NONVIOLENCE ORGANIZATIONS

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). AVP/USA: 1050 Selby Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104, 877-926-8287, avp [at] avpusa [dot] org, www.avpusa.org. AVP empowers people to lead nonviolent lives through affirmation, respect for all, community building, cooperation, and trust. AVP/USA is an association of community based groups and prison based groups offering experiential workshops in personal growth and creative conflict management. The national organization provides support for the work of these local groups.

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). AFSC National Office. 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, (215) 241-7000, afscinfo [at] afsc [dot] org, www.afsc.org. AFSC is a practical expression of the faith of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Committed to the principles of nonviolence and justice, it seeks in its work and witness to draw on the transforming power of love, human and divine.

Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, P.O. Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971 USA; (800) 475-2369; www.easwaran.org. For a tried-and-true method of meditation available to all, religious or not, we highly recommend this center with its many retreats, books, tapes and courses. Everything you need, including inspiring passages to begin meditating on, will be found.

Capacitar International, Inc. 23 East Beach Street, Suite 206, Watsonville, CA 95076, 831-722-7590, www.capacitar.org. Capacitar — meaning, in Spanish, to empower, to encourage, to bring each other to life — is an international network of empowerment and solidarity connecting people from grassroots groups. Capacitar uses simple practices of healing, team-building and self-development to awaken people to their own source of strength and wisdom so they can reach out to heal injustice and create a more peaceful world.

Center for Nonviolent Communication. 2428 Foothill Boulevard, Suite E, La Crescenta, CA 91214, 818-957-9393, www.cnvc.org. CNC is a global organization whose vision is a world where all people are getting their needs met and resolving their conflicts peacefully. In this vision, people are using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to create and participate in networks of worldwide life-serving systems in economics, education, justice, healthcare, and peace-keeping.

Department of Peace Campaign. PO Box 3259, Center Line, MI 48015, (586) 754-8105, peace [at] renaissancealliance [dot] org . An historic citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace (HR 1673), sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. This bill establishes nonviolence as an organizing principle of American society, providing the U.S. President with an array of peace-building policy options for domestic and international use.

Dolores Huerta Foundation. Post Office Box 9189, Bakersfield, California 93309, (661) 322-3033, www.doloreshuerta.org. The non-profit organization’s mission is to build active communities working for fair and equal access to healthcare, housing, education, jobs, civic participation and economic resources for disadvantaged communities with an emphasis on women and youth.

Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802 – 2462, 540-432-4000, www.emu.edu/ctp. EMU educates students to live in a global context. Our Anabaptist Christian community challenges students to pursue their life calling through scholarly inquiry, artistic creation, guided practice, and life-changing cross-cultural encounter. We invite each person to experience Christ and follow His call to: witness faithfully, serve compassionately, and walk boldly in the way of nonviolence and peace. Teaches graduate courses in conflict transformation primarily through its Summer Peacebuilding Institute. Has students from all around the world.

Fellowship of Reconciliation. 521 N. Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960, 845-358-4601, www.forusa.org. FOR seeks to replace violence, war, racism, and economic injustice with nonviolence, peace, and justice. It is an interfaith organization committed to active nonviolence as a transforming way of life and as a means of radical change. They educate, train, build coalitions, and engage in nonviolent and compassionate actions locally, nationally, and globally.

M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. C/O Christian Brothers University, 650 East Parkway, South Memphis, TN 38104, 901-452-2824, www.gandhiinstitute.org. Led by Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, the Institute promotes and applies the principles of nonviolence locally, nationally, and globally, to prevent violence and resolve personal and public conflicts through research, education, and programming.

Global Peace Services. 202-216-9886, john_eriksson [at] compuserve [dot] com. GPS/USA, P.O. Box 27922, Washington, DC 20038. Movement to create a professional peace service by promoting education and skills-training for men and women based on a philosophy of active nonviolence. Human Kindness Foundation. PO Box 61619, Durham, NC 27715, (919) 304-2220, www.humankindness.org. Besides its internationally respected Prison-Ashram Project, the Foundation sponsors a spiritual community and visitor’s center called Kindness House, plus Bo Lozoff’s free talks and workshops. Since 1973, Bo has spoken in hundreds of prisons, hospitals, churches, universities and spiritual centers around the globe.

Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ)/Families Against Violence Advocacy Network (FAVAN). 4144 Lindell Boulevard #408, St. Louis, MO 63108, 314-533-4445, ppjn [at] aol [dot] com, www.ipj-ppj.org. IPJ is an independent, interfaith, not-for-profit organization that creates resources, provides learning experiences, and advocates publicly for alternatives to violence and injustice at the individual, family, community, institutional and global levels.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center. 449 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30312, 404-526-8900, information [at] thekingcenter [dot] org, www.thekingcenter.org. Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the King Center is the living memorial and institutional guardian of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. The King Center accomplishes this through programming, building a network of organizations, providing a clearinghouse for Dr. King’s writings, and managing visitor services.

METTA Center for Nonviolence. 236 West Portal Avenue #47, San Francisco, CA 94127, 650-270-6966, codirectors [at] mettacenter [dot] org, www.mettacenter.org. The METTA Center works to inspire and support the study and practice of nonviolence. By providing resources and other educational activities, we empower ourselves and others to enliven the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and all those who have blazed a trail to the “beloved community” and a nonviolent future for humanity.

