This coming week is YMCA Peace Week.
From November 13-20, YMCAs across Canada, are celebrating the presence of peace in our communities, and reflecting on the peace building work that happens all year.
The week will include a special presentation Thursday, to a local Peace Medal recipient to an individual or group who, without any special resources, demonstrates a commitment to peace through individual contributions made within their local, national, or global community.
The YMCA says there will be two local recipients this year.
In a statement, Sarah Cowley, CEO at YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce says, “It’s important that we work together to create peaceful communities where everyone feels that they belong,” adding, “By celebrating YMCA Peace Week together, we are taking a stand and creating the future we want for our community, country, and world.”
She says when people act for peace, they build community by promoting a sense of belonging, fostering empathy, and embracing diversity.
Cowley says, “We all have opportunities each day to choose to act for peace. They may be small actions, but they make a big difference and create a ripple effect through our community. By sharing our message of peace, we are able to inspire others to become engaged in peaceful actions.”
In 2020, the YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce named Jillian Lyman the recipient of that year’s peace medal.
Lyman, 19-years-old at the time, organized the Owen Sound Black Lives Matter Solidarity March in June following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
The theatre group Sheatre was awarded the medal in 2019. Sheatre is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1985 at the request of Huron County residents who wanted to tell their stories and address rural issues using interactive theatre. It puts together projects that often engage excluded populations and address high risk social issues through acting, music, dance and writing and film.
In 2018, the medal was awarded to the indigenous Prayer Walkers ‘Da-namaamin moseyang giw-ganchigaazjig kwewag’ who were making their way across the country on foot to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.