Imagine Peace Center

Imagine Peace Center offers an interactive journey toward peace through education, creative expression, connecting with spirit, and understanding that nonviolence is a choice. Peace begins with each one of us. We are a mirror…we can choose to reflect a state of joy, love, and kindness. By making the choice we become like the pebble tossed into the water becoming a ripple of change. Imagine Peace Center is a place to come together to learn all the special ways we are different, so we can see all the wonderful ways we are the same.

Please click on the link to the right to view our updated Executive Summary. 

The Imagine Peace Foundation, Inc. Case Statement

  Our Mission

The mission of the Imagine Peace Foundation is to provide educational and creative activities, programs, and events in a setting that allows children and individuals to explore and connect with what peace means to them and to provide the tools that empower them to live it. These programs are designed to help participants learn both how to live more peaceful and less stressful lives than they might be currently living and how to share that peace with others.

 Rational

Verbal and physical violence often starts in the home. It is present in the schools as verbal and physical bullying and sometimes as shootings. Many forms of entertainment and news media provide ample opportunity for participation in and identification with violence. Violence runs rampant in the larger society in the form of teen suicides and depression, neighborhood violence, violent crimes against people, violence between nations and terrorist activities world wide.

While the 2003 crime rate in the City of Denver was up only 0.2%, the homicide rate increased 27.5%. In some neighborhoods, overall crime increased by as much as 42.3%. Results similar to Denver's have been reported elsewhere in the metro area. School districts report that bullying and verbally abusive behavior has not decreased significantly in spite of wide spread implementation of bullying programs. In a recent article in the Denver Post Alicia Caldwell reported that, nationally, school violence incidences are slightly higher this year than last. In the same article, Pam Riley, executive director of the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere, said that our safety efforts are not enough and that we must work on relationship issues. Caldwell said that not every child pushed around in school is going to exact violent revenge, the abusive treatment of students is recognized as a widespread and dangerous problem. Civility and kindness need to become a priority at schools. Glenn Stutzky, a Michigan State University instructor is quoted as saying "We need to change the social fabric of the school."

Psychologists have documented that this conflict and stress makes people's lives difficult and painful. Sociologists and economists have reported that the money expended for the treatment of victims of violence is in the billions of dollars, whether in the form of health care, psychological treatment, disruption in the work place, or interference with academic progress. When the cost of military conflict world wide is added in, many economists that study this subject report that all the starving people in the world could be fed for the rest of their lives with the money that is spent on helping victims of violence and on war.

The focus of our programs will be to work with children of all ages and their families in our facility and in facilities located in the community. After students have participated in our programs, they will have had the opportunity to (a) learn how to have comfortable relationships in many types of situations, (b) learn how to express their feelings constructively, (c) resolve conflict peacefully, and (d) gain respect for themselves, others, and our environment. Proposed program content and evaluation format is discussed in the program section.

 Our Goals and Objectives

 Goal One - To Build Our Center of Peace

Our first goal is to build Our Center of Peace. It will be a permanent facility that will house the programs discussed in the program section. This facility will be nearly 30,000 square feet large and will house the activity and education rooms briefly described below. A more complete description of programs is contained in the program section.

