From helping resolve neighbor disputes to teaching future generations about respect and finding common ground, The Peace Center made an impact across Bucks County.
Soon, the nonprofit will be shutting down after four decades in operation.
Last week, donors to the Langhorne Borough-based organization received a note the announcing the center will be winding down operations.
Danny Thomas, the organization’s executive director, confirmed the Langhorne Borough-based center will wind down its existing projects and formally close in the coming months, with most operations ceasing by the end of September.
“We get 40 percent of our revenue from school programs and it is 60 percent of our work,” Thomas said.
The nonprofit, which typically has its fall schedule booked by August, had no schools sign up for programs this year.
Thomas said cuts to federal funding and changes at the U.S. Department of Education have concerned some school leaders about participating in programming by third-party groups.
In a note sent last week to donors, Thomas announced the closure and wrote that the group is “grateful to our donors, the many dedicated individuals, volunteers as well as paid employees, who tirelessly serve the cause.”
The center’s full-time staff of four and 10 to 15 part-time staff and peace educators will be impacted by the closure.
The organization’s 2024 annual report listed a budget of close to $475,000.
The Peace Center has provided a range of services, including leadership training, dispute resolution, anti-bias training, taken a stance against antisemitism and homophobia, and guidance for school districts dealing with bullying and discrimination. The organization has also worked with local police departments, attorneys, and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
Thomas said the center wasn’t political and wanted people to look past political parties and meet people on a human level.
“So much is seen as red and blue, but there are problems that are there whether it is a Democrat or Republican in office,” he said.
Barbara Simmons, who previously led the organization, told the Bucks County Herald that “if we’re going to have a more peaceful world, we need to create leaders with peacebuilding tools.”
The Peace Center began as the Bucks Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament 43 years ago before shifting its focus to local issues in the early 1990s.
Thomas said the organization’s sessions have long started with four lessons: be respectful, be present, be prepared to hear a perspective other than your own, and remain hopeful.
“We want people to recognize the value in each other,” he said.
The Peace Center will close its offices in the historic Richardson House that is owned by the Langhorne Community Memorial Association, which formed to create a memorial to locals soldiers.
Thomas said it is moving that The Peace Center is located in a building dedicated to those impacted by war.
While the organization is closing, Thomas said something new could emerge from the ashes of The Peace Center.
“People are willing to die for hope,” he said. “Hope is beyond wishing. There is hope.”
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