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Board Member Profile - Colleen Ring

11/13/2013

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Colleen graduated from the University of Alberta in 1980 after earning a Bachelor of Education Degree with Distinction.  She recently retired from a 30 year career as a classroom teacher enjoying teaching assignments in both special education and primary classes in several Edmonton schools.

In the Spring of 1994, a tragic event occurred just blocks from the school where Colleen was then teaching.  A well-known young mother and community leader, Barb Danelesko, was stabbed to death in her own home in the middle of the night by a trio of teenagers engaged in the process of a break and enter.  This woman’s violent death left the community and the young students Colleen was teaching reeling and traumatized.

In attempting to assist her students to find some positive way of responding to this tragedy, Colleen developed a school program called Kids for Kindness which sought to reinforce the importance and need for more kindness in our world.  She received a Provincial Hilroy Fellowship in recognition of this project.

Colleen subsequently learned of the Random Acts of Kindness Week movement which was just being launched in the United States in February of 1995.  Thinking this would be a great initiative for Edmonton as well, she contacted the organizers for more information and subsequently became the first Canadian to promote this week.  At this point, her sister, Debbie Riopel, also a teacher, became involved and together these two ladies helped to establish Random Acts of Kindness Week as a fairly well recognized event throughout Edmonton, throughout Alberta, and throughout Canada.

This kindness connection led to an invitation to become one of the founding members and Canadian representatives of the World Kindness Movement which has its inaugural meeting in Tokyo, Japan in November of 1998.  To commemorate the formalizing of this global movement, November 13 was established as World Kindness Day.  Colleen was honoured to attend a number of World Kindness Movement Conferences in Japan and Singapore and in 1999 was named a recipient of Global Television’s Woman of Vision Award.

Colleen was once again inspired to create a values-based school proram when, in the Spring of 2008, a colleague and friend, Ed Carson passed away.  Ed had devoted in life to peace and social justice, touching the lives of thousands of people locally and internationally.  As a tribute to all that he had accomplished and in an effort to in some way continue his mission, Colleen created The School Peace Project.  She has had the opportunity to share information and inspiration about this project at a number of educational conferences including the Global Youth Assembly,  Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention, the Gandhi Youth Conference and the Educators’ Peace Conference at McMaster University.

In recognition of her work in this area, Colleen was the 2010 recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal.  That same year she was recognized by the ATA’s Religious and Moral Education Specialist Council with an Award of Merit.

Colleen was drawn to the Mahatma Gandhi Summer Institute, Building Peaceful Communities, and in 2009 enrolled in her first session with Dr. Jean Clandinin.  Following this she went on to become one of the Board members of the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace and has taken two more of the courses in the Summer Institute, those offered by Dr. Reva Joshee and Dr. Forence Glanfield.

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© 2013 - 2022 Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
Registered Canadian non-profit organization
Established 1990   BN/Registration Number: 89884 5433 RR 0001
Last updated March 22, 2023, NL


  • Home
  • OUR HISTORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • Events
    • Annual General Meeting 2023
    • Gandhi Memorial 2023
    • Events List
  • Season for Nonviolence
    • About the Season
    • Ideas for teachers
    • Week 1 Themes >
      • Day 1 - January 30 - Courage
      • Day 2 - January 31 - Smiling
      • Day 3 - February 1 - Appreciation
      • Day 4 - February 2 - Caring
      • Day 5 - February 3 - Believing
      • Day 6 - February 4 - Simplicity
      • Day 7 - February 5 - Education
    • Week 2 Themes >
      • Day 8 - February 6 - Healing
      • Day 9 - February 7 - Dreaming
      • Day 10 - February 8 - Faith
      • Day 11 - February 9 - Contemplation
      • Day 12 - February 10 - Groundedness
      • Day 13 - February 11 - Creativity
      • Day 14 - February 12 - Humility
    • Week 3 Themes >
      • Day 15 - February 13th - Reverence
      • Day 16 - February 14th - Gratitude
      • Day 17 - February 15th - Integrity
      • Day 18 - February 16th - Freedom
      • Day 19 - February 17th - Acceptance
      • Day 20 - February 18th - Self-Forgiveness
      • Day 21 - February 19th - Inspiration
    • Week 4 Themes >
      • Day 22 - February 20th - Mission
      • Day 23 - February 21st - Prayer
      • Day 24 - February 22nd - Harmony
      • Day 25 - February 23rd - Friendliness
      • Day 26 - February 24th - Respect
      • Day 27 - February 25th - Generosity
      • Day 28 - February 26th - Listening
    • Week 5 Themes >
      • Day 29 - February 27th - Forgiveness
      • Day 30 - February 28th - Amends
      • Day 31 - March 1st - Praising
      • Day 32 - March 2nd - Patience
      • Day 33 - March 3rd - Acknowledgement
      • Day 34 - March 4th - Love
      • Day 35 - March 5th - Understanding
    • Week 6 Themes >
      • Day 36 - March 6th - Mindfulness
      • Day 37 - March 7th - Graciousness
      • Day 38 - March 8th - Kindness
      • Day 39 - March 9th - Dialogue
      • Day 40 - March 10th - Unity
      • Day 41 - March 11th - Openness
      • Day 42 - March 12th - Accountability
    • Week 7 Themes >
      • Day 43 - March 13th - Uniqueness
      • Day 44 - March 14th - Cooperation
      • Day 45 - March 15th - Mastery
      • Day 46 - March 16th - Compassion
      • Day 47 - March 17th - Disarmament
      • Day 48 - March 18th - Ecology
      • Day 49 - March 19th - Honour
    • Week 8 Themes >
      • Day 50 - March 20th - Choice
      • Day 51 - March 21st - Advocacy
      • Day 52 - March 22nd - Equality
      • Day 53 - March 23rd - Action
      • Day 54 - March 24th - Giving
      • Day 55 - March 25th - Responsibility
      • Day 56 - March 26th - Self-Sufficiency
    • Week 9 Themes >
      • Day 57 - March 27th - Service
      • Day 58 - March 28th - Citizenship
      • Day 59 - March 29th - Intervention
      • Day 60 - March 30th - Witnessing
      • Day 61 - March 31st - Peace
      • Day 62 - April 1st - Commitment
      • Day 63 - April 2nd - Release
    • Week 10 Themes >
      • Day 64 - April 3rd - Celebration
      • April 4th - In Closing
  • More Information
    • Get Involved
    • Foundation & Community News
    • Bylaws & Funding
    • Contact Us