• Appreciation Room - This room will include works of art and literature of the world's great visionaries in the area of peace work, e.g. as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.
• Creation Room - This is a room where children and adults will use their creative abilities to demonstrate how peace appears to them. Artists, including sculptors, poets, musicians, photographers, and other artistic experts will be involved in the creation room as facilitators.
• Relaxation Room - In this room staff members and other expert volunteers will help individuals learn the techniques of relaxation, visualization, and meditation. Individuals will learn to relax and release much of the stress and anger from their lives.
• Imagination Room (Theater) - Participants will be entertained, enlightened, and inspired in this room by a variety of artists and speakers. The room will have a theater and music arena where large group classes and lectures can also be held.
• Recreation Room - In this room children will participate in a variety of recreational activities with children from many walks of life. Through interactive recreation, they will learn to cooperate with others, resolve conflict peacefully, and respect the abilities of their peers.
• Communication Room - Children and their families will talk out their problems with staff in this room. They will be able to discuss their concerns about the environment in which they live and the issues with which they are dealing.
• Contemplation Room - Thoughtful discussions by staff, volunteers and participants will take place in this room. Topics will include the promotion of peace, as well as the reduction of stress, anger, and fear in our lives. Strategies will be discussed and developed to help participants live peaceful lives.
• Education Room - Workshops and classes will be held in the education room that will deal with topics such as bullying in the classroom, dealing with violence at home and in the neighborhood, peaceful resolution of conflict, and our relationships with our peers, our environment, and ourselves.
• Information Room - This room will be a library and resource center for research and study of issues relating to self-esteem and peace. Participants in their quest to learn to live peaceful lives will use these resources.
• Contribution Room - Works of art representing peace and memorable gifts regarding peace and other memorabilia will be offered for sale in this room. Artist will be national and international as well as local, including area children.
• Preservation Room - The programs and activities in this room will focus on helping participants learn how to relate to their environment peacefully and respectfully. Environmental resource utilization will be explored. Community projects will be planned that encourage and promote wise use of our natural resources. The role of corporations in wise resource utilization will be explored and programs of corporate responsibility will be developed. Willing corporate leaders will be asked to participate.
• Rejuvenation Room - Information and staff in this room will help visitors find the appropriate healing resources in their communities. Non-western medical healing services, e.g., reiki and massage, will be scheduled for participants in the room. Healing modalities from all over the world will be represented.

  Objective One - Capital Campaign
The first objective is to develop and conduct a capital campaign that will raise $6,000,000 to build, furnish, and landscape Our Center of Peace. This campaign will begin in early fall, 2004. The goal of the campaign will be realized by early fall, 2005.

  Objective Two - Finalize Our Center of Peace Plans
The second objective is to finalize the plans for Our Center of Peace. An initial set of drawings has been completed and is attached. An architectural firm has been talked with about completing the design by December, 2004.

  Objective Three - Secure a Construction Contract
TThe third objective is to secure the services of a local construction firm. We expect to let bids in April, 2005, with the selection of a contractor to be completed by July, 2005. The architectural firm will manage this process and will serve as construction project manager.

  Objective Four - Build Our Center of Peace
The fourth objective is to build the facility. Construction will begin in early fall, 2005 with completion targeted for early winter, 2006.

  Objective Five - Secure a Temporary Facility
The fifth objective is to secure the free use of temporary quarters for the foundation out of which daily operations can be handled and a portion of the proposed Center's programs conducted. This objective will be completed by early fall, 2004.

  Goal Two - Complete Initial Program Development

The second major goal is to complete the initial development of the educational and activity program curriculum for use in Our Center of Peace and for the outreach programs. The development of additional programs will be on going.

 Objective One - Creation, Recreation, Education, and Relaxation Programs
Complete the initial development of programs for the Creation, Recreation, Education, and Meditation rooms. This objective will be completed by early winter, 2004.

 Objective Two - Remaining Center of Peace Programs
Complete the initial development of programs for the remaining Center of Peace rooms. This objective will be completed by mid-summer, 2005.

 Objective Three - Continue Program Development
Continue the development of Our Center of Peace programs and begin the development of outreach programs. Program development for the Center will be on going. The initial outreach programs will be developed by December, 2005.

 Objective Four - Evaluation
Routinely evaluate the success of our programs by asking for formal and informal feedback from program participants. A formal survey will be designed by early winter, 2004 that will be administered after participants have completed a designated segment of a program or programs. Informal interviews will be held periodically with participants to gain their perception of the usefulness of what they have learned in the programs. We will also ask participants for suggestions regarding the format and content of programs, their satisfaction with the programs, and their satisfaction with the work of staff and volunteers. Family members, appropriate school personnel, and community facility staff will be asked to contribute to the evaluation process by completing formal and informal surveys.

  Goal Three - Develop an Artistic, Musical, Lecture and Workshop Program Series

The third major goal of the foundation is to develop a series of artistic, musical, lecture,
and workshop programs which will be held in the Imagination Room/Theater. These programs will begin shortly after completion of the Center of Peace and will be open for general public attendance as well as participants of our other programs. Planning of these programs will begin one year before the targeted completion of the Center.

No objectives are specified now for this goal.

