On The Inside: LOVE FEST
Welcome to our Love Fest.
This month, and next month we are devoting our time and work to this. It’s an opportunity to jump in and join the work with us, get to know the women we serve inside and the women we serve outside through the circles that connect us. Stick with us, we have a TON of new classes, monthly groups, two dedicated LOVE FEST groups, and a new support group for women recently released from prison, led by Caroline.
Love is loyalty, true and hopeful
On the inside away from you
Validate visions of happiness
Eternally changing
-Wyoming Women’s Center
September 1, 2022
One of the ways we support women inside is by writing together, in our 8 week class series we have an entire class focused on writing, sharing and experiencing love. Two of the poems here are pieces we wrote together in class. Then the women are asked to write their own version for homework. Love is a word I often think about (Nikki here, hi!) in our work, it’s something that Caroline and I often talk about- When have you had love? What does it feel like? When have you lost it? What does that feel like?
I think love is one of the most expansive things we can be given in our lifetime, and losing it is crushing. I recently put our old dog, Frida down with my family, and after having her for 16 years the loss and grief has been tremendous. I think about the love I feel for my life and those in it, and I am met with equal amounts of joy and pain, for this too shall end.
Love is changeable, adaptable, and flexible. It’s hard to name, not easy to hold, and infuses every part of my life.
This holiday season, Caroline and I talked about what it would feel like to send our love inside. How could we inundate each facility with love?
My goal is to explode each facility we work at with color, handwritten love notes, appreciation, and meaning so that EVERY person we work with knows who you are and who we are.
So here’s your invitation to join us, whether you're a well-known friend of ours, or someone who has been watching/listening but hasn’t stepped into the work just yet…
We are hosting TWO love fest Zoom calls on Monday, November 21, and Monday, December 12 from 11 am-12 pm PST.
You’ll need:
A blank card and envelope to create in.
Your favorite pen or markers.
A stamp.
And your favorite beverage.
We will provide:
The name/number of a woman serving time for you to send some love too.
A Zoom link after you sign up.
A space to check in, create together and share, and a container to make a wish in.
You’ll leave with:
A smile on your face.
A meaningful card to pop in the mail.
And probably, a group of new folks to call friends.
To sign up:
Please email Nikki (nikki@ontheinside.space) and tell us which session you’d like to attend by -
Monday November 21 and Monday December 12 from 11am-12pm PST.
You are welcome to attend one or both. If you can’t make it, no worries, send us an email, and we will send you all the information you need to create a card for someone inside the prison facility.
*September 2022, Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
Let me in
Our possibilities are endless
Vivid dreams fuel my mind
Eternity together will leave us lonely
-Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
September 1, 2022
Much Love and Gratitude,
Nikki and Caroline
On The Inside
Tis’ the season to give-
How will you choose to support our sisters serving time knowing that one day soon they may be your neighbor?
Better yourself by bettering your community of sisters and step in today.
Make an ongoing monthly donation today, and know that your money is going to support women in desperate need of connection, healing, and creativity.
$20 allows us to purchase a holiday gift for one woman inside.
$50 allows us to send a release package to a woman when she is released from prison.
$100 allows one woman the opportunity to take our 8-class series inside prison facilities.
$1000 allows us to pay our facilitators for this life-changing work.
I choose to support an incarcerated women by making a monthly donation today.
“I hope you discover your ability to love and love and love and love because that’s what you are here to do.”
-Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, current student
Thank you for being a growing part of our journey, our failures and our successes as we navigate slow and intentional growth to keep this work fresh, accessible, and necessary.
2023 Outside Class Series Announced-
Our four-class series is a great way to become a part of our work, learn about the class structure, create with us, and build community. Each class occurs over Zoom so you can participate from anywhere. Every class you can expect to: share, create, receive, and learn as we make work that goes into our facilities and work from our inside students is shared with us.
*We only offer our outside class series 4 times a year, these fill up FAST so connect with us to register today. Please confirm which series you would like to join.
Series 1: Wednesdays from 11 am-1 pm PST/2 pm-4 pm EST
February 1, 8, 15, and 22.
