Save our Manitou Center in Winona MN

We know that the Covid Pandemic has turned your life upside down. We all seem to be floating somewhere between life before and the shifting and confusing dimensions of Now. That’s why our members of the Teachers’ Circle went online to provide you with emotional, intellectual and spiritual support throughout. Our member centers are offering regular cyber meditation sessions and retreats. We send you weekly Dharma Talk videos and invitations to our array of classes and workshops.

Now we need to ask you for help.

We have not held an annual fundraising campaign in over three years. The members of our Teachers’ Circle have personally pledged to finance Zen Garland’s annual operating expenses and will continue to do so. But our local member centers have suffered terribly from quarantine and other Pandemic induced social changes.

Zen Garland Headquarters at Dharma River’s Mantou Center in Winona, Minnesota at risk. They have had to continue paying rent, internet and other utilities while losing participant donations, programming fees and revenue from organizations that stopped subletting.

The goal for our 2020 Capital Campaign will be to raise $12.000.00 allocated to meeting Mantou’s annual operating expenses. We are asking you to make a one-time donation to our 2020 Zen Garland Capital Campaign. This can be paid in total or in installments. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Roshi Paul Kisho Stern and Rev. Trish Kojindo Johnson, Dharma Holder, have taken over as the primary administrators of The Zen Garland Order. The Manitou Center in Winona serves as the secular, social service outreach for their Dharma River Temple and for The Zen Garland Order. Let us tell you a bit about what Kojindo and Kisho will do in 2021 through The Manitou Center, and what they have accomplished in past years.

Upcoming Manitou Center Projects 2020-2021:

Resilience for First Responders serving groups of police, firefighters, EMS personnel and others in a 20-hour training at Manitou on resilience and mindfulness skills.

Peer Connections group and Mindfulness at Cotter High School

In weekly, virtual sessions for Cotter’s 9-12 grade students Manitou staff will provide training in meditation, yoga, and Focusing and facilitate intimate group sharing to increase students’ self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy and ability to navigate stress and anxiety. Manitou Staff is also providing recorded videos on advanced mindfulness skills for students to utilize on their own time.

Mindfulness at Bluffview Montessori School

Manitou staff is providing 8 weeks of twice-weekly Mindfulness training sessions live in the classroom to all students in grades 1^st-6^th at Bluffview. Classroom teachers, and school staff will also participate.

Mindfulness for Emotional Health and Wellbeing at St. Mary’s University

This 8-week course takes university students through an exploration of their own daily lives using mindfulness meditation and study of the 8 Pillars of Mindfulness: non-judgement, self-compassion, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance and letting go.

We know you have your own financial and personal difficulties. If you have resources left to help carry our wonderful Manitou Center social service outreach projects, we will be most grateful. And you will be helping so many young people gain skills we all have found so fundamental and powerful.

The Zen Garland Order  is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. All gifts are tax-deductible in the US.