Peace Camp is Sweet 2026 is now open for registration!
At La Verne Church of the Brethren, Peace Camp continues to be a joyful space where children explore creativity, compassion, and community. Through various activities like Global Village, our young peacemakers are invited to learn, create, and serve through hands‑on experiences that nurture both heart and mind. Other activities include, but are not limited to:
Global Village Activities — Campers rotated through interactive stations designed to help them understand peacebuilding in everyday life.
Kitchen Experience — With guidance from Tron, campers create their own sweet recipes while learning about cooperation and working together.
Service Project — This year, campers will partner with the Pomona Economic Access Center to assemble care packages for children affected by ICE raids and for local day laborers.
Peace Mural Project— Campers will help paint a peace‑themed mural in the Yellow Room, and experience how small steps can lead to big change when communities come together.
Garden Exploration — In the Peace & Carrots Garden, children will pick and taste fresh fruits and vegetables, deepening their connection to the earth and sustainable living.
💛 Gratitude for Our Volunteers
Peace Camp is possible only because of the dedication, energy, and compassion of our volunteers and staff. Your leadership creates a meaningful and memorable experience for every camper. We are deeply grateful for the time, care, and love you shared.
Interested in Volunteering?
If you feel called to support this community project, we would love to have you join us. Please fill out a volunteer form at the Welcome Table or click on the link above. Your presence helps create a safe, joyful, and transformative experience for our young peacemakers.
Peace Camp Summer Service Students
This summer, La Verne Church of the Brethren joyfully welcomes a new group of University of La Verne Summer Service students into our community. Beginning June 2nd, these dedicated young adults will spend 10 weeks living out the values of peace, compassion, and service—core to our congregation’s mission. Their work will center around our beloved Peace Camp, where they’ll help create a nurturing, inclusive space for children to explore themes of justice, kindness, and community. We are grateful for their presence.
If you see them on campus, we invite you to extend a warm hello!
Welcome Darlene Gonzales!
My name is Darlene Gonzalez, and I am a third-year Psychology student at the University of La Verne. After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to attend law school and pursue a career in the legal field. While my future goals are in law, I have always had a passion for working with children and families.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to work with children of all ages in a variety of settings. I spent a summer living in Big Bear while working as a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Oakes, where I led activities, supervised campers, and helped create a fun and supportive environment for children. I also worked as a Teacher’s Assistant for second graders at Hope Lutheran School, where I assisted students in the classroom and supported their learning and development.
Currently, I work as a Behavioral Technician, supporting children and adults with autism by helping them build communication, social, and daily living skills. These experiences have allowed me to work with individuals across many different age groups and backgrounds, and they have strengthened my passion for helping others learn, grow, and succeed.
Outside of work and school, I enjoy staying involved on campus and in my church community. In my free time, I love spending time with friends and family, reading my Bible, and relaxing with my cats. Faith, service, and community are important parts of my life, and I am excited for the opportunity to be part of Peace Camp this summer. I look forward to getting to know the children and families and helping create a fun, meaningful, and memorable experience for everyone involved!
Welcome Emili Melkonyan!
My name is Emili Melkonyan and I am a third-year Business Administration student at University of La Verne. I was born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia and moved here in 2018. I graduated from San Dimas High School and wanted to pursue Biology here to become a pediatrician since I love kids and working with them; however, I quickly realized that I couldn’t handle the graphic parts of medicine and switched to Business Administration instead.
I love marketing and creativity, and in my free time I like to draw or paint. I also love being out in nature and going on hikes or to the beach.
Last summer, I previously did Summer Service and served at the Brethren Hillcrest Homes, and it was a wonderful experience. I made so many new connections, and the community was very welcoming as well. I’m very passionate about my faith, and it’s one of the main reasons I wanted to serve at the Church of the Brethren this summer, especially since I’ll get to work with kids as well.
Peace Camp 2025
Building Blocks of Peace: Peace Camp 2025
Global Village:
At La Verne Church of the Brethren’s Peace Camp, our young peacemakers had the opportunity to explore creativity, compassion, and community through a variety of hands-on experiences in our Global Village.
