The Fall River Heroes of Peace Awards ceremony, originally postponed from the Police in Public Palooza due to weather, was held on October 17, 2022, to kick off Unity Week. Mayor Paul Coogan began the event by reading a proclamation declaring October 19th as Unity Day in Fall River, emphasizing kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to combat bullying. Christian Gagne then provided background on the Heroes of Peace award, established in 2010 by the Peace by Peace steering committee, which recognizes individuals and groups for their efforts in promoting peace and overcoming violence in the community. The ceremony proceeded to honor several individuals and organizations. Individual recipients included Michael Thompson for forming a grief group and leading a youth mental health forum at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School; Allison Egg from the Family Service Association for her tireless work supporting children, teenagers, and families; Sarah Rodricks, Executive Director of the Balanced Learning Center, for her extensive volunteering and dedication to youth; and Sheila Kaufman, Prevention Manager at SSTAR, for her substance use prevention and wellness initiatives. Group and business awards were presented to Citizens for Citizens Family Planning and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs for promoting healthy youth decisions; The Trust Group and Organizations Standing Together for their youth and family support through charitable and recreational events; Viva Fall River for revitalizing the community through culture, art, and economic development; and Scotty's Pub for its consistent community support, fundraising, and event hosting.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Watch the video to verify.
Council
City Officials
Education
Public / Other
good afternoon I'd like to thank everyone for coming today we are going to be announcing the heroes of Peace originally this was had been scheduled for the police in public palooza but Mother Nature did not want us to celebrate that so this is a delayed celebration and we're had it this week in order to help us kick off Unity week Unity day is going to be taking place on Wednesday I'd like to call up mayor
0:26Coogan to say a few words and read a citation about Unity day um obvious it's a great day to recognize a bunch of people that contribute to the Community Day in day out it's it's very important so I have a proclamation that we're going to try to read here um whereas our community is comprised of people from all different yet all live work and reside together in our town and in the course of living and working
1:00together there is sometimes conflict and even behaviors like bullying that cause strife and hardship whereas many children and adolescents are affected by bullying annually causing pain and health repercussions that can last for years and whereas targets of bullying are more likely to acquire physical emotional and learning problems than students and students that are reportedly bullied
1:24others that fear such activities as such as riding on the bus going to school and attending any community activities whereas the presence of bullying in our community creates an environment that may hold our children back from being all they can be and whereas research has shown that promoting and modeling the um the behaviors of kindness acceptance of differences and inclusion creates
1:50healthier communities for all people with fewer incidents of bullying and coming together United in our desire to create a healthy Community for all be it resolved that I Paul Coogan mayor of the city of Fall River Proclaim November 19 November beautiful October 19th Unity day so again thank you everybody and we'll be given this proclamation to Christian and we'll get on with the awards foreign
2:21gagne up to say a few words about the heroes of peace and make our first announcement the Fall River Advance prevention initiative is a collaboration of dedicated Partners focused on empowering the community at large to become involved in the reduction in Ultimate prevention of Youth violence in follower its mission is based on the philosophy that no one program organization Grant or approach can solve the problem of
2:49violence only a collaborative expansion of various violence prevention efforts will enable fallover to move closer to achieving that shared vision of Peace for which every Community strives the Fall River Advance prevention initiative is very proud to oversee the heroes of peace so far too often the news is filled with stories of violence and aggression throughout Fall River however there are
3:11many unsung individuals groups and programs addressing violence and working toward creating peace peacemakers are the ones fighting to make our community stronger through acts of kindness Heroes of Peace aren't just the organizations that run great City events to promote peace Heroes of Peace are also the little boy in the park who asks the little girl with no friends to play the
3:32high school student who stands up to the bully in the hallway the neighbor who asks another neighbor if he or she needs help after a loud fight in the home or even the citizen who cares enough about his or her community to report suspicious activity in their neighborhood there are so many ways to be of Heroes of Peace a hero of Peace the hearers of Peace award was created in 2010 by the piece by piece steering
3:54committee to recognize the many individuals and groups who are providing a positive message of Hope and compassion and Fall River as part of the effort to acknowledge that no one-person group or approach can solve this problem of violence the fall over youth violence prevention initiative is once again recognizing those in the community who are instrumental in overcoming violence
4:14refusing to be a bystander to aggressive acts and understand that the world will become a better place because of kindness so our first recipient of the hero of Peace award is Michael Thompson Michael could you come forward and we're gonna we're gonna read a little bit about why each recipient was nominated so while he was a senior last year at Diamond Regional Vocational Technical High School Michael Thompson
