Stories from the DVD

Calling for Peace

Carolyn felt an instant connection with the writer of a letter to the editor in her local newspaper. They both had two sons. But Dana’s son was in the military service in Afghanistan and Carolyn’s son had grown up in a family strongly opposed to the war. The two women met for coffee, where Carolyn promised to listen without interrupting and not to offer an opinion unless asked. They got acquainted, discovered things they had in common, and went on to write a joint letter to the editor telling their story of talking about their differences. Carolyn says when we don’t understand someone, it is often because we don’t have a relationship with them.

You can do this:

Who do you feel is very different from you?  Set up a time to meet with them over a snack or a cup of coffee. Get acquainted and then talk about your differences of opinion, agreeing not to interrupt. Help the world be the best it can be by getting to know one person who is different from you.

Building a Community

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 175,000 houses.Habitat volunteers always discover that building houses is not all that happens. Relationships are built between homeowners and builders, and among volunteers. Rhonda comments, “In our society today people get trapped in poverty because they're spending 50, 60, 70 percent of their income to provide a roof over their heads.”  When people are given a chance to spend a reasonable amount of their income on housing, they are empowered to make their neighborhoods a better place to live and relationships can blossom into friendships.   

You can do this:

Check to see if there’s a local Habitat for Humanity chapter in your community and volunteer a day of work. Read more about Habitat at www.habitat.org.

Challenge Day

Challenge Day is an experiential program where young people can learn to be compassionate with each other. They can see the effects of how they treat each other. It helps the participants live and study in an environment of acceptance, love and respect. The program is offered to schools throughout the country. Their goal is to inspire people to be the change they wish to see in the world for the benefit of the planet and its people.

You can do this:

Visit the Challenge Day website and read what students have experienced in this program. www.challengeday.org/what_others_say/testimonials/student_testimony.html

Encourage your school to host a Challenge Day event. Think about how you can support someone you know who is bullied or marginalized and act on it.

Little Grill Collective

Becoming a cooperatively-owned restaurant was a challenge for the worker owners of the Little Grill, a tiny restaurant just off the main drag in Harrisonburg, Va. The shift in ownership took some research and discussion to figure out the best way to implement the new business model. The change was made. Each member of the cooperative began to get paid the exact same hourly wage, and they split the tips over the course of a week.

Not having one boss meant if you had a problem with someone or something wasn’t getting done, everyone was responsible to take care of it. “Honesty meetings” became important to talk through the day-to-day workings of the restaurant. They’ve learned to get along, to talk about problems instead of letting them build up. Owners dream of more cooperatives beginning in their town.

You can do this:

Check out www.littlegrillcollective.com/info/collectiveinfo.html to find out more about how a collective works. Are there any in your hometown?  If so, interview the owners and find out more.

Just a Cup of Coffee?

Each year, Americans spend about 17.9 billion dollars on coffee. Over 70% of the coffee we drink is grown by small, rural farmers in some of the poorest countries in the world. Most don't receive a fair wage for the labor-intensive work of tending and harvesting their crop. The price of coffee in the world market today is about 70 cents a pound. But for coffee growers, who only get about two cents for every pound, it's not enough to make ends meet. Fair Trade is a collaboration of organizations that seek to pay fair wages to workers while providing a variety of quality products. When we buy fair trade coffee we form a relationship with the farmers that are growing this coffee -- a relationship where the companies in the U.S. and the farmers try to meet as equals. As North American consumers, we have the luxury of making choices that reflect our values. It's a simple step to consider, "Where do I get my coffee?" If you’re interested in making a difference in the world, you don't have to join a protest, you don’t have to do anything really radical, you can just start by drinking a fair trade cup of coffee.

You can do this:

Check out where fair trade coffee is sold in your community. If you don’t find it anywhere, consider working with members of your church to make it available there.

Links:

• Challenge Day - An organization that conducts transformational workshops in schools that seek to address and prevent isolation, violence, and other manifestions of social oppression.
• Transfair USA - An organization that enables farmers in developing countries to market their coffee, tea, and other products in return for a fair wage.
• The Little Grill Collective - a collectively-owned/operated restaurant
• Habitat for Humanity - brings families and communities in need together with volunteers and resources to build decent, affordable housing.