PeaceJam Club Gets Start at Youth Center
May 22, 2010 07:00 AM Filed in: News | PeaceJam
Clubs
By
Sarah de Crescenzo
Fairfield Daily Republic | May 21, 2010 18:49
Peace Jam Club member Tynisha Clayton, 16, discusses her illustration of her strengths and weaknesses during an goal excerise at the Matt Garcia Youth Center Friday afternoon. Photo by Mike Greener
FAIRFIELD - Local middle and high school students pinpointed poverty, violence -- even short tempers -- as aspects of the community around them they would like to change at their Friday meeting.
The recently formed PeaceJam club, based at the Matt Garcia Youth Center, is the only such group not affiliated with a specific high school site.
In an effort to reach additional potential participants, the group will meet at 3:45 to 5 p.m. Fridays at the Youth Center, 250 Travis Blvd.
'What a better place to have a PeaceJam club than at Matt Garcia,' facilitator Gloria Ray said.
She and her daughter, Buckingham Charter School sophomore Allyson Ray, are working together to organize and run the community service group.
About 10 students met Friday. Together, they conducted team-building activities and proposed ideas for future service projects.
The goal of the club is to 'make youth leaders for their world,' Allyson Ray said.
She said the location was a good one to establish a club because it allows students more time to meet.
'We can accomplish more here than during 30 minutes at lunch,' she said.
Matt Garcia Youth Center intern Jessica Kelley-Bowman became involved with PeaceJam when the group chose to meet in the room she's in charge of at the center.
Kelley-Bowman said her interest in the club's activities were peaked when she traveled to Oregon for the annual PeaceJam conference and met Nobel Peace Laureate Jodie Williams, who received her prize in 1997 for her efforts to ban land mines.
'This is the place to come for kids after school,' she said of the center.
Now, she said, the main goal of the group is to get to know one another so they can work as a team in their community efforts.
'We all don't really know everyone, so when we're more comfortable our activities will be accomplished,' she said.
To that end, the group discussed their passions and fears and shared ideas of what they want to change about themselves and their world.
When asked what was most important to them, each one separately wrote down 'family.'
However, their ideas for change spanned the spectrum, from ending war to cleaning up the planet.
Armijo High School sophomore Yvonne Avina, 14, said she hopes to help victims of abuse and violence.
Though there are no PeaceJam clubs at middle schools in Solano County, the group at the Matt Garcia Youth Center accepts middle schoolers, like Grange Middle School eighth-grader Raimauri Barroe, 13.
He said his plans with the club are just to 'help out' and be there for those who need it.
Copyright © 2010 Daily Republic.
Fairfield Daily Republic | May 21, 2010 18:49
Peace Jam Club member Tynisha Clayton, 16, discusses her illustration of her strengths and weaknesses during an goal excerise at the Matt Garcia Youth Center Friday afternoon. Photo by Mike Greener
FAIRFIELD - Local middle and high school students pinpointed poverty, violence -- even short tempers -- as aspects of the community around them they would like to change at their Friday meeting.
The recently formed PeaceJam club, based at the Matt Garcia Youth Center, is the only such group not affiliated with a specific high school site.
In an effort to reach additional potential participants, the group will meet at 3:45 to 5 p.m. Fridays at the Youth Center, 250 Travis Blvd.
'What a better place to have a PeaceJam club than at Matt Garcia,' facilitator Gloria Ray said.
She and her daughter, Buckingham Charter School sophomore Allyson Ray, are working together to organize and run the community service group.
About 10 students met Friday. Together, they conducted team-building activities and proposed ideas for future service projects.
The goal of the club is to 'make youth leaders for their world,' Allyson Ray said.
She said the location was a good one to establish a club because it allows students more time to meet.
'We can accomplish more here than during 30 minutes at lunch,' she said.
Matt Garcia Youth Center intern Jessica Kelley-Bowman became involved with PeaceJam when the group chose to meet in the room she's in charge of at the center.
Kelley-Bowman said her interest in the club's activities were peaked when she traveled to Oregon for the annual PeaceJam conference and met Nobel Peace Laureate Jodie Williams, who received her prize in 1997 for her efforts to ban land mines.
'This is the place to come for kids after school,' she said of the center.
Now, she said, the main goal of the group is to get to know one another so they can work as a team in their community efforts.
'We all don't really know everyone, so when we're more comfortable our activities will be accomplished,' she said.
To that end, the group discussed their passions and fears and shared ideas of what they want to change about themselves and their world.
When asked what was most important to them, each one separately wrote down 'family.'
However, their ideas for change spanned the spectrum, from ending war to cleaning up the planet.
Armijo High School sophomore Yvonne Avina, 14, said she hopes to help victims of abuse and violence.
Though there are no PeaceJam clubs at middle schools in Solano County, the group at the Matt Garcia Youth Center accepts middle schoolers, like Grange Middle School eighth-grader Raimauri Barroe, 13.
He said his plans with the club are just to 'help out' and be there for those who need it.
Copyright © 2010 Daily Republic.