A Season for Nonviolence is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities.  Inspired by the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event starts January 30 and ends April 4 and thus honors their vision for an empowered, non-violent world.

Since 1996, the County of Alameda and the City of Alameda have partnered with AUSD to create the Alameda Collaborative for Children, Youth, and their Families (ACCYF).   Moreover, ACCYF each year helps to support a city-wide speech contest.

Daily readings are just one of the highlighted activities practiced during the season.  AUSD schools have been provided materials by which teachers and administrators integrate these daily readings into the school day.  Today’s reading is based on the principle of kindness.

Today’s principle of nonviolence is: Service.

When you serve, you discover that often the most important things you have to offer are not things at all. You start to uncover the full range of resources at your disposal – your time, presence, attention – and recognize that we all have the ability to serve, no matter who we are or what we do.

Mahatma Gandhi says, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”