4:42recognized that in reflecting in his own challenges he had experienced in life he could do the most selfless act in supporting his peers working with mental health support in the school he helped to form a grief group that provided amazing support to other students who had lost significant people in their lives in addition he helped lead the school's first youth mental health Forum
5:02to give students and staff a voice on the current social emotional concerns rising up in the school and Beyond Michael your positive impact on helping those in this community especially as a youth in our city makes you an amazing hero of peace and moving forward into the future absolutely
5:31you know the category of individuals another member of the Family Service Association family Allison egg Allison has spent her career supporting children teenagers and Families in Need through her work at Family Service Association as coordinator of the Family Resource Center Allison Works tirelessly to ensure that when someone comes into the FRC they find the services they need her leadership is evident each day she
6:04leads her team with empathy confidence integrity and effective communication Allison is additionally a member of many task focused committees and boards and her guidance is often sought when in community need is highlighted she will always reach out to stakeholders in an effort to collaborate strategize and secure productive outcome Allison you have no idea just how much positive
6:27impact and peace you have brought to so many individuals in Greater Fall River for this we present you with the forever Heroes of Peace award thank you our next individual is Sarah Rodricks come on down Sarah she can come as executive director of the non-profit organization balanced Learning Center Sarah Rodricks has helped play a major role in various committees and initiatives throughout the city if it
7:02involves helping youth Sarah simply does not say no to helping our children and teens grow healthier and happier she volunteers countless hours to providing Community presentations contributing to events running needed group support and overall helping out in any way she can these attributes have put her in a position to help move our city forward in many ways and while she will always cringe the public recognition
7:25for all these reasons and many more Sarah you are a fall over hero of peace
7:58foreign like the cult Sheila Kaufman take your time
8:19Sheila is someone who has a heart of gold as prevention manager Arts thaw she supports young people in their families by delivering substance use prevention education treatment recovery and wellness initiatives her efforts emphasize the importance of both physical and mental health and wellness Schiller is involved in numerous initiatives that seek to engage and Empower our community especially our
8:40youth some examples include Boulder me before use and project red and black Sheila thank you so much for your impact on this community and congratulations on being a four of a hero of peace thank you very nice our next category is agencies groups and businesses in the community and our and our first one is Citizens for Citizens Family Planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs
9:26thank you so much to Citizens for Citizens Family Planning and teen pregnancy prevention programs an underdog of support in this community this program helps countless youth make healthy decisions surrounding personal health and relationships their peer leadership group not only takes an active role in the organization and Community initiatives but they additionally educate other youth about
9:47important resources available to them their adult leadership has remained a concrete pillar of support and collaboration in folliver and Beyond thank you so much for your commitment to the growth and progress of our community and for being an outstanding hero of peace foreign
10:33organizations standing together in the virva trust group please the trust group and organizations standing together our organizations are focused on the Youth of our city in supporting families in need with charitable and recreational events their goals are to bridge the community as one with the hope of a better future in improving their quality of life in addition to organizing food and toy drives and providing
11:07scholarships for recreational opportunities they have organized and are helped out with some amazing events the past two summers the Reverend organizations staying together thank you for everything that you do and please accept the heroes of Peace award thank you
11:42our next group is Viva Fall River
11:50Viva Fall River sees what this city can be and jumps in fully to do more than their part in revitalizing and reinvigorating the fall of her community as a collaborative initiative and movement that showcases the culture and art of our community their footprint can be seen across Fall River you can't look at their mural from the eye 195 highway without smiling at its boldness and beautification they also
12:13work toward providing a vital role in Economic Development while staying true in their mission to celebrate this City's beautiful and strong roots thank you so much Viva Fall River for being a hero of peace thank you
12:33in Scotty's Pub I don't think I saw Louie in addition to going there for their wings Scotty's is the place to go for community support whether it is helping with fundraisers hosting events or making donations Scotty and his team are always there to make a difference for the past several police and public loses Scotties always make sure that the needs are taken care of with everything from
12:59tables to t-shirts to balloon animals and for stepping up we are so proud to present Scotty's Pub with the fall of a Heroes of Peace award so that concludes our ceremony we would like to invite all the recipients for a photo in front by the peace rocks that we established last week and don't forget to wear your orange on Wednesday for Unity day thank you everyone for coming