 Goal Four - Creation of the Development Program

The fourth major goal of the foundation is to develop and to conduct a comprehensive development program. In addition to the capital campaign mentioned in Goal One, this program will include membership drives, annual giving campaigns, major gift campaigns, planned giving campaigns, sponsorship of special fundraising events, and participation in community events.

 Objective One - Sponsor the Celebration of Peace Event
Sponsor the "Celebration of Peace Event" at the Denver Red Rocks Amphitheater on 9/11/04 that will involve an afternoon and evening of musical entertainment and inspirational speakers. We will solicit corporate sponsorship for this event in the amount of $30,000 by August 15, 2004. Another $230,000 will be raised from ticket sales.

Each year a Seeds of Peace Concert will be held at the Red Rocks Amphitheater on 9/11.

  Objective Two - Conduct Fundraising Training
Conduct fundraising training for the Board of Directors before October 1, 2004.

  Objective Three - Develop Printed Materials for Fundraising
Develop the initial set of printed materials for conducting a comprehensive fundraising program by November 1, 2004.

  Objective Four - Collect Potential Donor List
Begin now to collect lists of potential donors including names of individuals, small business, large corporations, community groups, and foundations, both private and community. This effort is on going. Enough names will be collected by November 1, 2004 to begin a major gifts campaign and a grant-writing program.

  Objective Five - Fundraising Financial Targets
The amount of money we will generate for specific purposes will be determined as we progress with development of our program.

  Objective Six - Development of Staff Financial Resources
The amount of money that we will need for staff will be determined as we near work on Our Center of Peace.

  Objective Seven - Establish a Donor Tracking System
Establish the first cut of a donor tracking program on an appropriate spreadsheet program by November1, 2004. Explore the possibility of putting this program on our web site for selective use by the development committee.

  Objective Eight - Promotion of the Foundation
The foundation will be actively promoted by sharing its programs with schools, churches, community recreational centers, libraries, bookstores, and public media outlets. This promotion effort has started and will be an on going effort. Program information will be presented to at least two community organizations per month beginning December 1, 2004. Per month at least 10 other organizations will be sent program information starting January 1, 2005.

  Objective Nine - Updating of Our Web Site
The existing web site will be enhanced to include information on all Our Center of Peace programs as well as the outreach program schedule. Event ticket purchases, course selections, and course payments will be made through the web site as well as at the Center. The web site will also modified to include opportunities for donors to make contributions to the foundation. This case statement will be included on the site along with links to other community programs that complement our programs.

  Goal Five - Build Replicas of Our Center of Peace

The fifth major goal of the foundation is to build replicas of Our Center of Peace in other cities and in other countries. No timelines or objectives have been established for this goal.

  Programs

Several of our Board of Directors have been involved in the delivery of programs in the helping professions and in the educational setting for several years. Based on our experience, it is our collective opinion that children must be involved in these experiences over a period of time in order to realize maximize benefit. Preferably, they will be able to participate from the first day of involvement until they graduate from high school. This lengthy involvement will increase the likelihood that participants will have experienced a change in feeling toward and thinking about themselves, their peers, their families, their neighborhoods, and their environment. Therefore, our programs are being designed for children of all ages with sensitivity to cultures and neighborhood environments of our participants. Increasing levels of critical thinking and personal examination will be required at increasing age levels.

Our review of community organizations in the Denver metropolitan area has shown that very few programs exist that are similar in nature or presentation style to those that we are planning. Where similarities do exist, the length of program involvement is generally shorter than we are planning, the neighborhood is not one in which we will become involved, the program delivery methodology varies significantly from what we are planning, or we have established a working relationship with the organization offering the programs and will be cooperating with that organization in program delivery.

Our activity programs will provide the opportunity for participants to interact with each other to a high degree and will include the use of classroom programs, many art and music forms, group and individual discussion sessions, role- playing activities, recreational opportunities, relaxation and meditation practice sessions, theatrical performances, and a lecture series. Additionally, an array of musical programs will be available in our theater on a regular basis.

All programs will require that students use appropriate levels of critical thinking skills and will require that they explore their feelings about the topics and issues that are discussed or experienced.

