It could be as simple as cutting the lawn for an elderly neighbour or committing a few volunteer hours to a community event. Those individual acts of philanthropy combined build social capital in society, says Peter Pula, executive editor of peacefulcommunities.ca and a member of the Are You a Peace Builder? committee.

Peter and committee members including Peaceful Communities co-ordinator Heidi Schaeffer and Peterborough County-City Health Unit health promoters Jill Ritchie and Christine Post, are in the discussion stages of a campaign that will encourage community members to make pledges to better the city in which they live.

“What we’re hoping to do is to get people to think about (the role) their work and social activities (play) in building social capital and a peaceful community.”

The goals of the campaign include acquiring an inventory of the peace-building efforts in Peterborough, getting people engaged in activity through their workplaces and promoting community building overall.
Committee members are discussing the structure of the campaign but envision it launched by September through this news site and workplace brochures. The brochure will share anecdotes of real peace-building activities in the city, like a farmer who grows potatoes to feed the hungry and employees who paddle to fight breast cancer.

The literature will also pose three to five “thought-provoking” questions to the reader about peace building. Readers then make a pledge to do something for their community. They take their pledges, their signatures, to colleagues, family and friends and ask them to make promises of their own.

“The suspicion is there are a lot of people doing different things,” says Peter. “If you took all of these pledges and collected them and read them, I think we would be astounded at what goes on.”

“If we can connect them, we can start a movement. Imagine mobilizing 10,000 people about how their individual activities add up to one impact.”

“Publicizing the grand scope of community activity is the first step to feeding the success.”

The committee is hoping to have pledges collected for the official wrap-up of the campaign which will coincide with an event in October during YWCA’s Week Without Violence.

Stay on top of the campaign by reading peacefulcommunities.ca

People interested in making pledges and recruiting others to do the same, can call the newsroom at 705-741-4421.

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Articles may be reprinted with permission. Contact us at peaceful@newsroom5.com or 1-800-294-0051