Compassionate Communication Center of Ohio (CCCO)

Who We Are: Compassion is our passion. For a decade, the Compassionate Communication Center of Ohio (CCCO) has empowered people to find ways to diffuse conflicts nonviolently and to explore and express their needs. Inspired by the Nonviolent Communication movement, we’ve learned that empathy is a powerful antidote to seemingly intractable challenges. We work to keep our community on the forefront of Nonviolent Communication techniques by facilitating educational opportunities and engaging in outreach. We apply the principles of Nonviolent Communication to internal, interpersonal, workplace, community and global conflicts. Our values include compassion, self-awareness, open communication, inclusiveness, collaboration, sustainability and balance.

What We Do: We apply the principles of compassionate communication to self-discovery, relationships, career, advocacy, social justice and geopolitics. Our work invests in building common ground rather than drawing battle lines. We articulate unmet needs, rather than judgments, blame, or coercion. We work with local, regional, national, and international partners to:

Bring Compassionate Communication to the workplace
Offer public trainings that bring together community members
Train and mediate in schools, faith-based organizations, communities, etc.
Provide cross-cultural programs for families
Partner with NVC trainers from Israel and Palestine, local peace activists, teachers and students from Columbus Learning Cooperative and residents of Marion Correctional Institution

Why We're Important: The skills of self-discovery leading to connectedness across barriers are often not learned in our formal education. CCCO fills this gap by providing experience (educational and experiential) to acquire these skills. Since inception in 2006 we have hosted 61 national experts and 50 local assistants to help us learn. We have held 74 training sessions in diverse formats, co-created 16 ongoing practice groups, and joined 44 other community events. In this way, CCCO has introduced the Nonviolent Communication process of founder and international peacemaker, Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D, to over 8,000 participants.

How We Impact The Community: From the classroom to the boardroom to the kitchen table, we facilitate healing communication. Our work embraces social entrepreneurship, supports emotional intelligence, cultivates self-care and celebrates human dignity. We aspire to value everyone’s needs equally. A mother of ten children who has attended Family Heart Camp says, "You can't learn this from a book. Learning ideas is not as effective as the experience of unconditional love and affection and nurturing from another human being." Annie, one of our monthly sustainers, adds, “My life, the life of my husband and the lives of my children have been dramatically impacted and enhanced through the work of this organization.”

How You Can Help: We celebrate and give thanks for every resource entrusted to our care and fully commit to use them wisely and ethically. Ninety-one cents of every dollar goes directly toward programming.

Participate in and learn from life-enriching community events. (You can find a calendar of events on speakingpeace.org.)
Make a tax-deductible donation
Provide tuition for a family to attend Family Heart Camp
Volunteer. We offer a variety of one-of-a-kind volunteer opportunities, such as hosting individuals or families from around the region and around the world
Consider including CCCO in your estate planning in order to benefit future generations