We expect that participants will experience a reduction of conflict and violence in their families, in places where they study and play, in their neighborhoods, and in their schools. We also expect that participants will actively promote the development and maintenance of a peaceful family, neighborhood, and school environment. They will initiate and promote family, neighborhood, and school programs designed to preserve and responsibly use our environmental resources.

The programs will take place in the Our Center of Peace and where children naturally congregate in their communities. Children will be involved in these programs over an extended period of time so that the benefits will be maximally realized. The outreach programs will be conducted by trained volunteers and staff members in schools, churches, and community centers at least two times per month.

Two prepared courses will be used as part of the Center programs. One is the Course on Nonviolence being prepared by the Institute for Peace and Justice and the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. The chair of our Development Committee was one of the reviewers of the course and has been involved in its development and test marketing. The other course is offered by the Institute for Peace and Justice and is written for use by teens. It is called Teens Acting for Peace. Both courses are interactive in nature and involve readings, role-playing, group discussions, and completion of worksheets for each lesson. The courses can extend over a period of several months and are modular, so that portions can be offered at various times. Other existing programs are now being examined for use during the initial program offering. Several local organizations that work with children have offered to discuss a working relationship with our foundation.

What follows is a description of the type of programs as well the atmosphere that will be established in each of the rooms in Our Center of Peace. We have chosen to describe the programs on a room-by-room basis because the atmosphere varies in each room and the equipment and materials needed to support the programs are different in each room.

Education Room

The education room will be used for class sessions with a facilitator/leader who guides students through a series of interactive exercises that include readings, film clips, worksheets, discussions between students and facilitators and between individual students, as well as student presentations and role playing exercises.

The class sessions will include topics, e.g., learning respect for oneself, learning respect for others, respecting the environment, examination of race and cultural relations, the nature and impact of abusive verbal behavior, verbal and violent behavior in the family and the neighborhood, how to feel peace within yourself, how to feel peace in the world, how your own peaceful nature and actions impact others, why it is sometimes difficult to feel peaceful toward yourself and others, how to start activities and programs at home, in the neighborhood, and in school that promote peaceful actions and contribute to the happiness of your peers.

The evaluation of the impact of such programs will rely primarily on self, peer, and significant adult responses using formal surveys and informal interviews. These evaluations will take place when a program has been completed and periodically in the students' homes, school settings, and community gathering places.

Tables and chairs constructed to facilitate discussion and comfort will be the primary pieces of equipment. Several computer work stations as well as writing stations will be included. Audio/visual equipment will be necessary, along with chalk and white boards. Appropriate ceiling and station lighting will be available. The overall décor will not resemble a classroom, but rather comfortable and relaxing learning centers wherein several sessions can be conducted simultaneously.

Rejuvenation Room

Since there is a wide range of healing requirements, to attempt to cover all areas of all human requirements may be too large of a scope for Our Center of Peace. It is for this reason that we envision there being two aspects of the Rejuvenation Room, one that offers referrals to well known successful and well established outside agencies, and the second aspect being workshops that will help participants learn about various methods of physical, mental, and spiritual rejuvenation at Our Center of Peace.

Within Our Center of Peace's Rejuvenation Room, there will be an atmosphere of safety, security, comfort, calm and peace. People of all ages will come and find an opportunity to be uplifted and learn about the area(s) they might see as helpful.

The outside agencies that Our Center of Peace will be making referrals to will be for those people seeking professional-level help (such as psychotherapy/counseling) and can also include crises management type needs (for example, help for domestic violence victims and their families).

Onsite information and workshops about healing at Our Center of Peace may include any or all of the following:

1. Nontraditional methods of healing such as Reiki and other energy healing modalities, acupuncture, rolfing, past life regression healing, coaching, etc.
2. Teaching tools and techniques to assist people in their own healing. This could include teaching meditation techniques, so the person can be in touch with their inner guidance, find healing within and also become empowered and self-aware.
3. Support groups for different areas as needed.

There should be a qualified professional who can make an accurate assessment of the needs of the people coming to Our Center of Peace for information about rejuvenation, with regards to whether the person needs a referral to an outside agency or can find information within Our Center of Peace's Rejuvenation room.

We also envision that the teachers at Our Center of Peace will either volunteer their time or base their instruction fee on a sliding scale.

