Peace and Justice Center

06/28/2026

06/28/2026

Peace Camp – Day 5: Closing Day! 🕊️

What a wonderful end to an unforgettable week! 🥳🥰

- Campers spent the morning fine-tuning their peace songs for the final presentation 🎶
- baked cookies to share with visiting families 🍪
- read and discussed books about giving, sharing, and supporting each other 📚
- played fun collaborative group games ✨

The Presentation & Awards Ceremony was a truly special moment – families enjoyed a slideshow highlighting photos from the week, Directors Jen Snyder and Stacy McCarter presented each camper with a certificate, and Volunteers were recognized with gifts of appreciation for their time and dedication. ❤️❤️

A very special thank you to Camp Directors Jen Snyder and Stacy McCarter, who worked incredibly hard to plan and execute five days of engaging, interesting, and fun activities. Their dedication and creativity gave every camper the opportunity to learn, grow, and embrace what it truly means to be a Peace Maker. We are so grateful for everything they put into making this week a success! 💛

Thank you to every camper, family, and volunteer who was part of this week. See you next year! ☮️

Stacy ThankfulPeaceful ❤️☮️🌞🎉😘
Jennifer Snyder ❤️☮️🌞🎉😘

06/26/2026

WNEP-TV came to visit us at Peace Camp 2026 this week 🥳❤️☮️

A summer camp run by the Peace and Justice Center is teaching kids valuable life lessons in kindness, unity, and empathy.

06/26/2026

Days 3 & 4 of Peace Camp 2026! See all the details in the post 👇🏼☮️❤️🫶🏼

06/26/2026

🕊️ Days 3 & 4 of Peace Camp 2026 were absolutely AMAZING! Here's a peek at what our Peace Campers have been up to! 👇

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📅 DAY 3
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🚫 ANTI-BULLYING PRESENTATION
The Domestic Violence Service Center kicked off Day 3 with a powerful presentation on anti-bullying — giving our campers important tools for creating safe, kind, and peaceful spaces for everyone.

🏛️ LUZERNE COUNTY COURTHOUSE TOUR
Campers got a truly special experience — a tour of the Luzerne County Courthouse led by Tony Brooks, Director & Curator of the Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society!

Tony also read aloud from his book, "Get Set, Get Ready: A Tour of Wilkes-Barre with Tony and Debi," right in the stunning courthouse rotunda.

Because understanding our past helps us make more peaceful choices for the future! 💡

📖 HISTORY, OUR STORIES & ART
Campers then explored the importance of history — both the big kind AND their own personal stories. Every story matters!

🎨 Older campers created Personal History Story Collages, using words, images, and magazine designs to illustrate memories and moments meaningful to them.

🔔 Younger campers crafted their very own Liberty Bell — complete with the famous crack. LET FREEDOM RING! 🔔🇺🇸

💦 The day wrapped up with some well-earned water play outside! ☀️

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📅 DAY 4
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⛪ FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TOUR
Campers explored the beautiful First Presbyterian Church, guided by Nancy Frey. A wonderful step back in time right here in our community!

🪖 24th CMR LIVING HISTORY
The 24th Continental Marines & Rangers brought the 1700s to LIFE! Campers learned how people lived in our area during the Revolutionary era — including weaving wool, popular toys of the time, the spy ring during the American Revolution, and what a militia member wore in daily life and in battle. 🎖️

⏰ PA TIME TRAVELLER PASSPORTS
Campers travelled through time with their very own PA Time Traveller Passports — "A Taste Through PA History"! 📜✨ Armed with their passports, campers visited tasting stations each representing a different part of Pennsylvania history. A truly delicious way to explore our Commonwealth's rich past!

