The Peace Corner Newsletter                           March 2006                                     Year 3, Issue # 5

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P. O. Box 440113,  5014 W. Madison, Chicago, IL. 60644. Tel. 773/261-5330
Email: thepeacecorner@yahoo.com                                         Web site: www.thepeacecorner.org 
EDITORIAL STAFF: 
Fr. Maurizio Binaghi, Mike Reever, Mike Reever, Bill Klump, Javon Churchill,
and all those who want to help!!!

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Are you sure you know all the services the Peace Corner offers to everybody who may need them? THEY ARE: - Friendship & Support - The Tutoring program.  - The Job Training program. - The G.E.D. program - The Computer class - Legal Counseling (if you need to                    talk to a lawyer) ...and never forget  the opportunity  to have a lot of fun....

THE NEW LIFE OF EASTER            Easter always reminds me of the gift of life, the new life we experience in Christ. Here at the Peace Corner we are Blessed because we experience almost every day the new life many of our youth begin after periods, sometimes years, of struggle, pain and disillusion.              It is a privilege and an honor to be part of their journey especially when they go from darkness to the light of new beginnings.            As usual many happenings have marked our days here in our little youth center. Joseph, our great supervisor since the opening of the Peace Corner, has left us to explore new venues in his life. He pledged to  remain involved with the center that, in his words: “turned his life around”. We are very thankful to him for the years of dedication to the Peace Corner and wish him all the best for the continuation of his life journey: you will be missed!           We are also very proud of our newest class: The BYOP course, that teaches work ethics and responsibility. Six very (very) proud youth graduated Saturday March 25th and are now ready to “share the wisdom” they learned. All of us and particularly myself, are very grateful to Cynthia Hernandez Kolski who wrote the curriculum and to our other instructors: Commander Alfonza Wysinger, commander of the Police 15th District and Mr. Bill Klump. Their words, their wisdom but especially their example left a huge impression in all the youth here. I really hope that all of them will remain with us and continue to help us. Please on the next page read the article Mr. Klump wrote on his experience with us: words with a meaning!.           We are also planning great things for our GED course, Mike in the next column will explain what we have in store.           Finally, with this issue we begin a new section in our Newsletter called: “One Of A Kind”. Each issue we will introduce to you a youth from the Peace Corner. It will be our way to give a face and a soul to the stories, the struggles and the dreams we share here.           Hope you enjoy this issue. Please continue to keep us in your prayers: you are always in ours.         May the Blessings of Easter dwell upon you and upon all your dear ones.   With Gratitude, ---- Fr. Maurizio

                 Since I first started volunteering at the Peace Corner I have always believed that the GED program is the foundation of what we are trying to accomplish.  It offers our men and women the ability to become better educated and have a greater opportunity to succeed in life.  It is a positive alternative that can truly build an unwavering amount of confidence in an individual and a desire to continually achieve more.  We are strengthening this program in preparation for the start of classes in October. 

                 We will be working with the Probation department to gain a valuable influx of dedicated students who wish to empower themselves through education.  We are also continuing our relationship with volunteer student teachers at Loyola University of Chicago and will be attempting to recruit volunteer teachers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  This Fall will be an exciting year for our GED program and is a stronger program because of our dedicated staff, volunteers, and students.  Have a Blessed Easter and thank you for your continued support of all that we do!! 

                 My name is Bill Klump and I am a parishioner at Our Lady of Peace in Darien, I had personally been looking for a way to give back to the community and to God , but did not know how or even why I would do such a thing. I sat down with Father M at the Peace Corner and he told me about the upcoming Be Your Own Person ( BYOP ) project he was developing at the Peace Corner. It came about because there is a shortage of entry level workers on the west side, specifically in the Austin neighborhood. For those unfamiliar with Chicago neighborhoods, this area is arguably the poorest, most neglected area in the city, full of drug dealers, gang members, and violence.
With that said, the group of facilitators that I work with began a program to blueprint a way to show these young men our side of the real world. Father has already provided them a safe haven to exercise, socialize, learn computer skills, and even earn their GED's.

                 It was left to us to teach these highly intelligent young men what is expected of them in the workplace. We taught workplace etiquette, work ethic, dignity through employment, responsibility, and a host of other critical strengths. Along the way , I found myself rewarded when my message was heard and understood, disappointed when it was forgotten by the next session, and even saw the class derail briefly. On this journey, I found that my life and small business experiences made me a role model for young men desperate for a positive male figure in their life. They came to trust me, and I found myself gradually finding what I was looking for a way to make a difference, a way to give back, and a way to put an end, in my mind, to generations old prejudices that I have carried like a boulder my whole life.

                 I am extremely proud to have been given the chance to serve, and eagerly await the next group of students. I have learned that we, together, can do no harm- only good. I know that all of this work is worth it if just a few of these youths accept their place as the head of their households, work honestly, keep their word, and in turn become a role model for others in the neighborhood , and most importantly be the positive role model that their own children need so desperately.

                 I am available at any time to talk about BYOP and would gladly take you there to show what Father and the Peace Corner have become in that neighborhood- a historic landmark that depicts the power of change.

To Enlarge Click Individual Images Below 

To Enlarge Click Individual Images Above 

Hi my name is Javon Churchill ...

                 Hi my name is Javon Churchill and I am 20 years old. I am a young black man and I have a child: she is 2 years old and beautiful! I have lived in Chicago all my life.

                 One day, four years ago, I was on my way to the store for my mother and I saw this place called “The Peace Corner”. I stopped in and I had a lot of fun. I got to know everybody there and I met this man: his name is Fr. Maurizio. I came to know him very well and he became important for me. 

                 I like working out and lifting weights — I AM THE BEST AND THE STRONGEST..., I also like to talk to the younger kids and be a positive role model for them. 

                 I have been around the Peace Corner for four years and I now work there. I like my job very much: I am the new supervisor! 

                 I like working at the Peace Corner because it gives to the youth of our area the possibility to stay off the streets and do something positive. The Peace corner is also very important for all of us because it gives guys who have been in trouble a second chance in life. 

                 If you are in the neighborhood please stop by and visit us!