Recreation Room

The recreation room will be a safe haven for youth and a place where they can interact with their peers in a variety of activities. Counselors will be available as part of the recreation staff so that student to student interactions can be observed and intervention and teaching can be instantaneous. Activities will usually include a time for discussion of how the participants felt about the game, the interaction, and what might have been learned, both personally and as a group. The evaluation and discussion aspect of these activities is what will differentiate this program from the normal recreation programs.

The indoor games will include a wide variety of table games, educational arcade games, a big screen TV with gaming capability, and plenty of couches on which to relax. The outdoor game area will include a basketball area, a place for croquet, a small area for soccer, football and other field sports, and a tennis court.

The primary purpose of these activities will be to help students learn to interact with their peers in a positive way, how to resolve any conflict that might occur, and how to develop leadership skills.

Creation Room

The creation will be light and open. Its décor will be earth tones, pastels, high ceilings, with water decorations. It will be an open space with the necessary basic equipment for each of the art areas. Earthen tile, natural floors, wood trimmings on walls, windows, and ceilings will enhance the earthy feeling.

Plasma walls will be used to project digital images of works. The appropriate sound systems will be installed. Video equipment and internet connections will be available.

Artist specialties will include fine art, pottery, digital film, photography, sculpture, jewelry design and crafting, metal works, wood carving, film, graphic design, poetry, books, light, music, sound, and color. Volunteer artists in each of these areas will work with participants to help them find their creative spirits and to help them express their feelings of peace in art forms.

Appreciation Room

The appreciation room will contain materials and interactive educational devices to allow Center visitors to learn about visionaries and thinkers who have demonstrated the art of living lives of peace, love, humanity, self respect, and loving-kindness. Persons to be included will be Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Dalai Lama, Jesus, Mohammed, Mother Theresa and other peace leaders from around the world.

A museum and library feeling and environment will be established in this room. Visitors will feel an energy of reverence when they walk in. Pictures of peace visionaries and activist, framed peace documents, speeches, and quotes will be hanging from the walls. A bookcase will contain the biographies of the great leaders. A low background audio tape will be playing that narrates a journey of all the great leaders. Comfortable reading facilities will be available.

A monthly educational series that focuses on famous peace activists will be scheduled. Writers who have written books or articles about peace will be invited to give lectures. Events will be held that will honor the birthdays and significant dates in each of the peace activists lives. There will be a monthly program conducted by staff that will focus on the philosophies of the great peace activists. Programs will be offered that will examine what the world would be like if the famous peace leaders of yesterday had not existed or if they took a less purposeful path. Discussion will also include participant's visions of how a peaceful community and world would look and feel. Schools will be invited to conduct role playing exercises that highlight of the great leaders. Local playwrights will be invited to present original plays about the life of one of the leaders. The Play Back Theater troupe will be invited to adlib I format of a live audience about great scenes from a leader's life. An outreach educational series on great leaders will be presented in the schools. Outreach programs will be presented to corporations to help them learn how to contribute to peace.

Information Room

In this room, visitors to the Center can learn about peace, love, humanity, and loving-kindness through utilization of visuals, feeling methodologies, and auditory sensory materials. Guidance will be provided to other rooms and venues that can assist our visitors and members to uncover the answers that they are seeking to their questions about living peaceful lives.

Information will be provided in a variety of formats because people learn in different modes. Visual, kinesthetic, and auditory materials and devices will be used.

Visual materials to be included will be books, videos, maps, graphs, charts collages computers to access Websites, art works from children and artists the community and around the world that displaying peace and love and dance therapy information.

Kinesthetic materials will include works of art that involve softness, warm fuzzy places to sit and feel, animal visits, and things to touch.

Auditory devices will include audio tapes, music, singing, voice lessons, and public speaking lessons.

Visitors will be able to check out materials as well as share materials of theirs for use in the room. Meeting areas will be established for visitors to share information gathered and being studied. Access to websites will be provided. Guides will be available to help visitors find the learning methodology that bets fits their styles. Structured and unstructured material discussion groups will be available with the guidance of staff if desired.

Periodically, speakers will be available who have written some of the materials and recorded some of the tapes. Schedules will be set for artist to explain the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic aspects of peace.

