Featured Community Engagement Partners
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
Founded in response to the horrors of war in Europe, the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) has taken a consistent stance against war and its preparation throughout its history. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) is a global Interfaith movement founded in 1914 to support the rights of conscience in resistance to war and military conscription. Our members share a vision of a world where conflicts are resolved through nonviolent means, where systems that foster fear and hatred are dismantled, and where justice is sought as a basis for peace. While coming from diverse religious backgrounds, we have a common belief in the transforming power of nonviolence and reconciliation. IFOR has six Nobel Peace Prize Laureates among its former and present members who have all been or are actively contributing to the dissemination and teaching of nonviolence.
World Interbeing Sangha (Plum Village)
World Interbeing Sangha is a diverse and inclusive, global online community practicing mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. We offer many meetings each week at different times so that people in different time zones can gather together to study, practice and heal in-circle. Amidst the devastation of the 30-years of war in Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh and his colleagues found a way, with mindfulness, to persevere in assisting those survivors of war while staying firmly grounded in their own spiritual roots and practice. This commitment to street Buddhism (“Engaged Buddhism”) was born—a "lotus in a sea of fire"-- and led to Thich Nhat Hanh's nearly 40 years of exile from his own root temple and country. Today, many thousands of people worldwide follow in Thich Nhat Hanh’s footsteps by practicing "Buddhism in the World."
Death Cafe
At a Death Cafe friends, family, neighbors and often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death.
Our intention: To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.
A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session.
Our Death Cafes are always offered:
- On a not for profit basis
- In an accessible, respectful and confidential space
- With no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or
course of action
- Alongside refreshing drinks and nourishing food – and cake!
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome
The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome commits to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)/Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) and promote the well-being of infants through supporting and educating families, caregivers and professionals. SBS/AHT is a term used to describe the constellation of signs and symptoms resulting from violent shaking or shaking and impacting of the head of an infant or small child. SBS/AHT is well researched with over 700 publications in more than 100 peer-reviewed high impact medical journals. The statistics are devastating: Upwards of 80% of surviving victims of SBS/AHT suffer lifelong disabilities; approximately 25% of victims of SBS/AHT die; SBS/AHT is the leading cause of physical child abuse deaths in the U.S.; there are approximately 1,300 reported cases of SBS/AHT in the U.S. alone each year.; SBS/AHT occurs most often in babies less than 6 months old. The tragedy is 100% preventable: The #1 trigger for Shaken Baby Syndrome is frustration with a baby's crying.