SPRINGFIELD PEACE CENTER
Educating for Peace
Donate
We depend on generous donations from community members to continue our programs in the Springfield community. We accept monetary donations, as well as goods throughout the year. To donate, please reach out to us using the contact information at the bottom of this webpage.
Volunteer
Whether you are looking to prep class materials, join us as a teacher, or help out at Peace Camp, we are always looking for community members to assist us throughout the year. To volunteer, please reach out to us using the contact information at the bottom of this webpage.
Attend
The Springfield Peace Center hosts several events throughout the year, such as Peace Camp and our annual Sweetness of Peace fundraiser. By attending with your family or telling your friends, you can help the Peace Center in our mission to educate Springfield in the name of peace.
About Us
The Springfield Peace Center is a small non-profit organization located on the campus of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. We are dedicated to educating for peace and teaching alternatives to violence by offering a free one-week conflict management Peace Camp every year in June and presenting conflict solving and leadership classes in the schools and community agencies year-round. The Springfield Peace Center’s mission is to educate students through engaging activities in conjunction with our evidence-based curriculum, promoting understanding, appreciating, and interaction across all cultures and beliefs in all ages.
History
The Springfield Peace Center grew out of a desire by community members and Wittenberg professors to provide education to students that would unify the young people of Springfield. More than 33 years later, the Springfield Peace Center is still serving students across the city by teaching conflict management and bullying response skills.
The evidenced based Peace Works curriculum used by the Springfield Peace Center has gone through changes and been subjected to multiple updates throughout the years. However, one thing has remained the same: the lessons have always been created specifically for Springfield students by Springfield community members.
What We Offer
Peace Camp
Over 200 children from 4-years-old through 6th grade attend our annual Peace Camp during the first week of June. Over the course of five days, children learn conflict management, appreciation of differences, and bullying response skills from volunteers from local schools and agencies. There is no cost for students to attend Peace Camp.
Peace Camp 2020 information will be posted as we draw closer to the dates.
Creative Conflict Curriculum in Local Schools
Teachers at the Springfield Peace Center deliver our Creative Conflict curriculum to students in schools within Springfield. Students learn about managing conflict, dealing with bullies, and appreciating differences.
The Peace Center is delivering the Creative Conflict curriculum to students at several schools in Springfield this year. Check back soon for more information as we venture into classrooms during the 2019-2020 school year!
Peer Mediation Training
Our annual Mediation Training is held the week before Peace Camp each year. The goal of the training is to equip local 7th-12th grade students with the skills necessary to mediate conflicts that occur among their peers. They put these skills to use in the classrooms at Peace Camp.
Mediation Training 2020 information will be posted as we draw closer to the dates.
Testimonials
"Every day after Peace Camp, our daughter told her babysitter all about the I-Care rule she learned for that day. She then took her listening ears and helping hand crafts to her grandparents’ house for the weekend to tell them all about the same I-Care rules! In class she would interact with others in who were being disruptive by reminding them about the I-Care rules. By the end of the week, she was reciting all five rules from memory!"
~Parent of Pre-K Camper at Peace Camp 2019
“A group of us peer mediators all go to Springfield High School, but we have never met before mediation training. Because the school is so big, a lot of times you go through your entire high school life without meeting everyone who attends school there. I am grateful to meet the students I go to school with and the mediators from other schools. I love all of us for who we are. Each of us is different and have our own quirks but that is okay! That is what makes us unique and I love every single person just the way they are.”
~Mediator at Peace Camp 2019 after Mediation Training
“I took my campers outside to play Simon Says. When students were out, they sat on the side to watch the remaining players. It was down to the last three students and all the students gathered around to cheer on their classmates. When the final student was left standing, everyone cheered and told her ‘good job!’ The students showed genuine support for one another, even though this was not a cooperative game.”
~3rd Grade Teacher at Peace Camp 2019
"The Springfield Peace Center does amazing work that teaches children skills that will transfer across settings and the lifespan. The teachers truly care about every child and they are unafraid to have tough conversations about conflict resolution. The I-Care Rules are easy to understand and will never be a passing fad. The curriculum truly stands the test of time."
~ 2019 Peace Center Board Member
