Ring the Bell for Peace

​The inspiration for the Ring the Bell for Peace movement stemmed from both St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s junior year community service requirement and White Mountain Hypnosis Center’s recently acquired bell tower from a local playground’s repurposing project. 

It is worth noting that the White Mountain Hypnosis Center, located in Madison, NH is home to several acres of land, which includes a trail system open to the community for hiking in the summer and backcountry skiing in the winter, and several features such as a labyrinth and grace trail that make it a perfect place to get lost in nature, relax, reflex and rejuvenate. 

Maddie Laforce, a St. Thomas Aquinas High School junior and granddaughter of the founders of the Center saw both her community service requirement and this new bell tower as an opportunity to purposefully make use of the Center’s land, get creative, put her musical talents into action, and get her fellow junior year classmates involved too.

Maddie’s Vision for Ring the Bell for Peace:

• Transform the site of the bell tower at the Hypnosis Center into a meditation garden that can be used for individual reflection or small gatherings.
• Compose a song that youth can relate to that calls for inspiration for change, action, and peace.
• Record the song.
• Create a video of the song that incorporates both the bell tower bell being rung and the videos of Youth ringing their respective bells, which is symbolic of “ring the bell for peace”.

Project Phases:

Phase I: Clean up the Center’s land of leaves and dead brush, add a pond, and paint the bell tower. A work weekend took place in late July 2020 to make headway with this phase.

Phase II: Add more plants, decorative garden features, reflective bench, paint a mural on the building, and create a playful space inside the building.

Phase III: Compose song to be played at Welcome Gathering, Labor Day weekend, 2020. Completed.

Phase IV: Host a Welcome Gathering (COVID-19 pending) Labor Day weekend, 2020 to welcome the public to the meditation garden. 

Phase V: Record song. 

Phase VI: Create a video that will incorporate the footage of multiple bells being rung in different locations.

Phase VII: Incorporate choir arrangement. 

This wonderful service project blends themes of land stewardship, creative and collaborative action, personal and community reflection, and musical expression that the White Mountain Center for Creative Development is proud to support. All proceeds go to support the materials and maintenance of the garden and bell tower.

Click below to donate to the Ring the Bell for Peace Project

donate

​Checks made payable to
"WMCCD Ring the Bell for Peace Project" can be sent to: 
White Mountain Center for Creative Development
ATTN: Ring the Bell for Peace Project
PO Box 230
​Silver Lake, NH 03875

To wire funds directly, please contact Susan Stacey, Treasurer at sustacey56@yahoo.com

Your donation supports bringing youth together with an intention for peace and stewardship of the reflection center land.

Above photos were from the July 25th, 2020 Phase I work weekend.