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Launched in 2006, the Campaign for Love & Forgiveness uses PBS documentaries,
community activities, online resources, and networking opportunities to
encourage reflection and conversation about how love and forgiveness can
effect meaningful change in individuals and society. Through community
conversations, the campaign aims to create a meaningful national
dialogue that will bring about positive changes for individuals, their
relationships, and their communities.
The campaign was created as an outgrowth of the work of the Fetzer Institute to foster the awareness of the power of
love and forgiveness in the emerging global community. It was
specifically designed to support, promote, and augment messages of love
and forgiveness in three documentary films the Institute is funding.
 
THE FETZER INSTITUTE
The Fetzer Institute is a private operating foundation located in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Institute's mission, to foster awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community, rests on its conviction that efforts to address the worlds' critical issues must go beyond political, social, and economic
strategies to their psychological and spiritual roots. The mission also
reflects founder John Fetzer's belief that love is the core energy that
rules everything. Love is the one ingredient that holds us all together.
The Institute's research, education, and outreach programs are intended
to bring the power of love and forgiveness to the center of individual,
community, and organizational life. Its work is informed by both
scientific research and spiritual wisdom.
 The campaign is partnering with a variety of organizations, including public television stations, to expand its reach.
PUBLIC TELEVISION STATION
Seven public television stations receive
funding from the Fetzer Institute to develop partnerships with local
community organizations to host conversations and events unique to the
communities they serve. Learn about their activities at:
 Since the campaign launched in 2006 with the first broadcast of The Mystery of Love, more than 2,000 people have
participated in community conversations in seven cities from Rochester,
N.Y., to San Diego, Calif. An estimated 13 million have been touched by
the campaign's messages through a mix of traditional and online media.
The campaign is now building on a strong foundation of
conversations and other activities. Specifically, we have launched the
following efforts:
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
The community conversation
campaign began by creating facilitator handbooks and participant guides
for a series of four conversations on love. Together with seven local
PBS station partners, the materials were tested and evaluated in seven
cities since the campaign launched in November 2006. In 2008, these
conversations are addressing the topic of forgiveness with accompanying
resources. All community conversations are led by an experienced
facilitator from the local community. The seven PBS stations
participating in the conversations are: KEET in Eureka, Calif.; KPBS in San Diego, Calif.; Maryland Public Television;
WGVU in Grand Rapids, Mich.; KETC in St. Louis, Mo.; WXXI in Rochester, N.Y.; and WTVI in Charlotte, N.C.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT: LOVE AND FORGIVENESS
Through a partnership with the American Library
Associations Public Programs Office, 30 public libraries will be
selected to each receive program grants through a competitive
application process to host Lets Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness
reading and discussion series.
NEWSWRITERS GUIDE
The Fetzer Institute, as part of its
Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, supported the Religion Newswriters
Association in the production of a comprehensive guide for journalists reporting on
love and forgiveness. The guide features experts in the fields of
science, medicine, politics, religion, and criminal justice who can
explain how and why forgiveness and benevolent love are central to so
many news stories (and why the lack of them could be the root of much of
the violence and conflict that so often dominate the news).
A RETURN TO LETTER WRITING
In an
age of text messaging, online chats, and e-mail, the act of putting pen
to paper is becoming a lost art. Together with our partner Paper Source,
the campaign encourages letter writing as a creative means for
connecting with others, preserving memories, and sharing stories.
Special campaign-related merchandise was developed by Paper Source and
is available in all retail stores and online at www.paper-source.com.
 CONFERENCES ON LOVE AND FORGIVENESS
Together with the
Institute for Body, Mind and Spirituality (IBMS) at Lesley University in
Cambridge, MA, the campaign co-hosted two symposia on love
and forgiveness in 2006 and 2007. Drawing upon its expertise in the
areas of human services, creative arts, education, and environmental
studies, IBMS is committed to the integration of holistic principles and
methods into professional practice within a diverse society. IBMS
adheres to a transformational approach to education and to the
application of the principles of reflective practice.
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