For the 34th consecutive week, the Center for Peace & Conflict Studies has compiled a list of acts of kindness and peace. The initiative began as a response to COVID-19 and the racism pandemic but has broadened to include any act of compassion or service to others. Please share these stories. If you have stories of positive acts people/organizations are taking and you would like to share them, please email them to Brandon Miller at peacecenter@bsu.edu. All the stories starting from week 1 are available online. Additionally, you can follow the Peace Center on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) at bsu4peace.
After his bicycle is stolen, a Virginia man begins collecting bikes to repair and donate to those in need
In September of 2020, someone stole the mountain bike off the back of Robbie Pruitt’s minivan in Ashburn, VA. When he visited his local bike shop, he discovered that there were few in stock. Because bicycles can serve as both a cheap mode of transportation and a way to spend time outdoors, the coronavirus pandemic had created a surge in demand. Rather than assume the worst, Pruitt began to wonder if the person who stole his bike had been motivated by desperation. Perhaps they merely needed a way to get to work, he thought. So, to help others in similar predicaments, Pruitt posted an advertisement to a local social media page indicating that he would restore and return any bike given to him. He also noted that he would accept any unwanted bike, restore it, and donate it to someone in need. Since the start of his endeavor, Pruitt has received more than 500 responses and he has repaired more than 140 bikes. He said that over half of the bikes he has repaired were donations. Most members of his community now have bikes, which he has restored to a like new condition on his own dime. He is also teaching others about bike repair, so they can handle their own bike maintenance in the future. Eventually Pruitt plans to expand his operation into an activity at the church where he is employed.
Source: The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/01/11/bike-repair-giveaway-ashburn-virginia/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist
Philadelphia resident distributes free pizzas by lowering them from his apartment window
Imagine living in an apartment and glancing out the window to see a pizza, attached to some string, descending slowly to ground level. It’s a strange, even surreal vision, but it has been a reality for residents of a certain neighborhood in Philadelphia since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Ben Berman had been planning a pizza party with some friends when COVID-19 cases began to surge and the gravity of the pandemic was setting in. To ensure the safety of himself and his loved ones, he cancelled the party. The cancellation left him with a small problem, though (or, more precisely, with 16 problems that were approximately 12 inches in diameter): he had already made the pizzas. Rather than let the pizzas spoil, Berman decided to get creative and devise a safe way to distribute those pies to his friends. With a pulley and some string, he began lowering them out his window to hungry friends below. The idea grew as Berman realized he could continue the unconventional delivery system and provide both free food and some whimsy to people in his community. Berman had been looking for a way to honor his grandmother, who died from COVID-19 in March. “I thought this would be a good way to honor her and give people hope,” he said. So he set up an Instagram page, named his operation (Good Pizza PHL), and set up an online lottery through which 20 people per week are selected to receive a free cheese pizza. Although he does not charge for the pizzas and pays for the ingredients out of pocket, Berman does suggest that recipients donate to a charity dedicated to fighting food or housing insecurity. His quirky campaign has been wildly successful. As of the first week in January, Berman’s initiative had raised more than $32,000. “It brings people joy to watch a pizza coming down from the second story, just for them,” Berman said. “This is something positive that I can do from my own apartment.”
Source: The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/01/12/free-pizza-window-pulley-philadelphia/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist
Cops raise money to buy a minivan for a single mom who had to walk 12 miles to work every day
In December, deputies at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas began receiving reports of a woman walking along the busy highway during the mornings. Each time the deputies responded, they gave the woman a ride to work and, in doing so, learned that her daily commute was a 12-mile round trip. “…she had to walk so she could feed her children and was very driven and motivated to take care of her family any way she could,” the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a statement. The deputies who helped this woman (who remained unnamed in news coverage) wanted to help alleviate some of the burden she experienced, so they decided to rally residents and businesses in their community to raise money that they could use to buy a van and car seats for the woman. In only a few days, they raised enough to buy both the van and the car seats, a gift card for the family, as well as pay for a year of auto insurance and the vehicle registration. Photos of the giveaway show the woman overcome with emotion as she peers into the van.
Source: KDVR News - https://kdvr.com/news/trending/mother-of-two-surprised-with-a-car-after-deputies-learn-she-walked-miles-to-work/?fbclid=IwAR05Cye1DURw_Oon4HQzfRL4y6Uq0_qEPi_7ZpPAfjh6fdo9SgYHMqdvyPQ
Note. The Ball State University Center for Peace & Conflict Studies will host the Benjamin V. Cohen Peace Conference: Building a Beloved Community. This virtual conference will be held on April 9 and 10!