Columbus Interfaith Youth – Making a difference in their community

Columbus Interfaith Youth Group (CIFY) under the umbrella of the Interfaith Center for Peace (ICP) held their first joint service project, "Spruce Up Day," Near East Side on Saturday, April 24, 2010. 

The Columbus Interfaith Youth Group is built on a vision of religious pluralism. The model for this vision is the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) pioneered by Eboo Patel and others in Chicago. According to Patel, "Religious pluralism goes beyond mere tolerance for diversity and requires we build positive relationships and work with one another. It is a state in which we respect one another's religious identity, develop mutually enriching relationships with each other and work together to make this world a better place." 

On Spruce Up Day, this vision was materialized in Columbus. This project brought together youth and their mentors from First Unitarian Universalist Church, Ohio Muslims, Muslim Family Social Services, Art of Living, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Noor Islamic Cultural Center, International Gospel Center, Youth Advocate Services, Isha Foundation, Harmony Project and residents of the Near East Side to "Spruce Up" the neighborhood. 

CIFY is a coalition between youth and mentors who come from different faith backgrounds. “The idea is to get kids come together, learn about each other and learn about each other’s religion through doing service work” says CIFY mentor Susan Roscigno. “Today we are cleaning, but we are also talking to each other and getting to know each other as individuals as well as representatives of our different faith organizations… By doing work together and by playing together we know each other at more personal level and build more level of respect than just knowing that each other exist.” 

The “Spruce Up Day” project was in collaboration with the Columbus City, "Keep Columbus Beautiful" initiatives for April 2010, Earth Day. After the spruce up, hundreds of pinwheels were planted in the neighborhood. Since April was also "Child Abuse Prevention" month, Franklin County Children Services had partnered with Ohio Children's Trust Fund and other counties across the state to promote Pinwheels for Prevention. This campaign is designed to enhance awareness about child abuse and neglect. 

CIFY is now organizing a “Play for Peace” event which is targeting youth in the area. This event is designed to recruit more youth in the group through playing together. More information is about to come. Please stay tuned, I will post it here soon.

Columbus Interfaith Youth can be contacted at cifygroup@gmail.com