Can you believe it’s been two years since we first opened our doors? We can’t! What an amazing two years it has been– here are some highlights from over the years…
Taiko drums at our grand opening in May of 2010!
Our peace tree from the grand opening… So strange seeing it so bare!
Chuck Jones Center for Creativity hold a workshop at our grand opening in 2010
Have you seen chalk mandala mural by artist Melanie Stimmell? It’s hard to believe it’s been 2 years since she created it for us.
Read for the Record in 2010
Buzz Lightyear visited us on Halloween in 2010!
Artful Eating with OCMA
Artful Eating with OCMA!
Team Kids Youth Council Servathon!
Good Happens Veggie Grill vegan carrot cake from our 1st birthday celebration!
Rocking out at New Earth Drumming to celebrate our 1st birthday!
Storytime with Cynthia Callard!
Human peace sign at 2011 International Day Peace!
Insights from Africa with Eugene Cooke!
Homemade Cleaning Products with The Ecology Center!
C-Jam with Anibue from UCI!
Peace in Motion Café movie nights!
Here are some highlights from our 2nd Birthday! So hard to believe that it’s been 2 years since we first opened our doors!
New Earth Drumming!
Sneaky Sea Snacks with Algalita!
Can you believe the things found in birds tummies? Thanks for sharing this with us, Algalita!
Abstract drawing with OCMA!
Smiling Monkey Yoga!
Smiling Monkey Yoga!
Kids made cards for a Card Quilt for people in need
Card Quilts!
Fun with the Chuck Jones Center
A visit from Teddy the tortoise, courtesy of Inside the Outdoors!
Buckwheat the Bunny, courtesy of Inside the Outdoors!
Seedlings with The Ecology Center!
Kids’ Qigong with Ryan Lee!
Fun in Kids’ Qigong!
Miniotics Dance Crew!
Kelly kickin’ it with Miniotics Dance Crew
Enjoying a birthday cupcake!
Look at our Peace Tree now!!! 2 years of wishes for peace!
A special thanks to our photographers, Ashley Strong & Megan Hartley. Thanks for celebrating with us! It’s been a wonderful 2 years! Can’t wait to see what the future brings!
What a whirlwind couple of weeks it’s been here at Center for Living Peace! We were so lucky to have Her Majesty come and spend time with us– we had so much fun! The weeks just flew by. We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing photos from the VIP fundraiser and the Living Peace Projects service day. We wanted to share some photos with you from the speaking event on May 2nd, 2012.
Here is a behind-the-scenes photo from the green room at UCI! UCI’s Chancellor Michael Drake, Her Majesty Queen Noor, CLP’s Kelly Thornton Smith and UCI’s 2011-2012 XIV Dalai Lama Scholar Armaan Ahmed Rowther gathered together before the speaking event for a few quick photos.
Isn’t the Queen stunning?! And check out her bracelet! It’s from our very own Live Peace store!
The speaking event was moderated by Armaan Ahmed Rowther. He is the current Dalai Lama scholar at UCI.The Queen spoke about how she feels education is fundamental to the process of interfaith, and how she believes reaching out to one another is an incredibly grand gesture of peace, that is sometimes over looked. She explained that instead of branding people of other faiths with the idea of “other,” we need to make them a part of us. So inspiring!
Before leaving the stage, Her Majesty gave Kelly a hug…
Such a great image. What an amazing event it was! If you missed the speaking event, you can watch it in it’s entirety here. An edited, and better quality version of the video will also be on our site in the next few days!
A giant, special shout out to our lovely photographers: Alex Abercrombie, Ashely Strong Photography and Jason Niedle. We also wanted to thank UCI, all the students, staff and faculty that came out to the speaking event, helped set eveerything up to make the event possible, Apples & Oranges for filming the speaking event and Orange County Films for streaming the event for us! We are so grateful to have such an amazing team of individuals helping us make peace real!
This past Wednesday, April 25th, we were proud to host a fundraising event with Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan to raise money for the King Hussein Foundation.
We were so lucky to have this amazing cellist, Philip Sheegog, a 16-year old prodigy play for us.
Her Majesty Queen Noor with Honarary Chair, Christy Walton…
We were so incredibly honored to have Dr. and Mrs. Deepak Chopra attend the event!
Her Majesty with the Dalai Lama Scholar, Armaan Rowther, (who will be moderating the speaking event on May 2nd!) with CLP’s Kelly and UCI’s Vice Chancellor Thomas Parham…
Her Majesty with CLP’s awesome board of directors!
Peace warriors…
The Center for Living Peace staff had a blast at the event too…
Our founder, Kelly Smith, talks with GenConnect’s Claudia Potamkin about the goals and ideals of the Center for Living Peace. Check it out here! What do you all think of the video?