Michigan Peace Team (MPT). 1516 Jerome Street, Lansing, MI 48912, 517-484-3178, michpeaceteam [at] peacenet [dot] org, www.michiganpeaceteam.org. MPT empowers people to engage in active nonviolent peacemaking. It was started in 1993, in response to the growing need for civilian peacemakers both in the U.S. and abroad. MPT seeks a just world grounded in nonviolence and respect for the sacred interconnectedness of all life.

Nevada Desert Experience. PO Box 46645, Las Vegas, NV 89114- 6645, 702-646-4814, nde [at] peacenet [dot] org, www.nevadadesertexperience.org. NDE works to stop nuclear weapons testing through a campaign of prayer, education, dialogue, and nonviolent direct action. NDE mobilizes people of faith to work toward nuclear abolition.

Nonviolence International (NI). 4545 42nd Street N.W., Washington, D.C., (202) 393-3616, nonviolence [at] igc [dot] org, www.nonviolenceinternational.net. NI assists individuals, organizations, and governments striving to utilize nonviolent methods to bring about changes reflecting the values of justice and human development on personal, social, economic, and political levels. NI is committed to educating the public about nonviolent action and to reducing the use of violence worldwide.

Nonviolence Peaceforce (NPF). NPF Bay Area, 721 Shrader Street, San Francisco, CA 94117, peaceworkers at igc.org, 415-751-0302, www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org. NPF is building a trained, international civilian peaceforce committed to third-party nonviolent intervention.

Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service. www.paceebene.org; Engage: www.EngageNonviolence.org; 1420 W. Bartlett Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89106; 702-648-2281; paceebene [at] paceebene [dot] org. Launched in 1989, Pace e Bene cultivates nonviolent living and the emergence of nonviolent cultures through training, publishing, advocacy, and spiritual practice. Pace e Bene has led hundreds of nonviolence trainings, workshops, retreats and classes for thousands of people throughout the world.

Peace Brigades International. (PBI)/USA, 428 8th St. SE, 2nd fl., Washington DC 20003 202-544-3765, info [at] pbiusa [dot] org, www.peacebrigades.org. PBI provides nonviolent international peacekeeping in areas of violent conflict and repression, offering unarmed protective accompaniment to individuals, organizations, and communities threatened with political violence and human rights violations.

Peace Justice Studies Association (PJSA). 5th Floor University Center, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117-1080, Phone: 415-422-5238, www.peacejusticestudies.org. PJSA works to create a just and peaceful world through: the promotion of peace studies within universities, colleges and K-12 grade levels; the forging of alliances among educators, students, activists, and other peace practitioners in order to enhance each other’s work on peace, conflict and non-violence; the creation and nurturing of alternatives to structures of inequality and injustice, war and violence through education, research and action.

Resources Advancing Initiatives in Nonviolence (RAIN). 1545 Farwell, Chicago, IL USA; 773-338-8445; www.RainOnline.org. RAIN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing resources that explore the creativity and spirituality of active nonviolence to promote the well-being of all. These resources include media that tell the stories of active nonviolence through video, print and web formats.

Ruckus Society. 369 15th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 763-7078, info [at] ruckus [dot] org, www.ruckus.org. The Ruckus Society provides environmental, human rights, and social justice organizers with the tools, training, and support needed to achieve their goals.

School of Americas Watch. PO Box 4566, Washington DC 20017, 202-234-3440, info [at] soaw [dot] org, www.soaw.org. SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work.

Season for Nonviolence (SNV). 1815 Garden Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, 805-563-7343, snv [at] agnt [dot] org, www.agnt.org/snv02.htm. Convened by the Association for Global New Thought, SNV runs from January 30 - April 4, a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.

Soulforce, Inc. PO Box 3195, Lynchburg, VA 24503-0195, 877-705-6393, info [at] soulforce [dot] org, www.soulforce.org. Soulforce is an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people.

Training for Change. 1501 Cherry St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-241-7035, peacelearn [at] igc [dot] org, www.trainingforchange.org. Training for Change offers workshops teaching skills and tools to individuals and groups working for nonviolent social change.

United States Institute for Peace. 202-457-1700, www.usip.org. 1200 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. USIP’s Religion and Peacemaking initiative helps US faith-based organizations to become more active and effective as international peacebuilders.

University of Rhode Island Nonviolence Institute, Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. Multicultural Center, University of Rhode Island, 74 Lower College Road, Kingston, RI 02881, 401-874-2875, www.uri.edu/nonviolence. The program helps build a world of mutual understanding among people, in which nonviolent processes are used to reconcile conflicts and build community. We seek to study and apply approaches which will foster more harmonious relationships at every level. The Center will accomplish this mission by providing educational and research opportunities, and leadership development at the University of Rhode Island, and help facilitate such programs throughout the state.

Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP). 1007 NE 118th Avenue, Portland, OR 97220, 503-255-8677, martyprice [at] vorp [dot] com, www.vorp.com. VORP works to bring restorative justice reform to our criminal and juvenile justice systems, to empower victims, offenders and communities to heal the effects of crime, to curb recidivism and to offer our society a more effective and humanistic alternative to the growing outcry for more prisons and more punishment.

War Resisters League. 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012, 212-228-0450, wrl [at] warresisters [dot] org, www.warresisters.org. WRL advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the method for creating a democratic society free of war, racism, sexism, and human exploitation through education and action.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). 1213 Race Street, Philadelphia PA - 19107 1691, 215-563 7110, www.wilpf.org. WILPF was founded in 1915 during World War I, with Jane Addams as its first president. WILPF works to achieve through peaceful means world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish those political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all.