Events will be scheduled that will include a Day of Peace, Warm Fuzzy Day, Inner color Day, Dance your Inner Happiness Day, Live Your Dream Day, Touch Another Spirit Day, Room to Grow Day, Body Awareness Day, Realizing the Spiritual and Human Being Oneness Day, and the "How To" Days.

Preservation Room

Purpose: To show the natural order of our environment and what happens when nature or humans interfere with this order. The environments go from global to country to community to home to internal. This is a visual teaching tool.

Setting: All walls would work as movie screens. A projector would be mounted in the center of the room on the ceiling. The projections would show the natural order of life, recycling. There would be hands-on interactive areas in the room. A visitor could perform a selected activity. The video would respond to the activity and show the altered results. Such activities would include polluting vehicles, trash dumps, erosion, lead paint, cleaning chemicals, smoking, drugs, negative thinking, stress, obesity, war, extinction, etc. Also, there would be activities such as exercise, balanced diets, xeriscape, recycling, and energy efficient vehicles, peace, etc.

As the settings in the room change from global to internal, a sound is emanating from the area of the projector. It starts out very soft, distant. It increases with volume and intensity as the environment changes from one dimension to the next. The closer to the internal environment the louder it gets. The sound is a heartbeat. When the environment at any level is according to nature, the heartbeat is rhythmic, when there is interference, the heartbeat is changed.

Someone would be available in the room to answers questions and suggest reading material whish would be available in another room at the Center.

Imagination Room

This room will be a place for people of all ages to be entertained, enlightened and inspired through a series of performing artist's interpretations of peace. Musicians, poets, actors, clowns and speakers will capture the imagination of the audience and leave them pondering the question of what peace means to them. The Imagination room is a theater atmosphere.

Scheduled evenings will be dedicated to children's theater, family entertainment and some adult only evenings. The theater will be utilized for specific workshops and audience participation events.

The theater will hold between 900-1200 people and the stage will be versatile and have state of the art sound and musical equipment. Seating will be arranged so that every seat will be a desirable location. The newest style in comfortable seating will be installed.

The theater will be a place to assist in raising funds to support the Center. Tickets will range from $5.00 to $50.00 depending on the performance and the artist. Children, student, senior, family, and Center membership discounts will be offered.

Corporate sponsorship will be used to support the programs of the theater. Specific event sponsorship will be solicited for support. A full time event manager and necessary facility staff will be employed to manage the theater.

 Governance

Our Board of Directors currently consists of fourteen people from various professions and backgrounds who have an interest in providing opportunities for children to learn to live more peaceful and less stressful lives than they may be now living. Nearly all of the directors are employed full time for a company or run a company of their own. Several have significant experience in the helping professions, two are accountants, one is a realtor and a mortgage broker, another has been a college administrator as well as a division manager for a large corporation, another is a mortgage broker, one is an information technology expert, and another is a lawyer. A brief history of their professional and volunteer experience is attached.

Initially, board members have been selected based on their interest and experience. A set of by-laws has been drawn up and is attached. These procedures will be followed in the future.

  Staff

All of the work to develop this foundation is currently being done by volunteers. We expect to periodically consult with an expert from our board for guidance. When Our Center of Peace is completed, we expect that trained volunteers will do the majority of the class and activity work. A small staff will manage the physical aspects of the center, oversee the programs and activities, work with discussion and contemplation groups, plan the musical and lecture series, and conduct on-going fundraising programs. The temporary facilities will house a much smaller operation and will require a smaller staff and core of volunteers. The primary purpose of that staff will be to conduct the capital campaign and complete the building of the Center as well as work with volunteers to conduct selected programs and activities.

The persons identified below are also current members of the Board of Directors.

• Aleta Antoinette - Aleta Antoinette has been an entrepreneur for the past twelve years. Her business and leadership background has been in the financial services arena, specializing in client-oriented management along with training and building teams for several organizations. Prior to being self-employed she worked in dispute resolution and mediation with a large corporation in a department that was created specifically for her to enable her ability to resolve conflict and make an unprofitable situation profitable for both the client and the company. She has held a Securities License, a Life and Health Insurance License, has a Real Estate License and has done specialized training in Mortgage Certification. Creating business on the foundation of integrity, creativity, cooperation and kindness are what she strives for daily.

