News
On May 29th, 2021, CARP Bay Area, the hub consisting of chapters from Chabot College, California State University East Bay, and University of California Berkeley, teamed up with Service for Peace (YSP) and Generation Peace Academy (GPA) for a service project in Oakland Chinatown.
CARP Bay Area concluded a successful MLK 40 Days of Service from January 18 to February 27, 2021.
During the 40 Days of Service, the mural team and volunteers from various organizations would meet once a week to help paint the welcome section of the mural stating: “Welcome to Sobrante Park.” Each service day, a group of 15 to 20 volunteers would show up early in the morning ready to contribute to beautifying the wall. Many times while painting the wall, passersby would stop and express their utmost gratitude for our service and also want to learn how they can begin to plug in and contribute to the project. It was an incredible feeling seeing the face of true joy and gratitude from the community.
Seventeen members from CARP, Youth and Students for Peace (YSP), and Generation Peace Academy (GPA) gathered at the Clifton Family Church in New Jersey on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to make peace message bags as part of a service for the wider community of Newark, NJ.
For the past two to three months, a small team has been meeting to create a design to paint on the wall along Sobrante park on Edes & 105th Ave. For Martin Luther King Jr Day this year, it was wonderful to see people come out eager to serve whether that was to help with the mural or another local project in the Sobrante Park Neighborhood and all over Oakland. Volunteers from CARP, Higher Ground, and the Bay Area Family Church gathered together to begin the mural project by first being reminded of Dr. King’s spirit of serving and the hopes and goals for the mural we are painting.
On August 31st, September 1st, and September 4th, CARP New Jersey and Generation Peace Academy (GPA) collaborated on the True Love Bakery service project. It has been hard on everyone as the community has not been able to meet up face to face, but through the action of visiting their homes with gifts of homemade cookies, some scripture, and singing songs, we hoped to give our love and appreciation.
On Friday, May 3rd, CARP Bay Area held an on-campus event titled Peace Starts With Me gathering an audience of over 80 participants consisting of students, faculty, and community members from the Bay Area. The event was held at Chabot Community College, and the keynote was given by Dr. Sandra Lowen, LCSW, on “Reconciliation and Healing Our Communities.”
On Presidents’ Day weekend, the Las Vegas chapters of CARP hosted a 3-day Divine Principle workshop for students.
Presenter Noah Ross conveyed a simple but consistent message: all change begins with oneself. Change yourself to change the world. Mr. Ross stressed how important it is both to give truth and to create an environment where people can share their lives with each other and truly feel cared for.
He encouraged everyone to remember the essential purposes of the Unification movement: to seek, to find, and to love our long-lost brothers and sisters, and in so doing, to grow together and become people who can create a good world in which God feels truly welcome, loved, and free.
Meet Jeffrey Silerio, CARP Las Vegas Alumni! He joined CARP in Las Vegas in August of 2014 (when it started!) until he graduated from University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in December of 2015. He has been involved with an affiliate organization, Shine City Project, to clean-up and serve Las Vegas.
“Even though Las Vegas is located in a desert, there is a lot of natural beauty in this area. We can feel God’s love when we go outdoors to places such as Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead, and Wetlands Park. Las Vegas is much more than its casinos and hotels. We want to show others that we care for Las Vegas, and that Las Vegas is our home. ”
