International Day of Peace

Every year, International Day of Peace is on Sept. 21st and we are already busy planning our events for the next exciting year of the International Day of Peace.

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The history of bringing peace to local schools:

After two successful years hosting a one-day Peace Festival at Gerald R. Ford Middle School, the event headed in a new direction, building on all we’ve learned. Originally funded as a City of Grand Rapids Community Development project, the Peace Festival returned to Gerald R. Ford in 2010 with the hope to build stronger neighborhood involvement with youth and their families.

By 2011, the Peace Festival became a regular neighborhood event that brings the families, businesses, non-profits, youth organizations and faith communities together, celebrating peace at the school, a center of our neighborhood. In 2011, the Peace Festival kick off was at the Eastown Street Fair, which provided over 100 people with the opportunity to explore the UN principles of peace through interactive activities for children and even adults to enjoy.

We hope this will create a model for other schools within our community, and we look forward to offering support to groups that want to host their own Peace Festival. We hope to develop more concrete materials and a process that will make it easier to have Peace Festivals all over our community.

Interested in learning more about how Peace Festival works or want to host one in your neighborhood? Please call 616-454-1642 for more information.