Summer of Peace: Building Skills Beyond the Classroom
Back-to-school advertisements may already be filling our screens, but Peace Education Program trainers have been hard at work all summer long. While schools were on break, our team expanded its reach into the community, bringing conflict resolution and emotional regulation skills directly to where young people gathered.
This summer, Peace Education Program provided trainings at: Parkland Boys & Girls Club, Bates Community Development Corporation, Shawnee Boys & Girls Club, La Escuelita, First Gethsemane, Wesley House, Neighborhood House, Newburg Boys & Girls Club, Prominent Youth of America, and Global Roots of Louisville. Wherever caring adults created spaces for young people to learn and grow, Peace Education Program was there to help them build the skills needed to resolve conflict peacefully and manage strong emotions. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we reached hundreds of young people this summer.
Summer programs often provide smaller class sizes, allowing trainers to build deeper relationships with students and create meaningful opportunities to practice new skills in real-life situations. At Wesley House, students put their conflict resolution training into action when disagreements arose during summer camp. Guided by Ms. Barbara, camp leaders, and Peace Education trainers, students practiced active listening, heard one another’s perspectives, and worked together to develop solutions that were safe, fair, respectful, specific, and workable. Seeing students successfully apply these skills in the moment brought the lessons to life.
At Shawnee Boys & Girls Club, students reflected on conflicts they had experienced and practiced using “I-Messages” to express how they felt, explain why they felt that way, and communicate what they hoped would happen differently in the future. Meanwhile, students at Bates Community Development Corporation enthusiastically participated in Feelings Charades. As they acted out different emotions, they also learned to recognize strong feelings and discussed healthy ways to respond when emotions become overwhelming. The laughter and engagement made learning both meaningful and memorable.
Although summer is coming to an end, Peace Education Program is just getting started. We are already preparing for the 2026–2027 school year by returning to many of our partner schools to provide refresher lessons that help students strengthen the peaceful conflict resolution skills they have already learned while welcoming new students into our programs. Our vision extends far beyond the classroom. We want every young person to carry these skills home, into their neighborhoods, and throughout the community.
Golf for the Greater Good: Community Comes Together at the 16th Annual Golf Scramble
Last Friday, July 17, supporters of the Peace Education Program gathered at Shawnee Golf Course for another successful Annual Golf Scramble. Nineteen teams spent the day enjoying friendly competition, building community, and making a meaningful investment in Louisville’s young people.
The Golf Scramble is more than a day on the course—it’s an opportunity for friends, businesses, and community partners to come together in support of Peace Education Program’s mission to teach conflict resolution, peer mediation, and emotional regulation skills that help young people build positive relationships and resolve conflicts peacefully. Every dollar raised helps sustain and expand these life-changing programs in schools and community sites throughout Louisville.
We are deeply grateful to our generous sponsors whose support made this year’s event possible. A special thank you goes to our incredible staff and volunteers, whose hard work behind the scenes made the day run smoothly from beginning to end.
We extend our sincere appreciation to Dr. Bonnie Marshall, Mr. Terry Davis, Rev. Lee Beckhusen, Ms. Leisur, Ms. Kendra Flanigan, Ms. Renee Olsen Tilker and family (Aaron, Damian, Desiree, Dennis), Dr. Joyce Pryor and her husband, Mukeesh, Ms. Brandi and Mulligan and S.J., Mr. Malachi Patterson, Ms. Liesja Webb, Ms. Kristina Greer, Ms. Annie Haigler, and Mr. Brandon Thomas. We simply could not have done it without you.
Congratulations to all of our tournament winners!
1st Place: Darrell Fuller’s Team with a score of 54
2nd Place: Kevin Wigginton’s Team with a score of 56
Thank you to every golfer, sponsor, volunteer, and supporter who helped make this year’s Golf Scramble such a success. We look forward to seeing everyone on the course again next year!