interview: Dan & Ashley talk about ALIVE

This past summer 2008, two young Bethlehemians, Dan and Ashley, set out to create an 8-week summer program called Southside Expression.

The camp was based on an education curriculum called The Living Values Education Program, and was created by the Association for Living Values Education (ALIVE), an international, non-profit association of educators from around the world. According to their website, ALIVE is supported by UNESCO, sponsored by a wide variety of organizations, institutions and individuals, and is being implemented in all continents of the world. The basis of the curriculum promotes community and civic engagement by instilling a twelve core living values system that promotes peace, proactive involvement in community issues, and non-violent action. The twelve living values are: Unity, Simplicity, Responsibility, Happiness, Humility, Honesty, Respect, Peace, Love, Tolerance, Cooperation, and Freedom. You can find out more information about the program by going to their website at www.livingvalues.net.
All of the activities in the camp including poetry, stories, art, and role-playing were based around understanding and embodying the core values.
Southside Expression was sponsored and/or supported by St. Peter's Lutheran Church, from a stipend provided by Brockel Middle School, and The Spine, a statewide program established to bring children's PSSS scores up (the middle school equivalent of SAT's).
Though Brockel Middle School was the main supporter and participant of the program, there were a total of ten middle schools who's students were involved. During the eight-week course, the students were taught the importance of community action and active engagement in public policy. The group took time to discuss what some of the biggest problems in the Bethlehem community were and chose one issue they wanted to see positively changed. They decided to take on litter in the south-side Bethlehem community and organized projects to go out and clean the streets of Bethlehem. This hands-on community experience allowed them to meet many members of the local community, discuss the focus of the project, and taught them the meaning behind building a community network. They also received some notoriety for their deeds by having articles written about them in a few local newspapers, including the Morning Call and Express Times.
As the summer program moves further into hindsight, Ashley and Dan plan to continue to facilitate the development of community networking and build a community sanctuary focused around creating a culture for peace. Their next move is to create a non-profit organization based on non-violent action. They intend next to organize a fundraiser in the near future to develop the non-profit and other projects to help aid the youth in the greater Bethlehem region. They are presently looking for local people interested in becoming board members for the non-profit, as an active board is a must in order for them to be eligible for non-profit status. So, keep an eye out for Dan and Ashley's next series of projects set to materialize by the spring of 2009.