services and the community that the International Center has always provided. We want to try, but it can not be done by one person or a few. But with the dedication of many, we can revive it--and make it better. The International Center has slowly been diminished over the years, as board members with no feeling for the history of the International Center or for its place in the lives of so many, have failed to act wisely or responsibly in its stewardship and now consider it a burden in their own oh-so-busy lives. We know what the Center is and has been and can be. It will be a fight. But it is worth it.

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