Shop Locally. Give Locally.
by Karen Topakian
Localvore. It’s the Oxford American Dictionary’s 2007 word of the year. Meaning buying and eating food grown locally. Good idea, unless you like to eat imported Italian pasta and you live in San Francisco. (more…)
by Nicole Hsiang
Today is my 25th birthday. I love birthdays. Everyone gets a day dedicated to them. Birthdays entitle one to receive love, celebration, and gifts for the sole purpose of being born. (more…)
By Nicole Hsiang
Yesterday morning, Agape Foundation Board of Trustee Members Winnie Chu and Gwyn Kirk hosted a houseparty fundraiser to benefit our work that supports grassroots social change. On this lovely morning, we enjoyed a delicious brunch, made new connections, and learned about what can be accomplished by small groups of people who are committed to seeking justice. (more…)
By Karen Topakian
In a 24-hour period this week, I experienced the double whammy of democracy. I voted and was called for jury duty. Two activities at the cornerstone of our society. And I had no one to blame or credit but myself. I picked this week to serve knowing it included a federal election. (more…)
Agape Foundation Executive Director Karen Topakian with Enduring Visionary Prize Winner Madeline Duckles and Rising Peacemaker Prize Winner Elizabeth Sy at the 4th Annual Peace Prize Awards Ceremony. Photo by Bob Hsiang
To view a photo album of pictures from the event, click here
By Karen Topakian
Amidst a crowd of 150+ people Madeline Duckles took the podium by storm last night to accept the Agape Foundation’s 2008 Enduring Visionary Prize at its 4th Annual Peace Prize. Without referring to any written notes, the 92-year old winner inspired and captivated the audience with her views on war and her experiences with peacemaking. She even dispensed two pieces of practical information:
If you are ever sprayed with tear gas, have someone repeatedly pour cold water in your eyes. It will help the blindness but not the pain. Apparently she knows from what she speaks. (more…)
by Karen Topakian
That’s what I saw when I exited the bus at 7th and Market the other day. Small gnawed bones. Picked clean of meat. Not yet brittle. Looking very new. The memory of those bird remnants haunted me for days until today, when they made complete sense.
Why today?
Because today is August 6th. And 63 years ago today, in 1945, Hiroshima was transformed into a landscape of charred bodies, human shadows burned into the sidewalk and bones. 140,000 died that day and afterwards. (more…)