TKF's Gandhi Nonviolence Awards 2006
The 9th annual TKF Gandhi Nonviolence Awards ceremony was held on Saturday, September 16, 2006 at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice in San Diego.
Awards were given in each of the following categories: Community Leadership (Community Leader-Individual and Community Leader-Organization), Education, Business, Community Communications, Faith Community, and Youth (a male and a female winner). The award winners were honored on stage and received a special plaque. The two youth winners each received a $500 scholarship.
Business – Chuck
Lowery, Pacific Bakery
Call Chuck Lowery an “entrepreneurial philanthropist.” In both his business
practices and his personal life, Lowery is devoted to social justice. His
bakery purchases ingredients from American family farmers for his organic
products. He then turns a generous portion of his profits into support for
organizations that promote humanitarian ideals. Numerous humanitarian aid groups have benefited from
Lowery’s dedication and monetary support.
Community Leader
(Individual) – Dr. Jeffrey Rowe and Sergeant Mark Foreman
Dr. Jeffrey Rowe is the Supervising Psychiatrist for the Juvenile Forensic
Services section of Children’s Mental Health for the County of San Diego.
He and Sergeant Mark Foreman of the San Diego Police Department put on a
seminar called “Developmental Impact on Children Exposed to Violence.” The
seminar is available to all organizations expressing interest in this subject.
Rowe and Foreman created the seminar from their own personal research and
experiences. It stresses the importance in prevention of exposure to violence
and neglect in children’s lives and intervention by caring professionals
for those children impacted. The results of Rowe and Foreman’s work are
showcased in TKF’s Discovery video production, demonstrating that the negative
effects of violence on brain synapses in early youth can be repaired with
proper interventions.
Community Leader
(Organization) – Community Resource Center
Caity Riddle and the Encinitas-based Community Resource Center are changing
lives every day in the North Coastal communities of San Diego County. The
Center’s Domestic Violence program, “Libre,” operates an emergency shelter
and transitional housing for women and children, provides case management,
counseling, parenting and other life skills support groups and classes.
CRC’s shelter helps over two-thirds of its residents break from their abusers.
CRC’s “Voices Against Violence” program engages young men and women as student
organizers and activists speaking to their peers about ending teen dating
violence. The Center’s general services include assistance to the hungry
and homeless through its bread room and food pantry, working with the Interfaith
Shelter Network, case management, and counseling.
Education – Charlaine Carter,
President, “Pathways to College”
Carter’s passion to provide a path to a college education for minority youth
inspired her to create the “Pathways to College” organization. Carter’s
confidence building program offers workshops that assist students with detailed
instructions on college requirements; SAT & PSAT preparation; study
skills; accessing scholarships; networking; community involvement; communication
skills; and, takes students on tours of numerous colleges and universities.
Carter’s goal is to let all students of all backgrounds know that a college
education is within their reach, and she provides the support system to
make it happen. At the conclusion of Carter’s program, both parents and
students are well prepared and able to meet the requirements for entry into
the college of their choice.
Faith Community –
Melvin Takahara, New Life Presbyterian Church
Melvin Takahara’s life has been a mission of service. An ordained ruling
elder and pastoral counselor for over 20 years with New Life Presbyterian
Church in Escondido and a volunteer, board member and staff member for the
Salvation Army for nearly 20 years, this sovereign man walks his talk and
inspires others to find their way amidst the confusion of their lives. He
is a lifelong teacher of everything from music and poetry to criminal diversion.
After 18 years of service with the County Probation Department, Mel has
taken his expertise and created Crossroads, a program of intergenerational
engagement between at-risk youth, elders of the Salvation Army’s Silvercrest
residence, college-age AmeriCorps workers and community volunteers. He ministers
to this community by cooking a pot of fresh soup each week, which community
service youth help prepare and serve to the seniors, the volunteers and
each other.
Community Communications
– Nazareth Simmons, Los Able Minded Poets
For years Nazareth Simmons has used his talent with the spoken word to connect
with at risk youth in an effort to promote peace. Simmons knows the streets
can be tough, since he comes from an at-risk background and recognizes the
pressures faced by today’s youth. His group, Los Able Minded Poets, consists
of several young adults who recite their original poetry. “Naz” has contributed
his time and talent to TKF by being interviewed and providing narration/background
music and poetry for its new Discovery Channel video productions, appearing
as a “Violence Impact Forum” panelist, and speaking a Youth Peace Fair at
Monroe Clarke Middle School. Naz is generous with his time and with his
wise counsel born of experience and honed by his artistry.
Youth (Female)
– Carolina Bracamonte, 16
In her role as Chairperson of the KPBS Teen Advisory Board for the Peer
Educator’s Conference on Teen Relationship Violence, Carolina showed true
leadership through her personal efforts to raise awareness about this topic.
Organizers called her “instrumental to the success of this conference,”
contributing to virtually every aspect of it. Bracamonte also devotes time
as a leader in the Cardinals Interact Program by developing and leading
projects that promote peace. Her style includes maximizing the strengths
of others while being respectful, caring and friendly.
Youth (Male) –
Alejandro “Alex” Villa, 18
Growing up in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood, Alex Villa is no stranger
to violence. But he determined early that he would be no part of it. In
high school, Villa began working with San Diego City Councilmember Ben Hueso
in bilingual door-to-door outreach campaigns, encouraging his neighbors
to vote and to get involved in community issues. In March, Villa acted as
host for a schoolwide forum for students and staff on immigration issues.
Alex Villa truly believes in the power of words to stop ignorance and violence.
He plans to continue his political activism with the goal of bringing peace
to the Barrio Logan community.