COMMUNITIES IN ACTION
FOR PEACE
CAP’S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES BY REDUCING VIOLENCE AND ITS CAUSES IN A NON-TRADITIONAL AND CULTURALLY SENSITIVE MANNER
CAP NEWSLETTER
Serving the communities of Allegheny County for 15 years
October 2009
CAP’s
summer activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Peace Bus
Summer staff members, Quinton Morris (left) and
Nginyu Ndembie (right) with Peace Bus at Carnegie Towers
Youth Dragon Boat Team “Paddlers for Peace”
participating in the Pittsburgh Regatta
CAP News . . . . . . . . . As we look
back on some accomplishments during the
past year, we can note with pride that we have been “putting a CAP on violence”
in some innovative and great ways – Paddlers
for Peace, the youth dragon boat league, the Peace Bus initiative, the Sign
for Peace, and other activities.
Going
into our 16th year, CAP has reached another milestone as we expand
our horizons and add peace building to our mission. Our new mission statement
is CAP promotes healthy communities by
modeling peace and justice in action, as we strive to reduce violence and its
causes in a non-traditional and culturally sensitive manner.
James Collins, owner of the Pittsburgh Party Bus
(The Peace Bus), along with his drivers and his family were the recipients of
the first Ambassadors for Peace Award
at the December 8, 2008 Celebration of Peace Dinner. Last year’s celebration was awesome! There was a nice mix of youth, adults, and
elders. The tables were decorated with
Signs for Peace as tablecloths, which made this dinner the most colorful
yet! The youth, who participated in the
fourth annual Youth Dragon Boat League, presented essays about their positive
experiences.
At the dinner, Glenna Wilson and Judy Robertson
applauded the members from Pittsburgh Paddlefish of the Three Rivers Rowing
Association for mentoring and coaching the teen members of Paddlers for
Peace. Once again, Janet Carroll
spearheaded the annual Chinese Auction which netted over $100. Approximately 60 people attended the event.
Left to right, Judy Defeo, Kit Ayars, Jack Johnston,
Jacob Witul and Rissa Witul
Pittsburgh Paddlefish members – mentors for Paddlers
for Peace
During a January 2009 Martin Luther King Day
observance, at the historic Calvary United Methodist Church on the North Side,
CAP was announced as one of the recipients of the offering taken during the
“service of celebration.” We thank Rev. Gretchen Hulch, a pastor at Calvary and
Dr. Donald G. Scandrol, Pittsburgh District Superintendent, for this generous
gift of $437.
On
June 1st CAP participated in the “Operation Save One – Peace for 30
Days initiative, which was held in Market Square to commemorate June as the
“Month of Peace” for faith-based communities.
Toni McClendon shared the Pledge
for Nonviolence with the crowd attending the rally and several people added
their art and words to the Sign for Peace
Lois “Toni”
McClendon and Wanda Guthrie
Toni
has been privileged to be a part of many peace and social justice groups over
the years. She is especially humbled and gratified to be this year’s
recipient of a Human Rights Award from Church Women United, Pittsburgh.
This award is given at the CWU annual Human Rights Celebration to
individuals who have “labored long and hard in the field of Human Rights.”
![MCj02958400000[1]](capnewsletter_files/image021.gif)
For
the fifth summer, thanks to the Allegheny County Department of Human
Services/Office of Community Service the PEACE BUS traveled the highways and
by-ways of Allegheny County bringing a message of peace and nonviolence to
children in 15 different communities.
The communities included:
Braddock, North Versailles, Penn Hills, Wilkins Township, Coraopolis, McKees
Rocks, East McKeesport, McKeesport, Carnegie, Turtle Creek, Homewood in Pittsburgh,
and Swissvale.
Drumming at Monview Heights
The latest entry to CAP’s long list of
non-traditional and innovative accomplishes is the introduction of the Peace
Bus Plus “mobile community peace initiative.” We received an Allegheny County
Department of Human Services, Community Services Block Grant through the
Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development for the Peace
Bus this year. During the months of July and August, 2009 the Peace Bus
traveled to three housing communities in Allegheny County serving eighty nine
children. CAP presented 4-day peace camps at each site based on the peace bus
philosophy which used the Pledge for
Nonviolence as the centerpiece.
Paddlers for
Peace,
the CAP Youth Dragon Boat League had a successful summer. The youth participated in the Dragon Boat
races at the Pittsburgh Regatta, placing very well in the events. Paddlers for
Peace were featured in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the
races. CAP members Glenna Wilson, Judy Robertson, Lori Rue and Sidney McDonald,
along with members of the Pittsburgh
Paddlefish of the Three Rivers Rowing Association served as coaches and
mentors for the youth.
Paddlers for Peace racing in the Pittsburgh Regatta
Not
only did the youth place well in the Dragon Boat Races at the Pittsburgh
Regatta, they received a proclamation from Allegheny County Council member Bill
Robinson for bringing a message of peace and proving that youth could come from
diverse communities while learning to get along.
As CAP heads into a new era of program development
and finding new ways to build more healthy communities as we continue to serve
as a peace-building collaboration, I want to invite you to join us. In November
we will be sponsoring a free Creating a Culture of Peace Workshop (CCP)
designed to give CAP members a foundation in nonviolence training for personal
and social change. Call the CAP office
at (412) 648-1776 if interested in attending.
CAP had a small presence at the G-20
Pittsburgh People’s Rally in September 2009.
Toni McClendon proudly “wears” the Sign
for Peace.”
Celeste Taylor and Lois “Toni” McClendon
Dates
to remember:
General CAP Meeting
Creating a Culture of Peace
Workshop
Monday,
November 2, 2009
Annual
Celebration of Peace Dinner
“We live in a world in which we need to
share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my
community, not my world, not my problem.' Then
there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my
heroes." - Fred
Rogers
Monday, December 7, 2009
CAP’s Wish List
. . . . . . If you or your organization
would like to make a donation to CAP, here is our wish list for ongoing
projects:
Peace
Bus –
Folding
Table
Digital
camera
Laptop
computer
Art
supplies
Sign
for Peace Project–
New
white single bed sheets
Communities in Action for Peace
University of Pittsburgh
158 Trees Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
(412) 648-1776
CAP Member Organizations: Addison Behavioral Health, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Coalition Against Violence, East Side Community Collaborative, Family Services of Western Pennsylvania, First Step Recovery Homes, Inc., Harambe, Housing Authority, City of Pittsburgh, Jewish Family & Children’s Service, KidsVoice, Mercy Behavioral Health, Milestone Centers, Inc. (Allegheny East MH/MR Center, Inc.), Mon Valley Resources Unlimited, Nabhi Christian Ministries Inc., Pittsburgh Party Bus, RU4Help Home Plan Services, Staunton Clinic, Sewickley Valley Hospital, Three Rivers Rowing Association, Turtle Creek Valley MH/MR, Inc., University of Pittsburgh, DCMP/Urban Pride, MAPS Program, Wilkinsburg Community Ministry, Wired Blocks Network, Inc.
This newsletter written by Toni McClendon and Carole Torso