Tag: grassroots

How has Gather informed the work that you do? Have you made any meaningful connections between Gather and your work? These past few weeks, I’ve been reading “Winners Take All,” by Anand Giridharadas. This book, a sort of “emperor’s new clothes” take on how social innovation projects are packaged in the modern context of wealth,… Continue reading Peace Fellow Spotlight: Robin Cline

Hello to the global network from San Diego! I am pleased to share an update on the work of Shyne on our one year anniversary! The Social Garden, a new space designed to include holistic alternative therapies to assist with healing complex trauma, officially launched with their Sprang Thang on May 25, 2019. It’s a… Continue reading One Year Anniversary of Shyne!

Warm greetings from Uganda! On Saturday, April 20, Youth Leadership for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) organized a community dialogue, called a ‘Kabake,’ where the community was granted a platform to share their experiences and derive solutions. The dialogue was attended by, among others, local council leaders, the police, child rights activists, business men and women,… Continue reading Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

The Chicago Peace Fellows recently met with a unique group of activists who are teaching non-violence techniques to gang members in the city’s toughest neighborhoods. “My job is to stop the violence,” said Kenya Hardy, street outreach worker with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. “I do whatever I have to do, like a cousin, like… Continue reading Where Non Violence is Personal

On Saturday, May 18, the Ladies of Virtue (LOV), founded and led by Chicago Peace Fellow Jamila Trimuel, hosted their 2019 Recognition Ceremony to honor high school and eighth grade graduates as they move on to the next chapter in the program.   [quote]”Our 8th Annual Recognition Ceremony is a time where our Ladies of… Continue reading Ladies of Virtue Recognize Youth Leadership

Advisors to the Goldin Institute’s Chicago Peace Fellows initiative came together over dinner April 30 to hear updates about the Fellows and discuss the implications of their work in a context of the city’s ongoing crisis of violence. Over plates of pasta at a restaurant across the street from City Hall, Goldin Institute Executive Director… Continue reading Advisors Meet to Discuss the Chicago Peace Fellows Progress

The part of the South Shore community that I represent has a large number of multi-unit apartment buildings with a very transient population. The need for family services was explored by our late pastor, Dr. Ronald J. Behm, who instituted day care services at both the church and our community center. With the increase in… Continue reading UNSUNG HEROES: Becoming a Chicago Peace Fellow

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) lies at the heart of the work of Goldin Institute and GATHER. The Chicago Peace Fellows got some time to hear from one of the biggest proponents of the philosophy, John Zeigler, who serves at faculty for the ABCD Institute as well Director of the Steans Center at DePaul University in… Continue reading Chicago Peace Fellows Map What’s Working

On Wednesday, April 3, the Chicago Peace Fellows came together to build a list of principles and practices that will unlock shared learning and collaborationfor the group. This workshop was hosted by Peace Fellow Alex Levesque at his Automotive Mentor Group, where he trains young men and women to remodel classic cars. His program recruits… Continue reading Principles and Practices that Empower Shared Learning

When artist and educator Cecil McDonald Jr. began working with children in the Chicago Public Schools some years ago, he heard something that disturbed him. The children were enjoying themselves in the playground and appeared to be carefree, but when Cecil interviewed them, he heard them “repeating the grand narratives of violence and pain,” a… Continue reading Illuminating Perspectives: Art and Social Justice