Notes From the Road

We are having a great time on our Celebrate Peace Tour. We met some really inspirational organizations along the way, and I wanted to share a little bit about them. I think that the media will have us believe that war is breaking out all over the place. Granted, there are many terrible wars in our world... but what we are finding through our travels is that there are thousands and probably millions of people that are working for peace. The people I have met have shown me that sometimes its just a matter of reaching out to your neighbors and giving a helping hand. This week's blog shows some people doing just that.

This is a picture of Steven who works for an organization called Outdoor Outreach. This organization helps children and teenagers from the inner city neighborhoods of San Diego get a chance to do outdoor activities such as surfing, and hiking. Steven came early to our Celebrate Peace Concert and helped us to set up our banner.
On behalf of Peace Cereal we gave a $2,000 grant to an organization called Neighbors Across the Bridge. This organization works in conjunction with Outdoor Outreach and the Barrio Logan College Institute. Barrio Logan College Institute helps inner city kids get good GPA's and get into colleges. In conjunction the three organizations encourage kids to keep good GPA's and rewards them with special outdoor trips and adventures. The founder of Neighbors Across the Bridge is sitting right next to me, along with representatives from Barrio Logan College Institute and Outdoor Outreach. We brought them up on stage at the end of the Celebrate Peace concert in San Diego to present the Peace Cereal Grant to them and also to dedicate the song "May the Long time sun" to them.

For more information on these organizations and their incredible work please visit these websites: www.blci.org, and www.outdooroutreach.org
At the end of the concert we were all very inspired as GuruGanesha took the microphone and announced, "Peace is Breaking Out all over the place!"

We went to the King Chavez Academy for a Children's Peace Hour with 200 kids. This is a school that is in one of the highest crime areas in San Diego. The school is a completely alternative school where the children learn in a positive environment and are encouraged to develop peace making skills. There is a large emphasis on the arts with many classes in dance, art, and creative expression. There are highly qualified teachers who are dedicated to these children. These children come from relatively poor homes, and it is truly a miracle that they are able to go to a school like this one. They were so enthusiastic and positive during our program. You can see them here doing yoga with us. There were mirrors in the back of the room... so you can actually see the band; Krishan Prakash, GuruGanesh and I in the reflection.