The Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center’s ninth annual Peace Builder Awards Gala, held Nov. 18 at the Majestic in downtown Bellingham, raised $18,000 to support the nonprofit’s mission.
The event sold out, attracting 200 guests attending to honor our community’s 2011 Peace Builders and to help generate donations for the WDRC. Included in the night was improv comedy by the Upfront Theatre, music from Lindsay Street, appetizers from Boundary Bay Brewery, a silent auction and raffle, and moving speeches by the Peace Builder Award winners themselves.
The 2011 award winners honored included:
• Community member: Lora Barton
• Education: Jill Heckathorn of WWU and Camp Team
• Innovative approaches: Animals as Natural Therapy
• Organization: LAW Advocates
• Program: Aubri Keleman and the Juvenile Detention Center Book Club
• Public servant: Gary Gerard of City Gate Apartments
• Restorative justice: Peacemaking Circles of the Lummi CEDAR Project
• Youth: Megan Hall
The WDRC is a nonprofit dedicated to educating and training the public in peaceful conflict resolution skills, and providing trained mediators to empower the community to resolve conflicts in equitable and cooperative ways. The Peace Builder Awards began nine years ago as a means to publicly recognize those in our community that have actively contributed to the creation of a peaceful community.
