It Only Takes a Piece of Peace

On Saturday, December 17, Ian Wilkins set out to do what he felt as a kid was one of the most mortifying things a person could do—he was going to go around Altadena, dressed in a Santa hat, and sing Christmas carols to Altadena residents.

He remembered having to go Christmas caroling with his aunt when he was 8 years old.

“It was very embarrassing but when I got older, I realized the most embarrassing things are the best and funnest things you can do,” Wilkins said.

Now, 30 years later, the “best and funnest” thing for Wilkins to do would also be one of the most rewarding, as this caroling would be a part of his way to give back to Altadena.

Wilkins started his local charity, A Piece of Peace (APofP), two years ago.  While working as a bartender at , Wilkins became accustomed to lending an ear to the different worries patrons had.  Although he couldn’t necessarily fix when he heard about people being alone during the holidays, he realized that with a workload of 25 hours a week, he had the time, on top of the motivation, to help someone who, for example, needed his car to be fixed.

And then it hit him one night.  While he was laying in bed, he thought about how he could begin to change the world.

“I was thinking about the peace symbol and I thought, ‘Well, what about a piece of peace?’  Just a little would be good in this world,” Wilkins recalled.

He ran with the “piece of peace” idea and soon after, made a website to see what would happen. 

“I do want to change this world and it’s the first thing [the website] says.  It doesn’t say how—I don’t know how but I can start with a little bit—a little piece,” Wilkins said.

Besides his whole family living in Altadena, Wilkins felt that Altadena would be a perfect place to test the idea of his charity.

“Altadena is such a small town.  I said, ‘let’s see if it works here,’” he said.

People caught on to Wilkins’ goal behind the website and soon enough, members of his site were bouncing around ideas about who needed help in Altadena.

After one of the members suggested they help an older woman whose carport had fallen, Wilkins moved forward with making this task one of the charity’s first missions.  He organized a group of friends to help him, had someone donate the materials for the carport, and with his friends donating their time, they were able to repair the carport.

What began as nuggets—pieces—of good deeds around Altadena became a gold mine as Altadena residents grew receptive to Wilkins’ efforts. 

The night of the Christmas caroling, Wilkins was joined by friends from Rancho Bar and Altadena locals for a total of 15 APofP carolers navigating through Altadena in tune, with the hopes of raising at least $500 for Altadena’s Five Acres.  Within a few hours, the APofP carolers collected a whopping $1000.  APofP dropped the money off at Five Acres on Christmas Eve and it was used that night. 

With the success of the Christmas caroling, Wilkins realized that his charity was becoming popular in Altadena.  What was first an experiment for his idea of a charity officially became what he sought after–changing the world, one piece of peace at a time.

Wilkins continues to take suggestions for people needing help around Altadena.  His website contains a special box titled “Ask Ian” where people can submit ideas, suggestions or simply ask for help.  He hopes to take on larger projects like a fundraiser with Five Acres.  Check his website for upcoming events.