TKF's Gandhi Nonviolence Awards 2007
Six individuals, a restaurant, and a community organization in San Diego County dedicated to the struggle against youth violence were honored at the "Gandhi Nonviolence Awards" for 2007. This occured October 6th at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. Our youth winner Danielle Gram even earned a grant for $1000 from Nestle to donate to the charity of her choice, and she honored us with this gift that night. We were also honored with a matching gift for our November 8th fundraising lunch.
TKF thanks its generous sponsors for this event:
Business – “Chicken Shack;” Darryl Charles, Owner
Darryl Charles opened the Chicken Shack on Imperial Avenue in 2000 in the community where he grew up. As the business grew, Charles saw more than a way to make a living. He began to use it as a vehicle for social change. He started hiring young men ages 18 to 24 with rival gang affiliations, demanding that they work together as a team, learn job skills including writing business plans and continue their education. The payoff is inspiring. Not only are the young men diligently running the restaurant and its catering business, they have plans to open their own restaurant and are an example to the community that hard work and change brings rewards. Now other young men in the community approach Charles, hoping to prove themselves worthy of working at the Chicken Shack and making their dreams of a better future come true.
Community Leader – “Project REACH,” Vista Community Clinic
Project REACH is the only comprehensive after-school program in the cities of Vista and Oceanside that addresses a wide range of problems affecting at-risk youth, targeting neighborhoods with high levels of poverty, substance abuse, crime, violence, gang involvement, school dropouts and teen pregnancy. In more than 10 years of programming, Project REACH has served hundreds of local at-risk youth and has been recognized for its efforts. In 2002, Project REACH was cited by the Oceanside Police Department as one of the best gang prevention efforts in the city. The California Department of Health Services recognized Project REACH as a “proven practice” in 2001. Simply put, Project REACH gets results, providing the participating youth greater expectations for their future.
Education – Barbara Rivas, San Diego County Office of Education
For 15 years, Barbara Rivas has provided violence prevention and intervention services to at-risk youth at Rancho del Campo. She works hands-on with students, teaching mediation and conflict resolution skills while also provided badly needed emotional support and guidance. Rivas is in demand throughout the district, being called on for on-site intervention in the most critical and tense circumstances on campuses. She provides referrals and has been a champion of support programs, especially for female students. Rivas never forgets the human needs at the heart of every troubled situation. She works with students to overcome life challenges such as gang violence, relationship violence, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse. She creates an atmosphere where peace and peacemakers can flourish. Because of Barbara Rivas, many youth have a bright future without the risk of violence.
Faith Community – John Echeverria, Minister, Bethel Community Church, National City
John Echeverria’s peacemaking efforts are his passion in life, the very fiber of his existence. In his role as a Minister at Bethel Community Church, he counsels gang members and at-risk youth about the destruction caused by gang violence. He meets twice weekly with youth to encourage alternatives to the gang lifestyle. At Sunday services, he teaches life skills while addressing the spiritual needs of 150 youth. Echeverria’s own experiences as a gang member and shooting victim in Orange County provide him with the understanding and empathy needed to communicate with young people, because he was once in their shoes. Professionally, Echeverria works on intervention programs as an Alcohol and Drug Program Specialist with the San Diego County Probation Department. Because John Echeverria managed to survive his own brush with gang violence, he’s devoted his life to creating a world free of gang violence, one person at a time.
Youth (Female) – Danielle Gram
People say 17-year-old Danielle Gram of Carlsbad has a magical effect on everyone she meets. She is passionate about making her community and the world a safe place for everyone. She is co-director of “Kids for Peace,” an expanding group working to create a culture of peace both locally and globally. She is also the National High School Coordinator for the “Student Peace Alliance.” This nationwide organization has the ultimate goal of establishing a cabinet level “Department of Peace” in the United States. Gram recently returned from Washington D.C., where she spoke to over 700 members of the Student Peace Alliance. She received a standing ovation for her remarks. Gram hasn’t limited her activities strictly to the peace movement. Her 500 hours of community service include work at a cancer support center and numerous campus and beach cleanups. She’s active in student government. And she does all this while maintaining a 4.5 grade point average at Carlsbad High. Danielle Gram has been accepted at Harvard University where she will start this fall, returning to San Diego to accept the Gandhi Award. Danielle Gram is a passionate leader, an inspiring public speaker, and a living example that one person can make a difference.
Youth (Male) – Kevin Harris, Sean Harris, and Nick Socha
These three 16-year-old Poway High School students are already experienced community activists at a young age, focusing their concerns on homelessness and hunger. Through the organization “Friends and Family Community Connection,” Kevin, Sean, and Nick have provided monthly care to the homeless of downtown San Diego for the past three years. They have helped organize four food packaging events and have assembled 180,000 meals. This year, their efforts spread outside the United States as they helped assemble and ship 300,000 meals to orphanages in the Singida region of Tanzania, Africa. They’re helping to design a center in Singida Town that will eventually feed 1,500 children a day. Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, the teens have traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi on multiple occasions to help in the rebuilding effort. Kevin, Sean, and Nick are also outstanding students, enjoy playing sports, and all have part-time jobs.