Nonprofit organizations throughout Asheville and the surrounding area nourish the people within our communities, caring for those in need, protecting our historic heritage, educating young and old, and nurturing our cultural soul. Each month, The Laurel is bringing to our readers some of the stories behind these agencies. This month, the “spotlight” is on the Center for Diversity Education.

For the past 300 years, the United States has embraced a reputation for being “the great melting pot” of the world, accepting immigrants—from all countries and from all political, religious, and ethnic backgrounds—and welcoming them into the American society. It hasn’t always gone smoothly, of course, and recent domestic and global events have served to exacerbate xenophobia, the irrational fear of that which is “foreign.” The tendency for many, unfortunately, is to demonize those they neither know nor understand. Sixteen years ago, some forward-thinking people in Asheville decided to do something about this growing problem.

in December 1995, the Asheville Jewish Community Center (JCC) hosted the first “Festivals of Light: People with Many Flames,” an event in which 50 volunteers put together displays of holiday celebrations from around the world. The response was extraordinarily gratifying. More than 800 teachers and students were led on guided tours of scenes of Christmas in Greece, the New Year in Korea, Diwali in India, Loy Krathong in Thailand, and Chanukah in Israel. The momentum created by this inaugural celebration of cultures led to the creation of the Center for Diversity Education (CDE).

CDE was soon providing local schools with educational programs designed for K–12 in accordance with North Carolina’s standard course of study curriculum. These programs have included “Harvest Seasons Around the World,” “Children and the Holocaust,” “What Makes Hero,” “The Power of Words” (in response to a Ku Klux Klan march in Asheville), “Houses of Worship,” and many others. in 1998, CDE reorganized as a nonprofit organization and moved its operations to Pack Place Arts & Education Center, and later to its current location in Highsmith Union on the campus of the University of North Carolina Asheville.

“In the beginning, we were a little oxcart, pulling ourselves along,” jokes Deborah Miles. She is the organization’s executive director and has been there from the start. CDE, she says, has continued to grow both in size and influence over the years, and currently reaches more than 10,000 teachers and students annually.

While CDE’s positive impact upon the community is expanding, it is doing so with minimal staff and a dedicated cadre of volunteers. In addition to Deborah, CDE’s only full-time employee, those on staff include 13 part-time employees, including nine UNC Asheville college interns. Together, they work to assist area teachers in incorporating the knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of others into the daily classroom content so that understanding and acceptance become the norm.

“I’m passionate about my work,” says Deborah. “I feel a real sense of urgency.” She explains that, in the case of children for example, the home used to be a safe environment, a protective haven from the various forms of bullying that have been so much in the headlines recently. “No longer,” she says. “With the Internet, Facebook, emails, and text messages, the bullying continues no matter where the child is. CDE is launching this month an aggressive anti-bullying campaign.

Back to the interns—Deborah says the work of CDE would be virtually impossible without their assistance. The work they do is integral to the success of CDE’s programs, as evidenced by the following descriptions:

Sara Jane Casciato, who is working towards her masters degree in International Education, is CDE’s road show coordinator, responsible for putting together such programs as “Seasons of Gratitude” and “Festivals of Light.”

Hugh Browder, is the Holocaust & Genocide Education intern, coordinating the lending of CDE’s educational materials. He is currently in a program for K–12 Spanish teaching licensure.

Amarra Ghani is the Safe Schools intern, focusing this year on the issue of bullies and bystanders. She is pursuing a double major in mass communications with a concentration in journalism and elementary education.

Maria Pedro Vicente is the intern responsible for recruiting volunteers for various CDE projects. She is a senior at UNC Asheville majoring in health and wellness promotion and Spanish.

Christina Swanger coordinates the “Western North Carolina in the World” global education program in local middle schools. Christina is majoring in Spanish and also pursuing licensure as a K–12 teacher.

Cassandra Wells is the intern who organizes the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality and the summer youth leadership program for students at Asheville Middle School. She is working toward a degree in psychology and K–6 teaching licensure.

Chialia Yang is the social media networking intern, overseeing the organization’s website and other online means of networking and fund-raising for CDE. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in multimedia.

Together, this team is championing the cause for tolerance, understanding, and acceptance. Importantly, they are inculcating this wisdom in our young people, and that gives us all great hope for the future.

You can learn more about the Center for Diversity Education by visiting diversityed.org. They welcome sponsors, donors, and volunteers to help them with their work.