The efforts of Interfaith Winston-Salem have been buoyed by its recent ECHO Award for its work in building social capital.
Presented by the ECHO Network in conjunction with the Winston-Salem Foundation, the awards honor people and organizations that are creating a stronger community by building connections among people. ECHO is an acronym for Everyone Can Help Out.
The vision of Interfaith Winston-Salem is to build a peaceable community “where residents understand and respect the religious traditions of their neighbors.” To that end, the organization offers free special events, lectures, classes and web-based learning on interfaith topics.
Ibrahim Thompson of the Annoor Islamic Center and the Rev. Kelly Carpenter, senior pastor at Green Street United Methodist Church, nominated Interfaith Winston-Salem for the award. Jerry McLeese, Drea Parker and Art Bloom represented Interfaith Winston-Salem at the awards ceremony in May.
The awards program recognized Interfaith Winston-Salem with this statement: “Interfaith Winston-Salem brings together members of many faith traditions – religious and non-religious – to gain a greater understanding of and respect for each other’s traditions. This three year-old nonprofit offers interfaith educational opportunities through traditional classroom approaches as well as experiential events. Led by a diverse leadership team, Interfaith Winston-Salem also spearheaded the effort to establish Winston-Salem as a City of Compassion, the 18th worldwide.”