The following is a page which the Church of Today has recently added to their website and which may serve as an example for other churches who would like to become more involved in community outreach programs. The first section below is a link which COT placed on their home page.

Community Resource Links

We've listed information and links to many of the community organizations featured during the Season who are making a difference in fostering peace and harmony in many areas of San Diego life. You'll also find further links to the Interfaith Call - an outreach for the Tibetan people and for universal religious freedom and human rights.

Church of Today

Community Page

The following are some of the community organizations in the San Diego area who are making a difference in fostering peace and harmony in many areas of the San Diego life.

John Purcell is Director of the Community Outreach Ministry at Church of Today and is responsible for initiating, developing and maintaining programs in support of these and other community organizations.

Tariq Khamisa Foundation     ~      http://www.tkf.org/

Azim Khamisa and Plez Felix were unexpectedly bound together by and act of youth violence when Azim's son, Tariq, was killed by Ples Felix's grandson, a 14 year old gang member. In an act of love and forgiveness, Azim embraced Plez and invited him to join forces against youth violence. Out of this was born the Tariq Khamisa Foundation.

TKF brings it's message of peace and nonviolence choices to school children through its Violence Impact Forum (VIF) program which has been presented to over 6,000 children in the 4th through 9th grades. These presentations have demonstrated a remarkable reduction in attitudes that lead to gangs, revenge and violence. With additional funding and contributions, TKF hopes to expand their VIF program and reach more "at-risk" children. With our combined work and support we can stop children from killing other children and create a future where all children will become peacemakers and live their hopes and dreams.

One World, Our World       ~              http://www.1wow.org/

One World, Our World puts on a one-day program for schools that builds awareness of tolerance and teaches leadership and conflict resolution skills. As its name implies, 1WOW utilizes a global perspective and focuses on people working  together. At our assembly presentations, and later in the classroom, we talk more of "building peace" than of "resolving conflicts".  The 1WOW program was created by and is directed by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). The hands-on international experience which shaped their lives forms a core for much of the discussion and photography used during the 1WOW program. Just as Peace Corps' philosophy is to empower a community through training and experience, the 1WOW program uses a participatory format to train and empower students.

PARTNERS Mentorship Program    ~    http://users.abac.com/partners/~      

PARTNERS Mentorship Program's mission is to strengthen the character and develop the mind, body and spirit of at-risk youth through one-to-one mentoring. PARTNERS provides mentoring and case management services to youth ages 10-17  who have been arrested for the first time or are considered at-risk for future involvement in the juvenile justice system, school failure, teen pregnancy and/or substance abuse. Youth are matched with adult volunteer mentors for weekly meetings that consist of homework, sports, music, recreational activities or just time to talk. PARTNERS also hosts monthly group activities with educational, social and recreational components. PARTNERS staff monitors the match and continues to provide support services to the youth and family.

Since 1995, PARTNERS has successfully served more than 300 youth. PARTNERS matched 135 youth with mentors in 2000, with more than 300 youth referred. Our outcome studies show that 93% of youth show improvement in their school attendance and/or performance and make positive, healthy decisions about relationships and drugs and alcohol.

SAY San Diego, Inc    ~    http://www.saysandiego.org/

Social Advocates for Youth (SAY San Diego, Inc.), a private nonprofit agency, has served the children and families of San Diego since 1971. SAY's mission is to assist children, youth and families and communities in building on their strengths to achieve their full potential. We do this by utilizing an increasingly comprehensive mix of services which currently includes Delinquency, Drug and Gang Prevention, Child Care and other After School Enrichment Programs, Healthy Community Development, Family Development and Self Sufficiency, Juvenile Diversion, School Linked and School Based Social Services and Academic Support Services. For more information on SAY's services, please contact 858-565-4148.

YWCA Youth Services Division    ~    http://www.ywcasandiego.org/children.html 

The YWCA of San Diego County's Education Department, a part of the Youth Services Division, educates teenagers throughout San Diego County on issues of relationship violence, cultural diversity, conflict resolution and suicide prevention to empower them to make this a safer, healthier community, one person at a time.

The program is a dynamic combination of role-playing, skits, discussion, and visuals designed to raise the level of awareness for all participants. Programs are presented in public and alternative high schools, probation and rehab programs, colleges, teen parent programs, social service agencies and wherever they have access to teenagers. They also prepare high school peer counselors to train their fellow students.

