The Peacemakers May Be Young, But They Are Making the World a Better Place

A small group of fourth- and fifth-graders at San Agustin Catholic Church is doing its best to make a positive difference in the world and the community this year. And the group, known as the Peacemakers, wants to spread the message that you too can make a difference.

 “It’s kind of been flabbergasting that half a dozen people can help over a hundred people just taking an hour or so out of your day,” said fifth-grader Joe Brennan.

The Peacemakers, which includes Darren Mudge, Janaya Tapang, Joe Brennan, Nikolas Rieke, Kaitlyn Snyder and their classmates at San Agustin, is a group of students who are in religious education classes together at the church. They meet on Sunday evenings, but without a major sacrament to prepare for—their first communion was in second grade and confirmation happens in ninth grade—the students have been learning through service to fill their time. And they seem to be learning a lot.

Over the past school year, the students, under the guidance of their teacher Sheryl Andersen, have taken on many service projects in the community and the list of what they have accomplished is impressive and growing.

The students held a bake sale and raised $300 for the Red Cross for relief in Japan and another that raised over $150 for the family of Erick Murai, a Scotts Valley High School junior who is battling leukemia. The Peacemakers also wrote and sent postcards to American soldiers abroad; they started a garden on the church property; and they bagged water and snacks to give to people at the Santa Cruz Homeless Services Shelter and Felton Presbyterian’s soup Tuesdays.

Not only do the young students participate in these acts of goodwill, they speak with humility about how they are just part of a bigger picture.

“We’re not the only people who have helped, but doing what we can, it makes a difference,” Rieke said.

“We can inspire others,” Snyder said. “We’ve been helping a lot of people and getting the younger kids ready to do the work we’re doing. We want the world to be a prettier place with a prettier vision, and a happier place.”

The Peacemakers also seem to have enjoyed the process.

“It’s not always really boring to help people,” Mudge said. “It’s fun.”

“It makes you feel good and it makes other people feel good,” Tapang said.

Fourth-graders like Mudge, Rieke and Snyder will have a chance to return next year and lead the group in continuing its service. Fifth-graders like Tapang and Brennan will graduate into a new class next year.

As the Peacemakers speak about their community service, their passion comes through. They talk about how they could never know how hard it is to lose a family member to a natural disaster or not have enough to eat, but they can still help.

Rieke summed up how service is applicable to a fourth-grader: “Awesomeness isn’t being extreme. It’s being nice to people.”