⚽ MISS ELLY & THE POWER OF FIFA & JUNETEENTH
Miss Elly shared the beautiful way FIFA unites people from every country across the globe 🌍 — and connected that to the spirit of Juneteenth and freedom. And yes, she treated the campers to soccer ball cookies! 🍪⚽

🥁 GATHER SPACE DRUM CIRCLE
Listening. Cooperating. Creating. The Gather Space drum circle taught our campers that making music together is a lot like making peace — it takes everyone working in harmony! 🎶

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

What an incredible couple of days filled with history, creativity, music, and connection 🥰🤩☮️❤️

We are so grateful for every presenter, volunteer, and community member who made this possible! 🙏🏼

06/24/2026

☮️ Peace Camp 2026 - Day 2 ✌🏼❤️🕊️

Today our Peacemaking campers spent the day at Frances Slocum State Park!

The morning started with an education program where campers learned about the history of Frances Slocum, explored local wildlife and plants, and made crafts. Games helped bring the topic of wild animals to life.
🐢🦉🦫🐾🌲🍃🍁

After a picnic lunch at the park, campers enjoyed some free time on the playground and a soccer game ⚽️ 🛝

The day wrapped up with a swim in the pool — a perfect way to end a full day outdoors. 💦 🏊🏼‍♀️

A great Day 2 for our Peace Camp campers! 🕊️☮️❤️



---

Let me know if you'd like any tweaks!

06/23/2026

🕊️✨Peace Camp 2026, Day One Recap! ✨🕊️❤️

What an incredible first day at Peace Camp 2026 here in Wilkes-Barre! We are so grateful to everyone who made yesterday so special for our amazing campers.

Here’s a look at everything our campers experienced yesterday:

🧘 Yoga with Miss Rita kicked off the morning, helping our campers center themselves and start the day with calm and focus.

🏥 Summer Safety with the Department of Health — Campers learned the importance of proper handwashing and got the scoop on local bugs, including how to spot and prevent tick bites. Knowledge is power!

📚 Tour of the Osterhout Library — Did you know the Osterhout was once the original home of First Presbyterian Church? Our campers learned this fun piece of local history during their tour today!

🌱 Planting Seeds for the Future — Thanks to Isabella Bufalino and Leaf Hancuff, students discovered the importance of planting and got their hands dirty planting a variety of seeds. We can’t wait to watch them grow — just like our campers! 🌿

📖 Storytime with Local Author Bruce Parnell — Bruce visited and read his wonderful book about the importance of kindness. Even better? Every camper received a personally signed copy to take home! 💛

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers, partners, and the Gather Community Space for making Day One of Peace Camp 2026 such a success. These kids are already showing us what peace looks like in action. 💙

Stay tuned for more updates all week! 🎉

FOX56 WOLF TV
28/22 News (WBRE/WYOU)
Gather Community Space

06/23/2026

🕊️✨Peace Camp 2026, Day One Recap! ✨🕊️❤️

What an incredible first day at Peace Camp 2026 here in Wilkes-Barre! We are so grateful to everyone who made yesterday so special for our amazing campers.

Here’s a look at everything our campers experienced yesterday:

🧘 Yoga with Miss Rita kicked off the morning, helping our campers center themselves and start the day with calm and focus.

🏥 Summer Safety with the Department of Health — Campers learned the importance of proper handwashing and got the scoop on local bugs, including how to spot and prevent tick bites. Knowledge is power!

📚 Tour of the Osterhout Library — Did you know the Osterhout was once the original home of First Presbyterian Church? Our campers learned this fun piece of local history during their tour today!

🌱 Planting Seeds for the Future — Thanks to Isabella Bufalino and Leaf Hancuff, students discovered the importance of planting and got their hands dirty planting a variety of seeds. We can’t wait to watch them grow — just like our campers! 🌿

📖 Storytime with Local Author Bruce Parnell — Bruce visited and read his wonderful book about the importance of kindness. Even better? Every camper received a personally signed copy to take home! 💛

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers, partners, and the Gather Community Space for making Day One of Peace Camp 2026 such a success. These kids are already showing us what peace looks like in action. 💙

Stay tuned for more updates all week! 🎉

Gather Community Space

FOX56 WOLF TV

28/22 News (WBRE/WYOU)