Last Thursday night, we were honored to have our first Living Peace Series event in the 2011-2012 year. Women, War & Peace is a bold new five-part PBS television series challenging the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain.
UC Irvine anthropology and film & media studies professor, Roxanne Varzi; Producer & filmmaker, Abigail Disney, and Academy Award Winner Actor & Advocate, Geena Davis, all shared the insights on the changing landscape of war. The panel was moderated by Center for Living Peace, Founder, Kelly Thornton Smith!
We started the night off right with a party, celebrating all that women have done to help bring awareness to this issue.
It was such a beautiful event, thank to our fabulous event coordinators, Upon Request, and cater, Good Gracious.
The lovely, Kelly Thornton Smith with UCI Vice Chancellor, Parham.
From L to R: PBS SoCal President, Mel Rogers; Abigail Disney, Geena Davis, Kelly Thornton Smith, Roxanne Varzi and UCI’s Chancellor Drake.
Behind the scenes at our step & repeat!
Chancellor Drake welcomes our guests.
The VIP event was such a huge success. We are so grateful for our continued partnership with UCI, and for our NEW! partnership with PBS SoCal!
After the party, we walked over to UCI to dig into the issues at hand and learn how we can help.
Chancellor Drake and Kelly Thornton Smith welcome guests.
The event was packed and the room was filled to capacity! The talk was such a huge success. The panel brought thoughtful insight to the issues surrounding women in war, and Kelly moderated the panel with ease and grace. We are so proud of Kelly for doing such a great job!
Our expert panel, along with the fabulous Kelly!
Geena Davis and Kelly!
The night went by so quickly– it was so great to have Kelly moderating and asking these women how we can inspire other to “be the change they wish to see in the world.”
Speaking of be the change…
The Saturday before the speaking event, on October 8th, we welcomed youth to talk to them about women who are affected by war, and show them what they can do to help and inspire others.
Here are some highlights from the night…
Professional Tennis player and advocate, Maja Muric, spoke on her experiences growing up in war-torn Croatia.
Pamela Donohoo, the CUSA artist-in-residence performed a breathtaking dance inspired by the women of the Congo.
The performance was improvised, but used cultural dance movements that symbolized violence, nurturing and recovery.
Next, everyone broke up into smaller groups to delve deeper into the issues facing women all around the world who are victims of war.
College students discussed the impact of prominent women who have led challenges and shaped the ideas and practices of democracies around the world.
Elementary school attendees learned how to use media tools to share their story & explore ways to connect with other students & stories through Internet media tools.
Middle & high school students came together to make personal connections with a family who has been displaced by conflict in their homeland.
At the end of the day, participants left their hand prints on the CUSA’s painting. This painting will be sent to the Congo, symbolizing our dedication and commitment to helping them.
Check out this cool video from the Living Peace Projects!
It was such a great event– and we are so grateful to have worked with PBS SoCal! Want to learn more about Women, War & Peace? We’re screening the 5 PBS documentaries on Saturdays. To see the full schedule, click here.
We want to send out a huge THANK YOU and lots of love to Apples & Oranges for filming these events for us, our fabulous photographers, Alex Abercrombie & Jason Niedle; as well as everyone who participated in the events! We couldn’t do any of it with out YOU!
When Center for Living Peace founder Kelly Smith is traveling from one peacemaking event to the next, she’s blogging.
Redeye. New York to Los Angeles
8:42 AM – 9/11/11 – NYC Close to Ground Zero
The silence in New York City this morning was powerful. It sounded like music and mourning and respect. I left my room numbered 911 (yep 911) overlooking the Liberty Tower construction and arrived close to Ground Zero at 8:42 AM, where I heard what sounded like a church choir. The walk down had been quiet, with a few joggers running the opposite way. I followed the sound of the music to see groups of policeman walking in formal uniforms and families wearing photos of their loved ones passing through a security gate.
Others were wandering the silent streets. I asked the guard how to pass. She said that without an invitation it would be best to find a TV.
I saw children holding American flags, flags at half staff, lines of trash trucks and tow trucks and police cars and vans full of silent public servants just waiting there if needed.
A bit later someone told me to go to church. I thought they meant a building but then I saw Church Street and the lines to get in. I passed through security and found myself walking toward a large screen with Paul Simon’s image as he sung, “The Sound Of Silence.” The sound went straight to my heart.
And then those heroes stood before me listing the names, the many, many names. I felt a profound sense of love. Everyone was there to honor and remember. Children stood and read parts of the list and then the name of their parent, the one so many told them they looked like or acted like. A procession of those left behind took turns listing the names of those lost. They thanked them for laughter and pennies, blew kisses to the sky, and spoke of their courage. We all stood in the sound of silence and respect.
