Archway2.org!

Who we are

For more than forty years (since 1963), Allies Building Community, Inc. (A.B.C.) has encouraged, supported and honored truly helpful, happy and appreciative attitudes, behavior, contributions, volunteer community services and dedicated public service that have modeled the Spirit of Friendship in action in the community. We are a network of individuals, groups and organizations interested in human potential, quality of life and better East West understanding. We are collaborating to build community spirit in Washington D.C. and online, sharing joy, friendship and prosperity as a model for economic, human and community development in the 21st century to undo fear, suffering, guilt, ignorance, hatred, poverty and negativity.

We represent people of different ages, creeds, cultures, classes, gender, races, occupations and ethnic backgrounds. We are co-creating online spaces and opportunities to share information, strengthen our inner spirits and combine and utilize the creative energies that we discover within us — as a powerful resource for personal and community transformation.

Archway Network and Archway Community pioneer members include: Chinatown Steering Committee; DC Committee on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs; FRIENDS program at Foggy Bottom/West End/George Washington University; Brahma Kumaris, DC branch; Women Enabling Beauty; Meetup DC organizers, Asian Benevolent Corps, A Beautiful Community, Award Networks, Award International, ABC Allies, Archway Network, and Allies Building Community, Inc. (A.B.C.).

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Program organizing: Ding Chien, Brian Yang, Carla Renee, John Tinpe, Chi Kuan,

IT quality assurance: Ding Chien

Writing/editing: Wally Dickson, D. Tai

What Is Community? What Is Friendship?

A community is made up of more than physical things. It is not merely a combination of things such as buildings, stores, houses, schools, churches, trees, roads, and other physical objects that we see with our eyes. Rather we believe that the essence of a community is truly invisible. Some call this invisible aspect the Spirit or The Friendship Archway Spirit or the conscience of the community or God or Perfect/Pure Love.

The concept, "Friendship" to us refers to spiritual unconditional love, kindness, caring, infinite patience, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, integrity, tolerance, acceptance, essence and appreciation. In practice, Friendship is reflected in one's attitude, behavior and choices. Sometimes it means to agree to disagree in a friendly and tolerant manner. Sometimes it means to live and let live when opinions and preferences differ. Sometimes it means to be tolerant and patient and give each other time to grow and change. Sometimes it means to forgive and let go thoughts or beliefs that do not work. Sometimes it shows in the willingness to try out new beliefs and thoughts or to communicate candidly from the heart. Friendship is a culture, belief, value, faith, philosophy, commitment and a happier and more peaceful way of life. It is a personal choice and investment for world peace and prosperity.

It is toward this invisible aspect of community that we, as members of an Archway Network and Community, direct our efforts and dedicate the Friendship Archway Community Awards and this website. In this respect, we believe that the Spirit of any community is an expression of the Spirit that exists deep within the heart of each and every individual. The quality of life in a community is significantly enhanced by the awareness and practice of Friendship, forgiveness and joy, no matter what. With humility, we learn from and celebrate our differences rather than condemn and separate ourselves.

To build a beautiful community of practice, we are working together in a variety of ways to encourage and enhance the unique expression of The Friendship Spirit that exists within each one of us. The Friendship Archway physical monument suggests how we can transcend conflicts and differences, by moving away from fixed positions at the earth level and reaching upwards to connect and understand each other at a higher level of Friendship, thus bridging East and West, left brain and right brain, truth and illusion, love and fear. As the Spirit within us shines ever more brightly, so too will The Friendship Archway Spirit of our community.

What Is A Friendship Archway Community?

A Friendship Archway Community or Archway Community is for everyone interested in human potential, quality of life, better East West understanding, inner development and related topics. This includes concepts, best practices, models, solutions, research, prevention, websites, training and coaching related to economic, human, community, spiritual, relationship, language, emotional intelligence, identity, consciousness and related applications, personal empowerment programs and activities.

