Atlanta, Ga., November 26, 2024 – Creative Visions has chosen CARE to receive a grant to support the expansion of their peacebuilding initiatives as a part of the Students Rebuild Spark Peace Project—a global movement that invites young people everywhere to use their power and creativity to build a more peaceful world.
Students Rebuild engages young people to explore peace within themselves, with others, and around the world, then express their vision through the creative medium of their choice: literary, performing, and visual arts, music, film, or even cutting-edge STEM projects. Each act of creativity or student engaged sparks a $5 donation from Creative Visions—with support from the Bezos Family Foundation—for the seven global peacebuilding organizations, up to $1 million.
“When we look at the world today, it can be easy to feel hopeless, but young people show us, time and again, not to give up,” said Students Rebuild Lead Sarah Fanslau. “Through creativity, young people from LA to Lahore can use their voices to bring peace to themselves, others, and their communities.”
While young creative changemakers are empowered to express their ideas of peace through this program, impact partners like CARE are on the ground in real time, actively working to build peace and engage underrepresented youth.
CARE—headquartered in Atlanta—fights poverty and injustice across the globe to help create a more equal and gender-just world. They implement poverty-fighting development and humanitarian aid projects and initiatives in 121 countries—including their Promoting Anti-Discrimination and Inclusion in Poland Schools and Building Peace in the Cauca Region of Colombia programs, which will be funded this coming year by Creative Visions through the Spark Peace Project grant.
In Poland—where around 959,000 of over 6 million Ukrainian refugees remain displaced—CARE is training educators to establish supportive learning environments where Ukrainian refugee children can integrate, build resilience, and develop a sense of belonging. Through Spark Peace Project funding, at least 130 schools will be able to adopt improved diversity strategies, 500 teachers will be trained, and approximately 25,000 students will gain the tools and support to find peace within themselves.
“We are thrilled to be a partner in this year’s Students Rebuild initiative,” said CARE Senior Director of Philanthropy Dana Tseng. “We look forward to working together with Creative Visions through programs that foster peace and understanding in communities. These interventions are needed now more than ever in our world.”
Funding will also support CARE’s work in Colombia, where they are empowering youth and women by enhancing their roles in civil society for conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and the creation of opportunities tied to social activism and cultural engagement. Through their laboratories of “artivism” for peace, CARE is encouraging social innovation processes that foster leadership and promote dialogue and citizen participation.
CARE joins six other global organizations including Ceeds of Peace, Kids for Peace, 100cameras, Choose Love, Green Horizon Ventures, and MUSÉ to receive grants through the Spark Peace Project. This year, youth participants will also have the opportunity at the end of the school year to vote and decide which of these organizations will receive an additional $50,000 to further their peace work.
To learn more or sign up for the Spark Peace Project, visit www.studentsrebuild.org/spark-peace.
For media inquiries, contact: usa.media@care.org.
About Students Rebuild
Students Rebuild is a Creative Visions program. Created in January 2010 by the Bezos Family Foundation in response to the devastating Haiti earthquake, Students Rebuild has mobilized more than 1.3 million participants in 102 countries and all 50 states, and raised more than $12.5 million in matching funds. Annual Project funds have worked towards rebuilding schools in Haiti, bringing awareness to humanitarian crises in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, helping Syrian youth from conflict areas recover from crisis, and supporting empowerment opportunities for youth affected by hunger and food insecurity. Find more at www.studentsrebuild.org and @StudentsRebuild.
About Creative Visions
Creative Visions empowers artists, filmmakers, musicians, and other impact media makers to raise awareness of critical issues and drive positive change through storytelling – one of our most powerful tools for creating a more just, caring, and sustainable world. A nonprofit organization and United Nations NGO, Creative Visions’ Impact Education programs support youth, educators, and changemakers to understand how to use media, arts and technology to take creative action about the things they care about. For more information: www.creativevisions.org.
About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. In 2024, CARE worked in 121 countries, reaching 53 million people through 1,450 projects. To learn more, visit https://www.care.org/.