“The Vision Quilt workshop provided an avenue through which students could open up about the trauma of gun violence... Students felt activated as advocates with a say in their communities.”
                                                                                                     Angela Thai, FACES for the Future, Public Health Institute, Oakland, California

Workshop with the Peace and Justice Academy, Catholic Charities East Bay

Founder Cathy DeForest speaks at the nationally televised Disarm Hate Rally.

A joyous event as Chicago displays 60 panels made by youth and veterans. See full story below.

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

​​Vision Quilt works with communities in several ways: holding rallies, vigils, panel-making workshops and dialogues to empower communities to bring change to their own neighborhoods. Through this virtual scrapbook and our blogs we are creating a living document of our results. We hope to inspire others to join Vision Quilt as we stand up to gun violence.

Building Partnerships to Prevent Gun Violence

Vision Quilt works with local community leaders and organizations to form partnerships focused on gun violence prevention. Our video "Amplifying Voices" focuses on some of the partnerships at the heart of work work.

Sharing the Vision with Students in Oakland, California

Middle school students at Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland, California make Vision Quilt panels after studying gun violence for three months during the school year.

Lighthouse Community Charter School students host an exhibition for friends and family to address gun violence in their communities.

Youth ALIVE! teen leader, Gregory Hampton, works on his Vision Quilt panel.

Community Partners in Oakland

Partnering with organizations like Attitudinal Healing Connection and Oakland's Violence Prevention Coalition, Vision Quilt has worked with youth and survivor families throughout East and West Oakland.

We have received grants from Oakland Unite, the NoVo Foundation, the National Writing Project and John Legend's Show Me Campaign.

In 2019, Oakland Magazine named Vision Quilt as the city's "Best Violence Healing Project."

Vision Quilt Focuses on Chicago

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Students Display Panels for Leaders in D.C.

Working in partnership with the National Veterans Arts Museum, the Chicago Public Library and local youth groups, 60 young people create panels that are displayed at the museum. The students shared the stories behind their panels in a powerful blog you can read here or watch the video here. 

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Reaching Out to Incarcerated Youth 

 “To feel the buzz of action and history happening in D.C., hear our middle school students advocate for safe gun use and mental health support...  talk about a game changer for these young lives, and mine.”
                 Jamie Haden, Ashland Middle School, Health and Leadership Teacher

Several young men at Camp Sweeney near Oakland, California make panels and journal about their experience. 

“The Vision Quilt Project is needed in every community.”
                                     Regina Lites, Deputy Probation Officer, Oakland, California

To see our photos from our most recent workshops and more, check us out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

“The Vision Quilt project is a true form of social activism.”
Lacey Renae, M.A., Art Therapist & Program Manager for Maslow Project in Medford, OR

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HELP US REACH MORE COMMUNITIES
Donate to Vision Quilt to help us extend our work to more communities throughout 2017. 
Vision Quilt is a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax deductible. The money is used to purchase materials for working with students, organizations and community members in creating individual panels and exhibiting the Vision Quilt.

DONATE