The Peace Development Fund (PDF) will kick off the year with its first in-person Peace Talk in Florence hosted by Jenny Ladd at the Rocky Hill Cohousing Common Room, 100 Black Birch Trail on March 22nd at 5:30 pm. The event will highlight local grantees working on criminal justice reform and their Pioneer Valley Community Advised Fund. Last year PDF granted more than .3 million to grassroots organizations working on criminal justice reform and decarceration efforts around the country.

The event will highlight the work of Decarcerate Western Mass and Voices From Inside, two current and former grantees of the Pioneer Valley Community Advised Fund. The Pioneer Valley Community Advised Fund supports local organizers who are challenging injustice, building power, and creating new community structures anchored in social justice. These annual grants are made possible by the generous support of individual contributors. The PVCAF committee involves six local community leaders, including students, in the grant decision process, which builds the expertise of local leaders.

“It is vitally important to PDF to invest in organizations here in the Valley who are pushing community-driven, lasting change. It is equally important that those making the decisions about local grants be community members as well,” said Foundation Officer Emily Szerafy-Cox.

The Peace Talk event committee includes Senator Jo Comerford, Dr. Steve Jones, Jim Levey, Lisa Ranghelli, *Berlyann Rivera, Alexandra Russell, Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, Emily Szerafy-Cox, and *Francia Wisnewski. For more information about the event, go to https://bit.ly/PVCAFPeaceTalk.