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Community Corner

Pinwheels for Peace

International peace project comes to RVC.

On a calm fall Wednesday, artfully decorated pinwheels spun in the wind in front of . The display is part of an international project entitled “Pinwheels for Peace”, started in 2005 by Floridian art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan. The movement is coordinated with the International Day of Peace, a United Nations program that celebrated 30 years of existence on Sept. 21.

Rockville Centre local Ellen White is responsible for bringing Pinwheels for Peace to St. Marks. “We’ve been doing it here five years,” she said. “I was doing my yoga training with someone from Florida and she’s the one who told me about it. I went on the website and then realized it would be a great thing to involve the kids at St. Marks in.”

The exhibit was free and ran from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. with art supplies provided across several tables on the St. Marks front lawn. At 4:30 p.m., a free family yoga session was held by Divine Yoga, who partnered with White in bringing the project to the village. 

White, who teaches yoga at and St. Marks found the Pinwheels for Peace apolitical, universal message to be a perfect complement to the act of yoga. “Peace is something everyone needs —it’s not a political statement,” White said. "It’s peace in your life, peace in your town, much like yoga as a means to find your own peace.”

The project has grown steadily, with 500,000 pinwheels planted during the initial year in 2005, blooming to more than a million in 2010. White’s hope for the project in Rockville Centre is similar to the overall idea of Pinwheels for Peace, that is, promoting kind feeling and encouraging community involvement.

“I think that the world is so busy now and we’re so connected to everything,” White said. “It’s a great world and town that we live in, but I think people do need a moment to breathe and see where the peace is in themselves and each other.”

Pinwheels for Peace has sparked involvement from several Rockville Centre schools. Maura Kelly-Magliaro is an occupational therapist at and has been involved in the project for two years. “I’m always looking to get my students involved in community projects,” she said. “Working with children from kindergarten through the fifth grade, all of my kids have loved this creative project. The children love driving by and seeing their artwork.”

White also mentioned Gina Peck’s work at with CORE — a mixture of general education and special education students— as a strong asset to Pinwheels for Peace.

This year, White said she is expecting 300 pinwheels, but as she sat looking over Hempstead Avenue, she is content with the project’s standing. “Just sit here and wave to the people in your community as they go by,” she said. “Take time out from your day and try to find some peace.”

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