We will miss you, Terry
It is with great sadness that we announce that our friend, Terry Kuseske, passed away today at Rose Arbor Hospice Care after battling pancreatic cancer.
Terry was one of the founding board members of Seeding Change and has been a long supporter of and volunteer for PeaceJam.
Terry was a close friend to our staff and volunteers. We will miss his advice and affection.
The following is an article from Kalamazoo Gazette:
Kalamazoo City Commissioner Terry Kuseke, 61, dies after battle with pancreatic cancer
Terry is pictured here with Nobel Laureate, Jody Williams, at the 2009 Great Lakes PeaceJam youth conference.
Bowling Showdown Success!
The bowling showdown was a huge success! We had twenty five participants and the event was a blast! Seeding Change reached its $3500 fundraising goal for this event to kick off the new fund development strategies! A special thanks to Team Jon and Team Kelly for their dedication to raising the money for Seeding Change. Team Kelly did beat out Team Jon in the end for their fundraising competition so congratulations to them for their hard work!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the event or the fundraising. You continue to help us make our programming possible through your charitable donations.
Didn't get a chance to donate for the fundraiser? You can always visit our Donate page in the tabs above or follow this link.
Welcome
Welcome to the official website for Great Lakes PeaceJam!
Great Lakes PeaceJam (GLPJ) is a regional affiliate of the PeaceJam Foundation. We are located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and service the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. We offer programming for students grades K-12, college students, and incarcerated youth.
- PeaceJam is an international education program built around Nobel Peace Prize winners who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody.
- The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform their local communities, themselves, and the world.
- Youth ages 5-25 study the lives and work of one or several Nobel Peace Laureates while going through a curriculum exploring violence, oppression, isms, peace and nonviolence, and the Nobel Peace Prize.
- The students work together to create a Global Call to Action service learning project to make their community and the world more peaceful and a better place in which to live.
CHECK US OUT ON:
Great Lakes PeaceJam Recap 6/29-713
Internships: Lauren and Carolyn met last week with Alyson Geist to discuss possible internship opportunities for K-College students with Great Lakes PeaceJam! We’re excited at the possibility of working with K-College to develop internships for the students!
Seeding Change Board Retreat: The Seeding Change board will soon have their annual board retreat where they develop the strategic plan for the following year. We are looking forward to the discussions and outcomes of this retreat and are ready for the next year of PeaceJam programming!
Community Garden: The staff of GL PeaceJam met with a student from K College to discuss the possibility of running a Seeding Change community garden. We are excited about the prospect of bringing a new community garden to the Kalamazoo community.
Calhoun County Administration: Staff met with administration from Calhoun County to discuss further expansion of our PeaceJam programming in the area of Battle Creek and Calhoun County.
Great Lakes PeaceJam continued to maintain its presence at ISAAC and 3CI this month by participating in the wonderful work that the groups perform.
Great Lakes PeaceJam Weekly Recap: 6/23-6/29
Nobel Laureate 2011: Great Lakes PeaceJam has confirmed the visiting Nobel Laureate who will be attending the PeaceJam Youth Conference 2011! To be the first to know which Laureate will be coming to Kalamazoo attend the unveiling event this fall! Stay tuned for more information on how to be a part of this exciting event!
Internships: Looking for an exciting internship? Seeding Change is developing internship positions to work with the Great Lakes PeaceJam program! We are looking for passionate individuals who want to take a bigger role in PeaceJam while developing important job skills! For more information contact tbannon@greatlakespeacejam.org or check this page often!
2010-2011 Fiscal Year: The 2010-2011 Budget was approved by the board last week laying out the roadmap for next years exciting programs! In addition, the Fund Development Committee developed a plan that includes $70,000 in individual and corporate donations! Help Great Lakes PeaceJam meet our goal so that we can continue to provide excellent programming to the youth of the Great Lakes Region by donating through PayPal today!
Great Lakes PeaceJam Weekly Recap: 6/16-6/22
Trends: Lauren attended the TRENDS: Changing Times for Nonprofits Leveraging Generational Differences for Success at the Fetzer Center June 17th. She picked up valuable information concerning communication with multi-generational audiences, and fundraising trends.
ISAAC: The ISAAC Youth Development Committee has chosen five potential areas of focus: support for existing programming and initiatives; youth job creation; education/literacy; new programming; and youth health. Committee members will now spend two weeks researching these areas and will report back to the committee on July 6th.
Pennfield Middle School: Todd and Lauren gave a PeaceJam Leaders information presentation to the principal and vice-principal of Pennfield Middle School. Mickey Harris of JONAH arranged the meeting and assisted in the presentation.
Staff are currently working on grant reports to both the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation concluding this past year’s work, and are also preparing a new grant proposal focused on Kalamazoo County programming for the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
Great Lakes PeaceJam accepts donations via PayPal
Seeding Change accepts donations to Great Lakes PeaceJam programming with an easy to use PayPal button. For your convenience, the button can be found on the donate page of this website: http://www.greatlakespeacejam.org/node/21.
You do not need your own PayPal account to donate using PayPal. You can use a credit card or bank account. PayPal is safe and secure and your donation is 100% tax deductable.
If you have questions concerning or difficulty using the PayPal donation function, please contact Todd Bannon at tbannon@greatlakespeacejam.org.
We appreciate your continued support of Seeding Change and Great Lakes PeaceJam.