Seeds of Peace is doing its best to help diversity, tolerance and
youth safety improve in our area.
The group, a joint effort of the Glendale Unified School District,
Glendale Community College and the city of Glendale, formed last fall
following September's "Planting the Seeds of Peace" summit that addressed
ethnic tensions, violence, gangs and conflict resolution in the
community. But unlike many activist groups that form -- with the best
intentions, to be sure -- then simply dry up and disappear, Seeds of
Peace is flourishing.
The group's latest efforts are focused on La Crescenta. Its first
idea, a teen center, would be home to dances, concerts, recreation and a
youth employment center. Most important, it would be a haven for
children, a place "where kids could hang out and be safe," said Nancy
Stone, a Seeds of Peace member.
Admittedly, the teen center's inspiration is a sad and tragic one: the
deaths last summer of Blaine Talmo Jr. and Christopher McCullough, who
were found bludgeoned to death on a La Crescenta school playground. But
it's that tragedy -- and the community's desire to see it is not repeated
-- that is giving life to the center proposal.
The center is in the early planning stages, but Seeds of Peace is
moving quickly to make it a reality. A committee of the group will hold a
half-day retreat on July 14 at the Crescenta-Canada YMCA to discuss
plans. Those interested in participating are asked to call 957-4987.
Another Seeds of Peace-inspired proposal is www.CVTeens.org, an
Internet site dedicated to kids and the events and activities open to
them. CVTeens.org will be aimed at children between 10 and 17.
The site will be up and running by July 4, organizers say, and at
first will have only a handful of activities listed. They hope that as
awareness spreads among local organizations and churches, the Web site
will move closer to a comprehensive list of activities.
It's hard to say how long creating a teen center will take, or whether
www.CVTeens.org will fly. Lots of good ideas fall by the wayside when
interest in a specific goal wanes and those heavily involved get burned
out on the effort.
We hope that's not the case with Seeds of Peace and its positive
proposals. Even if these two ideas ultimately don't fly, the group is
performing a valuable community service simply by existing, and by
keeping the issues of tolerance, nonviolence and youth safety in the
forefront of public consciousness. That's a good idea all the time.
