On June 11, t
left to right: Peace Committee Chair Renuka Sethi, Club President Jeff Schafer and Kids for Peace Founder Jill McManigal
he Rotary Club of Carlsbad presented its first-ever PeaceMaker Award to Kids for Peace, a Carlsbad-based organization for students whose mission is to “cultivate every child’s innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences and hands-on arts, service and environmental projects.”

Kids for Peace was launched nine years ago in a Carlsbad backyard by a mom, Jill McManigal, and a high school student, Danielle Gram, and has since grown into a global nonprofit with more than 100 connected chapters around the world.

“One of the primary missions of Rotary International is to promote peace and goodwill throughout the world through our focus on ‘Service Above Self,’” said Renuka Sethi, Peace Chair of the Rotary Club of Carlsbad and a member of District 5340 Pathways to Peace Committee. “Throughout history, we have recognized the importance of peace for survival with the central goal being to unify or harmonize the diversity in culture and opinions. The architects of peace include not only famous world leaders and humanitarians, but also individuals from large and small communities who are less well known. These visionary individuals have expressed their passion and pursuit of peace through a variety of avenues. They have worked hard, made sacrifices, taken risks, and invested tremendous energy and resources. Most importantly, they have persevered to realize their passion and commitment to improving the lives of the less fortunate and create a better world for everyone. Today, we have the privilege of honoring a small group of such individuals from our own community. Selecting from a list of strong nominees with their diversity of contributions was indeed a challenge."
 
From the Seaside Courier. For the entire article that has more information, click here