On Thursday evening, June 12, 2025, the Glorya Kaufman Community Center hosted a celebration of Creative Visions. This non-profit organization held a reception in the garden, and presented lots of peace-oriented artwork inside the theater. The theme of youth working towards peace was everywhere, from the display of origami cranes in the lobby to the many painting and artworks inside.
The focus of the event was the Students Rebuild/Spark Peace Project, one of the many organizations under the umbrella of Creative Visions. Over 1200 pieces of art were on display, along with performances from ‘Dance and Dialogue,’ and the singing duo ‘Tara and Trisha.’
The founder of Creative Visons, Kathy Eldon, told how her son Dan Eldon, was killed while on assignment as a journalist in Somalia in 1993. Using her grief to fuel her desire for a better world, she and her sister Amy Eldon-Turteltaub launched Creative Visions, “to use the power of art and media to create social change.”
She also gave a glowing introduction to Dr. Thomas Backer, of CSUN and UCLA, whose work in the non-profit world of arts support stretches across the country. Creative Visions CEO Pat Chandler also took the stage, to offer her reflections of the current state of the Peace Project. “There are 28,000 kids in 103 countries all connected here.”
Out of the many youth organizations represented, Kids for Peace was selected as the winner for the million dollar grant from Creative Visions. Based in Carlsbad, the local group, which started in 2009 with a ‘Local Hero” grant from Bank of America. Kids for Peace hosts the annual event, The Great Kindness Challenge. It takes place on the second Saturday in August and is open to youth of all ages. The Great Kindness Challenge is one day where kids around the world dedicate themselves to performing as many acts of kindness as possible, using a checklist of 50 suggestions.
They wrote the pledge that they wear on their t-shirts to remind people to center kindness and peace in all their actions.
Judith Martin-Straw