Changing the World, One Person at a Time
(Originally Published Wednesday, September 20, 2023)
By Laurie Oswald-Robinson
When symbolizing world peace, a global image arises, though you can pinpoint a spot on the prairie on Google Maps where a local non-profit called Peace Connections is based in Newton.
It’s not that Peace Connections, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, hasn’t concerned itself with the big issues of violence, poverty, and injustice. It’s just that its way of connecting with the world was from its perch in south-central Kansas, where it’s sought to care about both global and local concerns.
The non-profit’s first missions when launched in 1983 focused on the global family – nuclear arms and refugees – from its office above Druber’s Donuts on Sixth Street. Forty years later, Peace Connections makes its home in the Red Door Building on Pine Street where it foremost serves local families and builds relationships across all strata of the immediate community.
One such family is Trianna and Keith Cowden and their four children. They are forging newfound stability through the support of Circle of Hope (COH), one of Peace Connection’s primary initiatives today. The program provides a hand-up instead of a handout for individuals and families who want to move into a more positive future by gaining life skills and engaging community support.
“Becoming part of COH as a single mom in the middle of a divorce with no income and living with my mother gave me and my kids stability and a safe community to be around,” Trianna Cowden said. “This community is unlike any other I’ve found anywhere. My new support showed me that when I fall, I can get back up again.”
In 2010, Cowden began her COH journey as a single mom with four children and few resources. She first participated in a life skills class, “Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin’ by World.” Upon graduation, she became a Circle Leader for a small group providing ongoing support, a commitment that lasted for 18 months.
To give back some of what she had received, she volunteered in the kitchen to help with COH’s Tuesday evening meals. In 2015, she married Keith Cowden, a COH volunteer, with whom she now owns a home in Walton. She is also a board member at Peace Connections and coordinates the meals for 60+ people every week.
Laying the foundation of four decades
There is a give-and-take to this type of work. We are always striving to build each other up. The progression from receiving support for oneself to extending support to others is what Peace Connections has always promoted, said Kendra Davila, current Executive Director, a post she has held since Jennifer Rose resigned in late 2022.
Davila’s passions include networking and community resourcing, and she is the creator of the mobile app for the Harvey County Resource Guide. “Building community is so important – a community where one really knows their neighbors and embraces their giftedness as well as their own,” Davila said. “I believe Harvey County fosters that kind of spirit, and I am grateful to be living and serving here.”
She added, “We stand on the shoulders of giants – many people with their many gifts laying the foundation we stand on today. And now it is our turn to strengthen that foundation for 40 years to come.”
In 1983, an ecumenical group spearheaded by New Creation Fellowship launched the Newton Area Peace Center to oppose nuclear weapons and to support the Overground Railroad and its ministry to Central American refugees.
Many changes occurred in the non-profit in 2000 when Myrna Krehbiel, of North Newton, became Executive Director. The name was changed to Peace Connections, and the offices were moved to a storefront on Main Street. The focus of its mission changed from mostly global to more local.
“I became aware, early, on, that it was going to be too energy draining for me to be against things,” Krehbiel said. “So, we pivoted from focusing on what we are against to what we are for.”
This pivot – forged with feedback from local churches and organizations – led the non-profit to develop new initiatives. “One way of creating peace is to connect to the earth, to the garden,” Krehbiel said. “We developed a community garden and a kids’ summer food program with USD 373 and community partners to address childhood hunger.” (Today, that program is called SEAK and runs every June and July for children ages 1 through 18 and their families)
Under Krehbiel’s leadership, Peace Connections launched a local chapter of Circle of Hope in 2009, the first initiative in the state. Today, the program has celebrated its 25th cohort and is getting ready to launch another class.
Rose, who served first as COH childcare coordinator then as overall coordinator, followed Krehbiel as Executive Director. Rose expanded SEAK, solidified volunteer training, and secured a multiyear grant from the Kanas Health Foundation. Additionally, she developed three new fundraisers – the Celebrity Server dinner, a dessert auction/soup supper, and the annual Paul Oswald Golf Tournament.
“What I appreciated most about Peace Connections was that it was an organization built by families to serve families,” Rose said. “It was always driven by the needs of the people in the community, rather than a top-down approach.”
Margaret Goering, of rural Newton, was a volunteer during the sojourn of all three of these directors. One of her roles was as a Volunteer Ally for Trianna Cowden’s 18-month circle of support. Another was as Kitchen Coordinator for many years. “My favorite of all was being an Ally to Trianna,” Goering said. “I knew her before COH and suggested that she join COH, after which our bond grew even stronger when I became her Ally and served together with her in the kitchen. She, Keith and their kids have become adopted family to us. We invite them out to the farm and share life, including birthday parties.”
The kind of bonding among people from different backgrounds is the very heartbeat of COH, said Wanda Pumphrey, of Newton. She formerly served as a local COH coach for several years and also helped resource other similar programs across Kansas. “I was just delighted to be part of something that blurred the lines that separate us. It was so wonderful to be part of something where reciprocal relationships transform the lives of everyone involved.”