In less than a year, CVT volunteer Shaili Zappa has already made an important contribution – translating the New Tactics for Human Rights manual into Spanish. “As a Latina who was born and raised in Guatemala, it is important for me to feel like I am helping the Latino community in any way I can, and to make this training manual available for so many people in different communities makes me incredibly happy.”

While studying at the University of Minnesota, an acquaintance who works as a therapist for CVT recommended that Shaili look into volunteering with CVT. After perusing CVT’s website and reading about its unique human rights work, Shaili said, “I pretty much immediately fell in love with the organization.”

It was in the early 1980s that Ben Kohler read about Governor Rudy Perpich’s proposal to create a center for torture survivors. “I learned about the center before it was even a center.”  He remembers reading articles and letters in the newspaper in opposition to the idea and his sense of shock. “I just couldn’t understand how anyone could oppose something so good and so needed.”  It motivated him to start supporting CVT’s work shortly after it became a reality.

Mary Healy’s involvement with CVT began with her appreciation of the beautiful yards highlighted in CVT fundraising Healing Garden tours in the 1990s. “I’m a fantasy gardener,” she explains. On one visit, she picked up a brochure about CVT and was intrigued to learn about its work in the Twin Cities. She volunteered to be a host at the next garden tour, and quickly became active in other roles. Beginning with New Tactics in Human Rights and continuing as a befriender, volunteer coordinator, and other roles, she has contributed to CVT for over 15 years.