Series 2: Wednesdays from 11 am-1 pm PST/2 pm-4 pm EST
April 5, 12, 19, and 26.
Series 3: Thursdays 12 pm-2 pm PST/3 pm-5 pm EST
May 4, 11, 18, and 25.
Series 4: Thursdays 5-7 pm PST/8 pm-10 pm EST
October 5, 12, 19, and 26.
This series is co-led by Caroline Cox, Project Manager at On The Inside, and Nikki Weaver Founder.
Zoom links and instructions are sent out after payment is made. We offer a sliding scale and full scholarships too, all you need to do is connect us. Payment can be made right here. Please connect with us if you would like to join our next class series and specify which four classes you would like to attend. The work builds upon itself so it is essential that you prioritize attending all four sessions.
You can join our four week class series, and then continue on in our monthly class by signing up here.
*Nia, Nikki (Founder of On The Inside), Justine, Lacretia, and Krystal Nebraska Correctional Center for Women 2022
Join us for our last two monthly gatherings of 2022-
Wednesday, November 2 VALUES
Thursday, December 1 HOPE
12-2 pm PT/3 pm-5 pm ET
*Zoom link sent to all those who have participated in our 4 class series.
In these classes, we gather and share, create together, move together, and discuss and share artwork and poetry from our students currently serving time. Your work is also shared inside facilities. It’s a chance to connect and grow with women worldwide.
Announcing our 2023 Monthly Group Gatherings (2 hours)-
**All monthly group meetings are 12 pm-2 pm PT/3 pm-5 pm ET
Saturday, Jan 7 HOPE
Tuesday, Feb 7 LET’S GET SEXY
Thursday, March 2 AGILITY
Tuesday, April 4 TRUTH
Tuesday, May 2 CREATIVITY
Saturday, June 3 JOURNEYS
Thursday, July 6 SHADOW WORK
Tuesday, August 1 LOVE
Sunday, September 3 COURAGE
Monday, October 2 FLEXIBILITY
Thursday, November 2 VALUES
Saturday, December 2 HOPE
**All monthly group meetings are 12 pm-2 pm PT/3 pm-5 pm ET
We hope to see you in class this year- join us for four sessions and then move into our monthly group as we deepen the connections, strengthen our creativity, and build long-lasting relationships with women inside and outside prison facilities.
Your actions matter. Your words matter. How you show up matters.
Much love and gratitude for your ongoing support,
Nikki Weaver and Caroline Cox
-Founder and Project Manager
OUR MISSION
On The Inside builds a creative connection for incarcerated women, both individually and collectively. We do this by telling our stories, igniting our hearts, and sparking dialogue. Creative connection for a greater good, we create community for women on the inside and outside by breaking down the walls that keep us apart.
The United States houses over 1.3 million incarcerated women.
We aim to change that.
Creativity is what keeps us alive, it is what draws us together. Our stories save us and have the ability to heal us. Healing is both collective and deeply personal. We create shared dialogue by holding a container for women to transform themselves. We do this through creative prompts where each woman has a voice in the room, through exploratory movement, creating a rolodex of emotions to draw from, and boundaries to hold.
We begin.
We create.
We play together.
We share.
We seek closure.
We begin again.
We hold weekly classes to gather in a circle. We create weekly newsletters where women on the outside create work (poetry, art, song) for women on the inside, and the women on the inside do the same. We create living, breathing works of art that move us far beyond the page, beyond the stage, and into a space of embodiment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Lisa Collins
Karen Pride
Fungai Mubayiwa
Katie Morell
Caroline Cox
Megan Gaffney
Atieno Bird
Dr. Mercy Nyangulu Nyepudzayi
Jazmin Jimenez
Cindy Lone
Tina Packer
Mia Zara
Marie Gonzalez
Beck Wilschefski
Elena Brower
Together, we stretch four continents wide.
Collectively, we are making a difference by creating together.
You are always invited to join our work, join our collective, join our creative expanding circle.
Consider making an end-of-year gift-
Support our work by sustaining a woman through a monthly contribution right here. Your donation will support the ongoing weekly and monthly work we continue to build in person, and online.
