The COW Project is proud to have a very diverse membership, with over 30 students from various cultural, academic and economic backgrounds, who are committed to working together, expressing themselves and making a difference in the world around them.

Many of the COW Project members continue to correspond & deepen their friendships with Arab & Jewish Israeli teens from Peace Child Israel, who they hosted in January 2006. All of these teens discovered, during their cultural exchange experiences, the power of friendship…friendship that can open the door to understanding, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, partnership and the possibility for a new future as a victory over the past.  These American & Israeli teens have created bonds that will last a lifetime…and it is the COW Project’s intention to make a reverse cultural exchange trip, to visit their friends in Israel.  The COW Project is a bridge for global tolerance, linking Washington Township as a global community in the world.  They continue to explore Middle East culture and current events, through events such as hosting guest speakers from Israel at Heart in October 2006, attending the Arab-Jewish Israeli play “6 Actors in Search of a Plot” which toured the area from Israel, and connecting with other like-minded organizations and projects for global tolerance.
 
COW Project teens have written original spoken word about their personal experiences of intolerance, bullying, unity, and their intentions for a peaceful world. In December 2006, the Gloucester County Human Relations Commission honored COW with a HUMANITARIAN AWARD for their work in promoting attitudes of tolerance and respect in the community. The group performed their anthems ("We Can Change Our World" and "The Time Has Come") at the Awards Ceremony, which prompted an invitation to sing and perform spoken word at the New Jersey State Human Relations Commission meeting in Trenton the day after Martin Luther King's birthday in January 2007. Their inspiring performance resulted in an invitation to perform at the “New Jersey Unites Against Hate” Summit in April 2007 at the NJ State House in Trenton, sponsored by the NJ Holocaust Commission, The Amistad Commission, the Anti-Defamation League, NJ Human Relations Commission, and the NJ Attorney General's Office. COW also performed at the Courier-Post newspaper's "Champions of Diversity" Awards Banquet, honoring awards recipients Eileen Lucarini & Deb Chamberlin.

COW students have been working to break through their own cultural and social stereotypes within the group, to deepen friendships and understanding.  Through intimate 'rap sessions' together and ongoing writing sessions, they are opening their eyes and discovering how much they all have in common...with their personal struggles, their relationships,their concerns, their dreams, their experiences... and they are learning that they share a passionate desire to experience that they matter, that others matter ... and together, they are changing their world, one body at a time, one mind at a time, one heart at a time, one life at a time...

At the request of the NJ Human Relations Commission, the COW Project is currently at work to design and host a statewide youth summit in the spring of 2008. Addressing teen issues ranging from self-esteem, gangs, bullying, stereotypes, tolerance, substance abuse and peer pressure, high school students from all over New Jersey will be invited to attend this first-of-its-kind summit, whose mission is to connect teens with their innate desire to matter and make a difference in the world. A summit for youth, by youth, about youth.
Annual fundraisers such as the Christmas Gift Giving, the Super Bowl Hoagie Sale, and mega Yard Sale, are part of the COW Project mission to support members of the local community in need.
 
 Stay tuned for news on more exciting projects....

LYRICS FOR "WE CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD"                                              

© 2006 Deb Chamberlin/Eileen Lucarini/Todd Oberholtzer

All around the world, always under attack
Cynicism, Resignation...break the camel's back
Empty pockets, empty bellies, empty minds, empty hearts
Say you wanna make a difference but you don't know where to start
All the sins of the father, they don't matter in the end
You gotta look to the future for your life to begin
 
Make a Declaration
Be an Inspiration
For the Transformation
Of a Generation
 
WE CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD

Take a breath
Take my hand
Take a chance
Make a stand
 
Make a Declaration
Be an Inspiration
For the Transformation
Of a Generation

WE CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD
One body at a time
One heart at a time
One mind at a time
One soul at a time
One dream at a time
One voice at a time
One struggle at a time
One life at a time