My giving story began 5 years ago when I learned about the International Day of Peace, a global day of peace and unity building observed on and around September 21.
I was deeply inspired by this idea of a worldwide day upon which people, organizations and communities could engage in diverse peace-related activities meaningful to them. I felt strongly it could be something very powerful for my home town, Philadelphia, and the region.
In 2010, I made a peace dove and carried it to a festival to which I took my 5 year old son, telling everyone who asked about Peace Day. At age 46, it was my first engagement in activism, and the point at which I began to see myself as a global citizen with a responsibility to contribute in my small way to creating a more peaceful world.
The following spring, I brought together a small group of volunteers and Peace Day Philly was born. I spent several years reaching out to schools, non profits and civic leaders to engage the Philadelphia region in this global day of local opportunity. Schools began observing Peace Day, including my son's school, as well as library after-school programs and several universities. I also reached out to people across the world who where forming Peace Day initiatives in their citiesand created a forum for sharing successes and best practices to help one another. I developed content and activity ideas for a website (www.peacedayphily.org), now referred to by key Peace Day leaders as the best International Day of Peace resource globally.
For each of the past 3 years, dozens of programs have been a part of the annual week-long effort of PDP, engaging 30 - 50 organizations annually in the process. Service to others, peace skill education/training, the arts, interfaith/intercultural dialogue and sports have been among the main types of activities that have taken place for PDP. (More information about past activities here: http://bit.ly/10FCgpE.) Philadelphia's Mayor and Police Commissioner, as well as the PA Senate, support PDP's efforts.
In late 2013, Peace Day Philly became a non-profit organization. I and a small group have continued to work, as volunteers. I do much of the outreach, program development, organizational management, website maintenance, social media and fundraising for PDP. We direct all donations toward our program efforts, which include our own contributions.
My work has encouraged others to take action as well, and our model has inspired other US cities including Dayton, OH and Austin, TX in terms of it's broad-based approach to engaging people in Peace Day. When I am invited to speak to groups, I emphasize that anyone can make a difference in their world. Look at me, a mom and social worker who became a driving force in creating a non-profit for peace.
My journey, though it has included many sacrifices and challenging moments, has allowed me the opportunity to move beyond my fears and feelings of inadequacy to build something around a cause that impacts us all - personally, locally and globally.
If chosen, I would give the individual portion of the prize back to Peace Day Philly. The attached picture is of my son holding a peace dove in 2011.
Review from #MyGivingStory