A group making a documentary for Korea asked me what I experienced 10 years ago and what I experienced today. My voice unexpectedly broke as I said, “I remember the fear, but today I see the strength.” When they saw my tears, they asked me what upset me most. “Seeing the children speak,” I said, thinking of my own.
They asked how I felt about those who had caused the attacks. How I felt about Muslims. Did I forgive? What could I do as an American now?
Her choice of words struck me hard. Muslim. Forgive. American.
What I chose is to realize how important each individual is. That is what I saw at the memorial. As each name was read, each life was honored. No one asked of the victims’ religions, their races, their job titles, or their politics. No one asked if they forgave. The family members spoke of their love for those lost, their special gifts, and what they each shared during their sacred lifetime.
As I relived 9/11 at the memorial, I felt grateful for the reminder to share what I can, to use my energies to make GOOD HAPPEN. I don’t remember what else I said, caught up in the emotion of the day, but I handed her my card, and told her about the mission of the Center for Living Peace. That we believe peace can be lived and experienced in all aspects of our daily lives – it is in the way we care for our environment, appreciate arts and culture, and in every word we speak and every action we take. She and the rest of her crew for whom she translated nodded and smiled shyly.
How can you make GOOD HAPPEN and Live Peace? Here are things you can do:
End Violence in the name of religion by signing the petition at www.themissingmdg.com. ArchBishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Laureate for Peace), Professor Mohammed Yunus, The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway all signed the petition as well. Please support their tireless efforts to make the world a much better place. Together, we can keep everyone accountable for a concerted global effort to END violence in the name of Religion.
Each quarter Virgin Unite picks their favorite entrepreneur to honor. This time around, they honored Kelly Smith for all of the work she has done in the past year establishing the Center for Living Peace!
Image Courtesy of Anne Chatillon
Congratulations, Kelly! We are so proud of you and all of the amazing work you are doing to make good happen! You can read the Virgin Unite article here!
What an amazing past few days we have had at CLP!!!! We didn’t want to keep you waiting too long, so here are some photos and videos from the Virgin Unite Working Groups, Living Peace Richard Branson talk and the Virgin Unite gala!
The Working Groups were set up to help local community leaders and students to start service projects in order to fundraise for various Virgin Unite Initiatives. With ideas ranging from eco-friendly gyms for the Carbon War Room to a film documentary on homelessness and human trafficking by Film for Change for Virgin Unite’s homeless youth initiative.
Video re-cap of the VU Working Groups!!!
Here are some photos from the speaking event:
And a video summarizing the speaking event!
A few great snapshots from the VU gala, where we raised over $250,000 for Virgin Unite!!!
A lovely photo of the CLP founder, Kelly Smith, and Pro-skateboarder extraordinaire, Rob Dyrdek!
And a video from the gala!!!
A special thanks to our fantabulous photographers! Working Group photos courtesy of Rudy Vega, LPS photos courtesy of Alex Abercrombie and Jason Niedle. We will be posting more photos to our flickr page in the next few days so you can see more of the amazing events!
The Richard Branson Living Peace events were a huge success! We were floored with how everything turned out! Here is a little sneak peek into the events! More photos and videos to come sooooooon!
Sir Richard Branson speaking at UCI about the work of Virgin Unite, moderated by Jerry Murdock.
The primary focus of the lecture was to talk about how business can be a force for good. ”You can change things without taking risks but if you really want to make a difference you have to take bold risks,” explained the entrepreneur.
Here is a photo from Sir Richard on the pink carpet at the gala:
Sir Richard had hurt his leg in a skiing accident and had just an operation! He needed to use a cane to help him walk around, so he decided to embrace the cane and dress like a pirate! Everyone loved it! He is always full of surprises!
We are so thankful to everyone for all of their help and support! It is because of the work of our friends at UCI, Apples and Oranges, Good Gracious, AND YOU for supporting CLP that we are able to have these amazing events! We are so grateful for your support and friendship! Together we are making good happen!!!!
Celebrations of Africa week was such an amazing series of classes! Thank you to all of our wonderful teachers for putting together the classes, and thank you to everyone who came and participated in the classes!
Sneak Peek of our Working Groups…
On Saturday, December 4th before the Charlize Theron speaking event, we brought together local groups to talk about what they could do to help the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project. Here’s a video that our friends at Apples and Oranges Productions put together for us!
Thank you again to Apples and Oranges Productions for filming our Working Groups and putting this video together for us! You guys did an amazing job!
Here is a preview of some photos from the gala…
Jason Niedle and Cali Green attended the gala on Saturday and wrote up a beautiful posts about the event!
Good really is happening! THANK YOU to everyone who helped us organize these events, and THANK YOU to everyone who came out and supported the Center for Living Peace and the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project!