Since beginning the program in 1997, they have reached approximately 25,000 people. They have developed partnerships with many agencies, including San Diego City Schools, Sweetwater Unified School District, San Diego Job Corps, and SDSU to make the program as effective and powerful as possible.

Center for Community Solutions    ~    http://www.sdinsider.com/community/groups/ccs/

Is a 30-year old social change agency creating safe and healthy communities with a core emphasis on the treatment and prevention of sexual assault and relationship violence. The violence prevention programs include: The Teen Leadership Center (TLC) at Pacific Beach Middle is a free program which provides youth with a full range of violence-prevention activities, as well as tutoring, sports, expressive arts, career development, leadership, and community service opportunities. Beach Pride Healthy Start at Bayview Terrace Elementary is a family resource center which provides referrals for children, youth and families of the Mission Beach and Pacific Beach communities including classes on healthy relationships and domestic violence prevention. Ahimsa Project for Safe Families is a project that serves the Mid-city neighborhoods of San Diego and is focused on the prevention and intervention of domestic violence in the Latino, Vietnamese and Somali communities. The project holds monthly community dialogues to teach and learn from women, girls, men, and boys in each of the three target communities. Community Education and Outreach. The group offers enrichment programs, lectures, workshops, and professional training to individuals of all ages, occupations, and affiliations. Programs include education, awareness and prevention of relationship violence and sexual assault, and healthy relationships skill-building. Community Solutions also provide self-defense classes for women and girls. For pre-school and early elementary children, the  Good Touch/Bad Touch Puppet Show teaches youth basic child sexual abuse prevention information. Phone number for Prevention Programs: (858) 272-5777.

San Diego Mediation Center      ~          http://www.www.mediate.com/sdmc

Since 1983, the San Diego Mediation Center has been involved in nothing short of a revolution in the way that conflict is resolved. They have developed new  “interest” based approaches that ask  “What is needed?… What will work?…What needs to change?” Today a dedicated new generation of conflict resolvers trained by the San Diego Mediation Center uses interest based conflict resolution skills not only in the Southern California region, but across the country as well as abroad. Many thousands of disputes have been influenced by the application of these new techniques.

Direct Services: Special programs include Divorce Mediation, Parent/Teen Mediation, and Superior Court Mediation.

Training: mediation skills, mediator credential, internships, continuing education credits, opportunities to mediate, organizational design, customized courses.

Community Outreach: Community Trouble Shooter Program in partnership with KGTV/Channel 10, annual Day of Dialogue and Peacemaker Awards to raise community awareness of nonviolent conflict resolution techniques.

For more information about the San Diego Mediation Center, please call (619) 238-2400, or visit their website   www.mediate.com/sdmc.

VORP (Victim Offender Reconciliation Program)    ~    http://www.vorp.com/

ictim-Offender Mediation Programs (VORP), also known as Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP), bring offenders face-to-face with the victims of their crimes with the assistance of a trained mediator, usually a community volunteer. Crime is personalized as offenders learn the human consequences of their actions, and victims (who are largely ignored by the criminal justice system) have the opportunity to speak their minds and their feelings to the one who most ought to hear them, contributing to the healing process of the victim.

 Offenders take meaningful responsibility for their actions by mediating a restitution agreement with the victim, to restore the victims' losses, in whatever ways that may be possible. Restitution may be monetary or symbolic; it may consist of work for the victim, community service or anything else that creates a sense of justice between the victim and the offender.

Interfaith Call    ~    http://www.interfaithcall.com/

The Interfaith Call is a passionate campaign by the world’s faith traditions affirming the rights of freedom of worship and human rights for the endangered people of Tibet – and for all people. It is also a denunciation of genocide in all forms. In 2000, there was an explosion of support for the Call; more than 150,000 people joined it, an amazing increase from the 8,000 people who observed it the year before.

In 2001, the Call is happening twice: our annual worldwide observance on the weekend of October 28th in thousands of houses of worship and on university campuses; along with a smaller event in the U.S. on March 25th by at least 70,000 people. The second Interfaith Call is part of the Season for Non-Violence, a prestigious 64 day campaign based on the philosophies of Gandhi and King. Presented by the Gandhi Center and the Association for Global New Thought (AGNT), the Season has embraced the Interfaith Call as a vehicle of interfaith outreach for the Tibetan people and for universal religious freedom and human rights.