In the context of the downtown Washington D.C., America's capital, the "Archway Community of Downtown D.C." sometimes refers to the geographic community coming together centered around the Friendship Archway monument located at 7 and H Streets N.W. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. near the new D.C. Convention Center.

This term in some contexts, refers to a microcosm of people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, sharing the same physical urban space which has been the historic home of Chinatown D.C. This area is also the focal point for more than 370,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living and working in the metropolitan Wash. D.C. area. Currently, in 2004, many new businesses, professional offices, retail stores, residential condo buildings, government offices, visitors of the new D.C. Convention Center and international community representatives... are all coming together in this same neighborhood. We welcome everyone to Downtown D.C. and Chinatown DC!

In the context of urban community development as a profession, the concept or study model of developing "an archway community" (as a concept without reference to physical space or location), refers to a process of neighborhood transformation, moving from a neighborhood that is negative/chaotic and lacking in community spirit, to one that is emerging as a community of sharing or reflecting a Spirit of Friendship and caring. Thus, this refers to a community development process taking place in the Foggy Bottom/George Washington University/West End/Downtown D.C. community.

We believe a critical factor in building a better quality of life for everyone living and working in the same urban space is to increase awareness of the value of building a Spirit of Friendship in a neighborhood. This begins with people choosing to perceive each other as allies and friends sharing a common Spirit, no matter how different people may look in appearance. This perception and the choice to practice friendship, kindness, courtesy, caring, forgiveness, communications and cooperation are demonstrated on a daily basis. Our attitude and choices significantly impact the quality of life for everyone in the community.

For the purpose of improving quality of life and minimizing hostility and conflicts, the development of an archway community refers to planning and supporting programs that offer people in the neighborhood opportunities to transform their own perceptions and attitudes so that we can interact with each other on a friendly basis, despite differences of opinions on some topics, and participate in collaborative archway programs to build community spirit and a better quality of life for all.

In the 21^st century, urban community developers help provide a context for greater awareness of appreciation and friendship with profound positive impact on the energy of the community. They can be helpful in transforming or strengthening awareness in one building at a time, one neighborhood at a time, with profound impact on the local, national and global community.

Why Are We Online? "to appreciate and honor"

We have dedicated this first archway community website to friendship, joy, prosperity, love, peace, forgiveness, enlightenment, and positive ideas and attitudes. Let us remember "to appreciate and honor" and forgive ourselves and others every day. From a solid foundation of inner peace, self-acceptance and strength, we will connect with others who are working hard in a variety of ways to build peaceful and sustainable communities of trust, love, forgiveness, compassion, and friendship across a wide range of diversity.

One of the goals of archway websites is to raise the level of awareness or consciousness of each individual who visits our site. Perceiving the Friendship Spirit in everyone, will strengthen our own awareness of love and joy to a level that will ultimately heal conflicts and transform the global community as a whole.

We also intend to have a little fun along the way! We invite you to come aboard and join us in our adventure. But we must warn you: the personal rewards you will receive along this journey of joy, friendship and prosperity may be greater than anything you presently expect!

About Allies Building Community Inc. (A.B.C.)

Allies Building Community Inc. (A.B.C.) serves as a nonprofit umbrella (50lc3) organization to build community spirit, capacity, human potential and an enriched quality of life by bringing together ideas, energy, talents, experience and resources to create and implement community initiatives and innovative programs. ABC affiliated organizations include A Beautiful Community, Asian Benevolent Corps and Friendship Archway Community initiatives. ABC was established in 1963 and incorporated in New York in 1964. It is headquartered in Washington D.C., U.S.A.

The vision of ABC for the world is A Beautiful Community of allies and friends of diverse backgrounds, sharing joy, friendship and prosperity as a short and long run approach for economic, human and community development to undo fear, misperceptions, suffering, ignorance, guilt, hatred, miscommunication and negativity.

(See "About A.B.C." section for more about A.B.C.)