Kitchen Experience: Under Tron’s guidance, campers crafted their own personalized granola bar recipes, learning about healthy ingredients and mindful eating.
Service Project: Thanks to your generous donations, campers filled over 150 backpacks for the Newcomers Access Center. These backpacks will be distributed to children from local immigrant and refugee families.
Garden Exploration: In our Peace and Carrots Garden, campers engaged with nature by picking and tasting a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, deepening their connection to the earth and sustainable living.
Video Project: With support from Phil, campers explored the art of filmmaking by acting out conflict resolution scenarios in front of a green screen—combining creativity with valuable life skills.
A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers and staff who made Peace Camp 2025 possible. Your dedication, energy, and compassion created a meaningful and memorable experience for every camper. We couldn’t have done it without you!
All About Peace Camp
What is Peace Camp?
The La Verne Church of the Brethren sponsors a non-religious day camp, which takes place each July, designed for students entering Kindergarten – students entering 6th grade. Peace topics include non-violence, inner peace, global peace, advocacy, justice, and more. Students participate in hands-on activities such as planting in our community garden, cooking in our commercial kitchen, exploring open-ended art in our courtyard, working on tangible service projects for the community, and more. Peace Camp is a much-loved tradition and students in the community often come back to volunteer because of the lasting impact Peace Camp has had on their lives.
Peace Camp Olympics 2024
Peace Camp 2024: The Peace Olympics- Update
Over thirty children attended our annual Peace Camp 2024: The Peace Olympics, where they learned concepts of nonviolence in the context of global peace. The daily themes were: Train for peace, coach curiosity, grow teamwork, champioin human rights, and practice courage. Students prepared pizzas with toppings representing each continent with Tron Passmore, our kitchen coordinator. Peacemakers played cooperative games with Linda Himes. Marv and Kristina Guinto gave campers a tour of the garden, taught them how to compost and tasked students to pick produce to share with the food bank. Aaron Cruse led the peace camp service project with Rise Against Hunger, and students packed ten-thousand meals that will go to the Philippines to help feed those who are food insecure as a repercussion of a terrible typhoon season.
Thanks to every volunteer who made Peace Camp come to life – it truly takes a village.
Peace Camp 2023
Peace Camp 2023 – Super Powerful Peace
At the end of July 2023, we held our 20th annual Peace Camp, entitled Super Powerful Peace. Forty-eight Peace Campers and even more Peace Camp volunteers, met on our campus to explore nonviolence in meaningful and relevant ways. Each day, Peace Campers were introduced to a nonviolent superhero, creatively designed by our Peace Camp team. Superhero Freeze used their superpower of freezing to find peace when conflicts arise. XR used his x-ray vision to look beyond the surface of behaviors to see what is really going on, helping students notice how unmet needs can cause negative behavior. Sklyer taught us that flying to the past and learning its history can help save the future. Mighty Maddie’s strength demonstrated that super strength is nonviolent. And superhero Radiance taught us that there is super powerful peace in community. We partnered with The African American Museum of Beginnings and raised funds through a nightly lemonade stand to support their work of educating our community on often overlooked aspects of history. It was an incredible week, full of art, garden, kitchen, yoga and more. Thanks to everyone who donated funds, supplies and their time and energy to make Peace Camp happen.
Peace Camp 2022
Peace Camp 2022 – Our Story of Peace
Peace Camp 2022 was amazing! Thanks to all who participated.
Peace Camp takes place every year in the month of July from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. It is designed for children entering kindergarten through 6th grade. We offer a Mini-Peace Camp option for children between the ages of 2 and 4, with a participant cap.
Our focus this year was children’s books and how we may also write our own peace stories in the world. Our service project entailed building and supplying a Little Free Library for the community. As usual, students explored peace concepts through open-ended art projects, cooking, gardening, and more!
Peace Camp 2021
Peace Camp 2021 – Peace Builders: Shaping our World with Creative Tools
Peace Camp 2021 was amazing! Thanks to all who participated.
Here is a free digital activity book based on our theme: Peace Camp 2021 Activity Book.