In the continued effort to overcome tragedy produced by hatred, bigotry and ignorance, SevenDays — Make A Ripple, Change the World will again take place in Greater Kansas City. Sponsored by the Faith Always Wins Foundation in partnership with several organizations, SevenDays will include a series of community events scheduled April 12-18, 2016, that will continue the healing journey following the tragic events that took place outside of the Jewish Community Campus and Village Shalom in April 2014. Dr. William Corporon, his grandson Reat Underwood and Teresa LaManno lost their lives at the hands of a convicted Neo-Nazi shooter.
Following the tragedy, family members and friends joined together to create something positive to overcome this senseless act of hate. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}The focus of SevenDays is strengthening a sense of community, building upon understanding our commonalties and embracing the diversity among religions, races and cultures in our metropolitan area.
SevenDays’ three major initiatives — Faith, Love & Song, Faith, Love & Kindness and Faith, Love & Walk — promote understanding and encourage kindness to Make a Ripple and Change the World. SevenDays includes a youth songwriting competition, seven days focused on acts of kindness and a Peace Walk, ending with a celebration.
SevenDays — Make A Ripple, Change the World was inspired by the Corporon and LaManno families working side by side with a dedicated team of volunteers who reflect the diversity of our community.
“As humans, we are more alike than we are different. The more we understand one another’s differing religions and culture, the less fear we have,” said Mindy Corporon, mother of Reat Underwood and daughter of Dr. William Corporon. “Less fear leads to less hate. Less hate leads to openness and vulnerability, which in turn leads to kindness, grace and love. Our community has started this ripple, let’s continue making waves.” The third victim, Teresa LaManno, was gunned down outside of Village Shalom.
“If there is any one thing we have learned from our personal tragedy is the need to leave the world a better place,” said Dr. Jim LaManno, husband of Teresa LaManno, gunned down outside of Village Shalom. “SevenDays is a way we can all make one ripple of kindness and continue to improve our world.”
Songwriting competition announced
Submissions are now being taken for the second annual Faith, Love & Song songwriting competition. Youth ages 14-21 may submit original compositions that address the subjects of racial, religious, and/or cultural equality and acceptance. This songwriting competition is aimed at promoting understanding, tolerance and acceptance through the arts. Submissions will be taken until Jan. 1, 2016.
The competition is sponsored by two foundations RRACE (Racial and Religious Acceptance and Cultural Equality) and Faith Always Wins, as well as SevenDays and Harvest Productions. The two foundations were established after the 2014 shootings with the goal of bringing about good following the acts of hatred.
A panel of judges from the music and entertainment industry will select up to 10 finalists who will be notified by Feb. 24, 2016. The 10 finalists will submit videos of their compositions with the public voting on them via YouTube. The top three winners will be announced at the SevenDays Peace Walk Celebration on April 18, 2016, and will receive financial scholarships.
Complete rules and details of the song competition are available on the SevenDays website, www.givesevendays.org.
SevenDays of Kindness
Acts of kindness are encouraged during the seven days of Faith, Love & Kindness beginning on Tuesday, April 12. Everyone has the power to make a ripple and change the world. Each day has a special theme — Love, Discover, Others, Connect, Go, You and Onward. Suggested kindness activities and educational events for the community are in the planning stages. Community groups and organizations are encouraged to create their own and share them on our social media sites. More information about the themes, activities and sponsored events will be found on the web site in January 2016.
On Monday, April 18 — the seventh day — the entire community is invited to gather and stand united against hate as part of Faith, Love & Walk. The early evening Peace Walk will unite the community as it represents a river of ripples joining all walks of life with the common goal of understanding and kindness.
A pre-walk event will take place at the Jewish Community Campus. The walk route will pass Village Shalom and travel to the Church of the Resurrection for a Celebration of life and community. Further details about the Peace Walk will be announced in early 2016.
The Celebration at COR will include performances of the winning songs, scholarship presentations and kindness awards. The evening closes with a commemorative candle lighting.
While most events are free of charge and open to the public, the Peace Walk will have a $10 per person participation fee that includes receiving a SevenDays commemorative T-shirt. The Reat Griffin Underwood Memorial Foundation and The LaManno Family Foundation are equal beneficiaries of net proceeds and donations to continue the work. Donations are tax deductible.
For more information on SevenDays, contact Ruth Baum Bigus, 913-707-7746 or at .{/mprestriction}