  Aleta's roots and growing up in the turbulent sixties she questioned the violence, human suffering and conflict that surrounded her. She desired to see a more peaceful world and wanted to be a part of creating that; her dream of joining the Peace Corps and working at the United Nations were side tracked when she began a family so she decided to work toward this goal on a local level. With this in mind she attained her Bachelor's of Science degree in Human Services and participated in organizing a group discussion for homeless men in Ontario, California, which enabled many of them to become self-reliant. She participated in a national event, "Hands Across America", which was designed to educate and raise awareness of the plight of the homeless population in the United States. She has volunteered with the Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy, and Habitat for Humanity. She volunteered for three years with the Greenwood Village Police Department as a Victim Advocate to assist victims of crime and to aide with crisis intervention.

  Exploring her own path and experiencing life's challenges has lead her to believe that her dreams of creating a more peace filled world are possible if we began with ourselves. This belief took her on a journey of self-discovery through experiencing individual and group therapy, workshops, lectures, reading and spiritual exploration. This led her back to her childhood dream of creating more connection within and therefore, a more peaceful planet. When we recognize a connection in ourselves we begin to realize that connectedness with others and with this we can create peace one person at a time. This is the mission of the Imagine Peace Foundation, which she began in June 2003 with a group of visionary volunteers. The first project is to create, "Our Center of Peace", a place to explore what peace means to each person, and then to provide the tools to transform their lives in a positive and meaningful way.

  Along with her passion to turn the dream of Imagine Peace into a reality, and her business, she enjoys, writing poetry, participating in discussion groups, dance, being in nature and spending time with family and friends. Children are our future and if we can expose them to opportunities to experience more loving choices, to feel a sense of serenity, to discover who they are and to appreciate others they will naturally become more caring adults. The key to life is being balanced, thoughtful, compassionate, and being joyful in everything you do- in this harmony there is peace.

•  Location

The site for the Center has not yet been selected. Aleta Antoinette, our founder and board president, who is a realtor, is working with community officials to find a piece of property that can be donated to our program. She is also looking at temporary sites for lease or purchase. We want to be centrally located in the metro area, easily accessible to participants, and, ideally, near other facilities that attract large numbers of people.

  Finances

At this point we have not developed a comprehensive budget. The Wings of Unity fundraising dinner was an enjoyable and financially successful event. In the near future we will need to expend a few hundred dollars for a consultant to give us fundraising guidance, for printing fundraising materials, and for other office supplies. In the very near future we will make a down payment to the Red Rocks concert facility so that our 9/11/04 concert date will be held.

  Development

Within the next two weeks we will be involved in securing corporate sponsorships for our Celebration of Peace Event. These sponsorships will provide the secure base that we need to host this event. It is expected that we will raise between $30,000 and $60,000. A small portion of those funds may be used to hire one or two staff members to more actively pursue fundraising activities for the building of the Center and for program development. Annual giving programs, membership drives, periodic major gift drives, and program user fees will provide the solid basis for continued operation of the foundation programs. We plan to hold annual special events, e.g., concerts and fundraising dinners. We expect to make A Celebration of Peace an annual event.

Our long-term plan is to build Centers of Peace across the country and internationally. The programs that we develop will be easily duplicated in other centers.

  History

Our history is very brief. We were founded in Aleta's living room in June of 2003. We have held a successful fundraising dinner at which Dr. Arun Gandhi was the keynote speaker as a kick-off for the 2004 Season of Nonviolence. We raised considerable money through the silent auction that was part of this event. Items that did not sell are now being offered at auction on our web site. We have been involved with developing a fundraising plan, looking for property for our Center, and discussing building plans with an architect. At this time next year we expect to have held a successful concert, participated in other community fundraising events, initiated a capital campaign for building funds, conducted some of our programs for children in temporary quarters, and begun the process of building our Center.

To date we have sponsored one successful fundraising dinner that raised $10,000. We are in the process of planning a benefit concert called the "Celebration of Peace Event". Our goal for that event is to raise approximately $300,000. We have been active in the planning of our education and activities programs and our development strategies. This planning will continue as we move toward the completion of our activity and program facility, Our Center of Peace.

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