Make the world a better place with your membership to

The Peace Center! 

At The Peace Center, members connect with something greater than themselves.

What do you suppose is the most effective way to reduce violence in our city by 25%? That is the question that keeps us up at night at The Peace Center. It keeps us up because every year in Chicagoland streets, 40 children are killed from violence - that’s three times more than the number of soldiers from the area killed in Iraq during the same timeframe [1]. Thousands more are bullied. We know there is a better, more peaceful way to live. That is where we come in, one person at a time.   

No, we’re not the police, the government, a new social program to introduce the latest “band aid” program for a spiraling crime rate….we’re just a group of citizens who are making the world a better place from the inside out. We begin by first embodying the change we wish to see in the world, as the great peacemaker Gandhi urged us to do.  

Rose Mary stood outside the Peace Center looking scared and lonely one rainy afternoon. She had a black eye and would not look at me when I invited her in. She saw a book in the window about how you can change your thinking and change your life. She was 19, still in high school, and didn’t want to go home just yet. I poured her a cup of hot chocolate, offered her a seat in our circle and listened to her story. She had been bullied at school and chased home many a night. She was in tears how she might stop being a “bully magnet” as she described it. I assured her it was entirely possible and more than that, because hundreds of people have done exactly that using the techniques we teach at The Peace Center. Having exhausted the resources of the school and local authorities to resolve the problem, Rose Mary was ready for a change, a change for experiencing greater peace in her life from the inside out.  

Oliver Wendell Holmes said: "Man's mind, once  stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." Therein lies the hope of a peaceful vision for ourselves, our communities and those we love. A new idea. A better idea of what is possible. The problem is most people do not want to stretch their minds to make the world a better place. It’s not safe to think about creating peace in the community, let alone talk about it with others, or study it. Like Rose Mary, people are afraid of the world. 

A peaceful community is literally a peace-able community. Peace is now principally the work of peacemakers, and community members. It’s not just the police’s job; it’s your job, too. We can increase our peacemaking skills; we can increase our desire to live a life in peace free of chaos and violence.  Our mission at The Peace Center is to offer skills and tools for peaceful living and make the world a better place.  We help people become able to live peacefully.  

Rose Mary went on to take classes at The Peace Center, volunteer here and became a member. Today, she has a job she loves, is living on her own, is an avid financial supporter of the Center as well. As she later put it, "After I became involved at The Peace Center, I wasn't afraid of the world anymore” . . . and she never returned to that ‘original dimension.’ 

Now marks a new opportunity for YOU to get involved in this mission, and the easiest way to get involved today is to contribute with your financial support. As you have read, your donation indeed does make a difference in many, many lives. Through your act of giving, you are doing something powerful to make the world a better place.

Our community, our center, our work, our ability to offer relevant peace programs won't grow and prosper because of one person, program, or event. It takes a community. It takes you. Please consider becoming a member now. While we appreciate any donations, no matter the size, we suggest $100 because it gets you a super-supporter membership and a copy of The Peacemaker’s Journal. There are a couple ways you can do this right now:

Yes! I want to make the world a better place by supporting The Peace Center!  Becoming a member of The Peace Center indicates a willingness to make a serious commitment to something greater than yourself.    Membership is renewed annually.

Become a Peace Center member (renewed annually)

Basic Membership : $25.00USD - yearly Supporting Membership : $50.00USD - yearly Super Supporter : $100.00USD - yearly

Super-supporter memberships come with a copy of The Peacemaker's Journal

All members receive discounts on our life-changing classes and events in addition to special premiums offered throughout the year.

To make donations of other amounts and/or frequency - please see more about our giving programs here or use the DONATE NOW button to the right.  

Old School

Write a check and put it in the mail. Give generously because your contribution will indeed make a difference in many, many lives.

The Peace Center
P O Box 98
Berwyn, IL 60402-0098

Make checks payable to The Peace Center. All donations are tax deductible.  Thank you again for your generosity and commitment. 

  Sincerely, 

Margo Ruark 

Executive Director  

The Peace Center, a DBA of The Center for the New Humanity, Inc. is organized to operate exclusively for charitable purposes that qualify under section 501(c)3. Thank you for your support.