THE FRESNO CENTER for NONVIOLENCE 29th HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Saturday, June 12th starting around 10am until noon, we will be celebrating our birthday at The Wolk Garden, 6661 N. Forkner, south of Herndon Ave., in Fresno. Get there early for the Silent Auction. COVID-19 precautions will be observed.
Come join us. Special guest speaker Zeiad Abbas Shamrouch, Executive Director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance. Our Way of Peace Awards, a Silent raffle, entertainment, and light refreshments. Admission is FREE and we will be having it in the early morning to beat the afternoon heat. For more information contact Rita: (559)860-9640 luvlyrta@gmail.com
WAY OF PEACE AWARDS
Young Adult Award: Malachi Suares – a 4 graders at Polk Elementary School. He is a smart young man who wants to make the world a better place. He cares about equality and at age 10 has already become a social activist. He is inquisitive in nature, gets good grades, and looks after his little brother. He has embarked on a project to change the name of his school after learning that James Polk is rated the 8th most racist President (according to Ibram X. Kendi) he did more research into Polk and decided to do something about it. He learned how to start a petition on change.org and has already gathered over 700 signatures. He wants to bring the matter before the school board. Malachi says “It is important that schools be named after people of color who made significant contributions to this community so that we can see ourselves in a positive light. We can achieve great things when we believe they are possible.”
Adult Award: Desiree Martinez – Her story began a lot earlier than when as she said was denied services because they said “I was not homeless because I had my car to sleep in. I slept in my car and on couches until a caseworker called and said, “I got you a bed.” After waiting three months, my stay was only 30 days. I was back on the street. Homeless and on a limited income, there was no way for me to save to get my own place. I was offered a garage that was being converted into a studio, where I lived for a while. Then, I found a room for rent and finally moved into my own home.” She went on to create Homeless in Fresno on April 10, 2015 to show others what is really going on in the streets of Fresno regarding homelessness. She opened the door for herself and others to learn more about needs that are being unmet among the homeless and led me to create six outreach projects that take place throughout the year. What is important that it is not always about the food. It is about communication and rehumanizing our chronically homeless and helping our less fortunate.
Organization Award: Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries (FIRM) – was founded in 1994 with a mission to build communities of hope with New Americans. Located across the street from the Summerset Apartment complex, FIRM is committed to holistic and comprehensive support of refugee communities in Fresno through Wellness, Literacy and Learning, Community Building and COVID-19 Response programs.
STIR IT UP! KFCF 88.1 FM June 9th at 3pm
In this month continuing episode your host Gerry Bill will be talking with Christine Barker, the Executive Director of FIRM. They will be talking about the Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries future. This show is pre-recorded so if you have any questions, please call the Center at 559-237-3223. In May our radio show was with your host Joshua Shurley who will return with his guest Gerry Condon and Helen Jacard of the Golden Rule and Veterans for Peace. They discussed the topic of nuclear weapons and the recent (in January) U.N. policy of non-nuclear buildup. If you have any questions, please call the Center at 559-237-3223.
You may tune in to hear it again at: http://soundcloud.com/user-32180140/kfcf-2021-05-12-00.
Hear our 29th Anniversary special guest speaker who was our guest on our previous months radio show hosted by Angela Price with Zeiad Abbas Shamrouch, Executive Director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance. He is a Palestinian refugee, a filmmaker, a journalist, and educator who has worked with Palestinian and international media and has participated in the production of several documentary films.
Tune in to hear it again at: http://soundcloud.com/user-32180140/kfcf-2021-04-15-00.
Download the latest copy of the CA page here:
