People who attend the annual Advoz fundraising dinner and auction will hear firsthand accounts of the people the organization has assisted while helping to ensure the work will continue.

The event will be held Thursday, March 26, at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Lancaster, 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.; dinner will start at 6 p.m. and will feature a sit-down, plated meal.

Go to http://www.aroundthetable.org to register. The deadline is Saturday, March 7.

Items up for bid will include a weeklong stay at a cottage in Ecuador; a weekend at an Airbnb near Elizabethtown; works by local artists and themed baskets such as a reader's basket donated by Advoz's Restorative Justice Book Club, a Family Movie Night basket, and a Bird Lovers basket including two handmade birdhouses.

"We are a local organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, serving primarily Lancaster County with services in conflict resolution, mediation services, restorative justice services, and training," executive director Krista Rittenhouse said. "One of the ways we describe it is helping people navigate through critical moments in their lives."

She went on to list the variety of services Advoz provides. "We support folks through mediation, through divorce and custody mediation, which is a really tough transition for families to go through," said Rittenhouse. "We can help find communication patterns that can have people advocate for what is most important to them. That's one of the ways that we serve the community. Another way is through our restorative justice program for young people involved in the criminal legal system,"

She explained how that process works. "We receive referrals from juvenile justice for young folks who have gotten in trouble with the law, and we do the victim offender conferencing program," said Rittenhouse. "We have conversations with the young person. We have conversations with the victim. If everyone agrees, we bring them together for a face-to-face dialogue around what accountability means, how do we make things right when we mess up, because the reality is we're going to mess up as humans."

She added that the group also trains clients. "We want people to have more skills to engage proactively in constructive conflict on their own as well," Rittenhouse said.

Anyone who would like to avail themselves of Advoz's services can go to http://www.advoz.org and click on the "Request Service" button at the top right corner of the page.

During the dinner, clients will provide anecdotal evidence of what Advoz can accomplish. "People should come to the auction if they want to support our work, and people should come to the auction if they are interested in hearing stories of reconciliation and healing," Rittenhouse said. "I think that in a day and age where we have increased polarization and increased sensitivity across different ideologies and ways of living, we need to hear stories of folks that are connecting across differences. We need to hear stories of bridge-building. They help us to imagine new ways of being together, and our event is going to highlight stories from participants. ... I think that it will be a day of encouragement and good news that counteracts so much of the division that is present in our world."

Rittenhouse is hopeful that hearing the accounts will encourage guests to keep contributing. "We do much of our work through volunteers," she said. "If someone is interested in getting involved, this would be a great way to understand the work of our highly trained, community volunteers."