MK Gandhi Institute  ~  http://www.gandhiinstitute.org/

The Mission of the Gandhi Institute ...
is to promote and apply the principles of nonviolence locally, nationally, and globally, to prevent violence and resolve personal and public conflicts through research, education, and programming.

The Institute, founded by Arun Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi's grandson) and his wife Sunanda, was established to promote and teach the philosophy and practice of nonviolence to help reduce the violence that consumes our hearts, our homes, and our societies.

The Gandhi Institute's educational programs have many valuable, compatible segments which they adapt to the specific needs, expectations, and ages of participating students -- be they seven, seventeen, or seventy. It is their experience that conflict resolution and mediation cannot be effectively taught nor practiced until students begin to appreciate one's self and others, and understand the basics of nonviolence. Because teaching nonviolence involves much more than structures for peer mediation and dispute resolution, the Institute offers a wealth of identity-strengthening exercises along with training in the theory and practice of nonviolence. 

Oxfam International  ~  http://www.oxfam.com

Oxfam International is an international group of independent non-governmental organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustice around the world. The Oxfams work together internationally to achieve greater impact by their collective efforts.

The individual Oxfams work in different ways but have a common purpose: addressing the structural causes of poverty and related injustice. The Oxfams work primarily through local organizations in more than 100 countries.

Oxfams believe that:

1. Poverty and powerlessness are avoidable and can be eliminated by human action and political will.

2. Basic human needs and rights can be met. These include the rights to a sustainable livelihood, and the rights and capacities to  participate in societies and make positive changes to people's lives.

3. Inequalities can be significantly reduced both between rich and poor nations and within nations.

4. Peace and substantial arms reduction are essential conditions for development.

Habitat for Humanity  ~  http://www.habitat.org

 Habitat for Humanity International's Global Village trips give participants a unique opportunity to become active partners with people of another culture. Team members work alongside members of the host community, raising awareness of the burden of poverty housing and building decent, affordable housing worldwide. As partners, team members help build a true "global village" of love, homes, communities and hope!

Global Adventure with Habitat
Work alongside people who live in a different part of the world through the Global Village program of Habitat for Humanity International. See our schedule for available destinations across the globe.

Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps
Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members build homes and hope while learning new skills and earning  educational awards. Applications are now available online for the 2001-2002 term.

India, El Salvador Disaster Response
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless by recent earthquakes in India and El Salvador. Habitat for Humanity is working to build more than 1,700 houses in these two countries combined, in partnership with those affected by the earthquakes.   

Father Joe's Villages  ~  St. Vincent de Paul ~ http://www.svdpv.org/

At Father Joe's Villages our mission is simple: to help people in need from all over America turn their lives around and regain independence. Each of Father Joe's Villages provides "one-stop shopping" – comprehensive, essential care all under one roof.
Programs such as education, job training, child care, medical and dental care and substance abuse counseling enable
thousands of families and individuals to discover the confidence and the ability to succeed. Honoring the dignity of every child and adult encourages them to invest in their own future.

From a small center handing out peanut butter sandwiches 50 years ago (long before Father Joe arrived), we have grown to a family of seven large "villages" in the Southwest. And we're still growing. Thanks to the support of our donors, volunteers and dedicated staff, as well as the determination of our clients, what began with a meal has evolved into a model program for serving the homeless. There is still much to do. We invite you to visit each of our villages to see our "one-stop shopping" approach. 

Project Concern  ~  www.projectconcern.org/

 Parents struggle daily to keep their children alive. In many poor communities in the United States and worldwide, keeping children healthy is a constant battle. In fact, more than 35,000 children around the world die every day - most from preventable causes.

Project Concern International provides parents and our worldwide partners with medical training, support and health care crucial to protecting the well being of children and families. Project Concern programs save lives by ensuring basic medical care, halting the spread of infectious disease, feed those in need of nutritious food, helping keep families small, safeguarding the health of  communities along the U.S./Mexico border and ensuring clean water.

Project Concern currently has programs in ten countries on five continents (Zambia, India, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Romania, Mexico, United States). Project Concern headquarters is located in San Diego, California, and has a staff of 30 Technical, administrative and financial personnel supporting 350 host country and expatriate staff worldwide.