At the age of 16, Danielle Gram had already come up with a lifelong mission: to become an international advocate for peace. Out of this conviction, she founded Kids for Peace, a nonprofit that works to cultivate every child’s innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences, involvement in the arts, and community service and environmental projects.
Having lived just outside of Washington D.C. during 9/11, the sniper shootings and the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Danielle became deeply motivated to help end violence in the world.
35,000 children living in 69 countries.
to cultivate every child’s innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences, involvement in the arts, and community service and environmental projects.
“I want to make the world a more peaceful place, one child at a time.”
“There were many lives lost in ways that I did not understand or want to accept,” said Danielle in an interview with Teen Vogue. “Kids for Peace was founded to address violence by educating children in a way that encourages them to value all living things.”
Four years later, Danielle felt the personal impact of violence when her brother was murdered while on vacation in Annapolis, MD. Though shocked and heartbroken, her brother’s death instilled a deeper sense of purpose in her mission, knowing that she never wanted another child to feel the pain that comes with such a loss. Danielle became even more devoted to her mission to foster peace in the world, envisioning ways that Kids for Peace could help children in countries with ongoing conflict.
“It wasn’t until my only sibling was killed and left to die alone that I really understood the value of one life and the absence felt for each loss to violence,” said Danielle in the Harvard Gazette. “Since then, my work as a peace advocate has gained new meaning. The healing process has accompanied an increased conviction to share my experiences and my children’s programming with people living in the areas of the world most intimately impact by violence.”
As a student at Harvard, Danielle worked hard to complete her dual majors in religion and sociology, knowing how valuable her education would be to further her mission of peace. She spent a year in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where she worked with children in crisis and conflict settings and interned with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
“I know how important my education will be to my ability to make a difference,” said Danielle in Teen Vogue.
In 2010, Danielle was honored for her dedication to peace and improving the lives of children around the world with a World of Children Youth Award. Since 2006, Kids for Peace has launched over 145 chapters around the world. To date, Kids for Peace has reached more than 35,000 kids living in 69 countries.
Among other fellowships and awards, Danielle received the David Rockefeller International Experience Grant to begin Kids for Peace programming at a women’s and children’s abuse center in Bolivia.
“It was amazing to see how much joy and healing Kids for Peace activities brought to the children who had been abused,” said Danielle on Teen Vogue. “I’ll never forget the huge smiles on the faces of those kids and the amount of good they were able to do in their community.”
Throughout it all, Danielle has not forgotten about her brother. However, she knows that since she has experienced loss firsthand, she has become even more driven to foster peace for others in the world.
“Loss has compelled me forward and forced me to stand up and speak out even louder about the issues that are important to me,” said Danielle in the Harvard Gazette,. “I want to make the world a more peaceful place, one child at a time.”