Peace Connections News

 

  13 Ways to Kill Your Community      Over the past spring and summer, Harvey County citizens demonstrated their commitment to civic improvement by participating in a community-wide book club dedicated to reading “Thirteen Ways to Kill Your Community”, by Doug Griffiths. This book is a provocative examination of local culture and resource structures, raising awareness around the main issues that prevent communities from reaching their full potential. Nearly 200 copies of “13 Ways” were distributed and a variety of book clubs met monthly to dive into the work. The final event was a community-wide breakfast and workshop, honing the wider concepts into more focused action directives for the groups and people who participated.      We’re proud to be part of a city that is open to self-examination and self-improvement. This process is only the beginning - the fruits of this labor are just beginning to ripen! And, there are more great ideas and more amazing ...

  Summertime Celebrations      As has become our tradition, we capped off SEAK (Summer Enrichment Activities for Kids) with the Newton Fire Department blasting us with their firehose! 90 kids that day enjoyed lunch with us at the park. We served an additional 900 meals this summer over 2023, for a total of  over 2,500 lunches to kids and families ! We are thankful for volunteer helpers from across the community who helped transport meals, serve kids, and bring engaging activities.      We petted a chicken, blasted pop bottles of water into the sky and danced to a silly song about dinosaurs. We also learned about the life cycle of plants, combined a bubble machine with a slip-and-slide, and floated a huge, brightly colored parachute above our heads … and that was just before lunch! As these volunteers were bringing their talents and activities to engage the kids, our staff and local restaurant partners were preparing to serve a healthy, nutritional...

Widening the Circle Pictured above: Melodie Tucker (center, red vest) smiles joyfully as graduates celebrate. Story by Tom James.      Melodie Tucker grew up in a home that valued budgeting and money management, and she reached adulthood with sound financial habits and confidence in her ability to thrive in this world. She married, as many of us do, with the hope of working from that solid foundation and building a secure home for her family. Sadly, those plans didn't work out. After years in a difficult and sometimes abusive marriage, she was left with massive debt, low self-image and an ex-husband who refused to contribute to raising or supporting their children beyond the barest minimum required by law. The grief of a failed marriage and the helplessness of her financial situation sent most of that early training by the wayside. Melodie knew that she had to get back to her upbringing, but without a local support structure, she knew she would need help to get ...

 SNEAK PEEK AT SEAK   We're gearing up for a whirlwind of fun with Summer Enrichment Activities for Kids (SEAK) - an action-packed 8-week program for kids to mingle, explore, and chow down on some tasty treats. Geared towards anyone aged 1-18 in Harvey County, this program dishes out free meals and fun activities four days a week. By serving up nutritious meals, breaking social barriers, and rallying community support, SEAK aims to sprinkle some positivity around! Teaming up with awesome community members like YOU lets Peace Connections shine a spotlight on our community's strengths. The African proverb, "I am because we are," perfectly sums up how SEAK can bring us closer, tap into our neighborhood resources, and share good times over a meal. Big thanks to YOU for being a key player in this exciting journey! See you this summer!

Creating Possible Futures Dreams, Goals, and Aspirations for Harvey County      Harvey County Circle of Hope is a relationship-based poverty-reduction program geared toward individuals working to escape poverty. While the main focus is financial management and goal setting, many conversations steer toward collective resources and information. This focus shifts the narrative away from individual blame or failure and toward a place where people from various backgrounds can work together to solve the systemic barriers that keep families in poverty. This higher-level view of poverty engages a wide audience and each person becomes part of the solution!      Participants recently completed a Possible Selves/Possible Trees activity, which involved tracing their roots to community resources and strengths, identifying trunks of support (beliefs and attitudes), and naming the fruits (dreams and goals) that come as they continue to nurture their tree (themselves and t...

Laurie Oswald Robinson's Lasting Impact Pictured above: Laurie Oswald Robinson with longtime friend and Board member, Gary Rediger.     Early on a Monday morning, April 8, Laurie Oswald Robinson was struck and killed by a car as she was walking on a rural road southeast of Newton, training for the Kansas Camino Walk. That evening police arrested Samara Maple, 23, of Hutchinson, on preliminary charges of failure to stop at the scene of a fatal accident.     Laurie, 64, was a key part of the work of Peace Connections and will be sorely missed. She worked at fund development under three different PC directors, wrote often for this newsletter and helped coordinate the annual Paul E. Oswald Memorial Golf Tournament, now in its eighth year, in her father’s name.     Kendra Davila, current PC director, says she loved how Laurie honored her relationship with her dad. “She involved her family in her work,” says Kendra, and “had a passion for both.” Anyone who met La...