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About Us

Your Olive Branch, Inc. (yobo) is a non-profit educational organization focused on furthering peace and sustainability through online social networking; a robust, positive news portal; the creation of original content; and the facilitation of community based events.

We are an organization made up of members and viewers focused on making the world a more peaceful and sustainable place through communication, respectful interaction, education, action, friendship, and shared community. About Us is about you and me and all of us visiting and interacting through yobo.

Brief History

Tom Willits and Jeff Mackler have both worked throughout their lives to further peace and sustainability through education, content distribution, and funding projects.  In late fall 2008 they were developing a marketing plan for a new film, Soldiers of Peace, and brainstormed about the need for both an international social network and positive news blog site focused specifically on peace and sustainability.  Through relationships they have with organizations in these mission areas and their technology background in web development, they embarked on raising the money, designing and building the social network with the positive news feed, and arranging for partner members to participate as members and content providers. Thanks to the contributions of many devoted yobbers, YourOliveBranch.org (yobo ) launched to beta in December 2009.

Who Are We?

Along with Tom and Jeff, a group of dedicated yobo contributors are supporting the ever expanding social network by both writing and editing the constant stream of content flowing in and out of yobo and managing the technology. We are writers, bloggers, activists, community members, and regular old people who believe we can make a difference in creating peace and sustainability.

What Do We Believe In?

Creating a place through social networking where we can connect to people and organizations of like mind and spirit focused on positive actions and expressions of peace and sustainability. We believe that by taking responsibility for our global society, respecting nature, promoting universal human rights, advancing education, and supporting social and economic justice, we can all participate in creating a culture of peace.

Where Are We?

Based in western Massachusetts, yobo operates out of the historic Eastworks Factory Building, a 500,000 square foot, brick, turn-of-the-20th century structure in Easthampton.

How Can We All Make A Difference?

There is so much positive change occurring around the world.  There are so many wonderful accomplishments positively affecting peoples’ lives everywhere.  News of many of these activities and efforts never finds its way to the general public.  The stories of true inspiration never seem to make it out of the little hamlet or village or hidden city neighborhood they originate in. We can make a difference by connecting with others through yobo and sharing these successes.  We can educate each other and those beyond yobo who don’t realize the amazing efforts being made to create clean water, to grow sustainable food, to build schools and medical facilities, to create art, and much more.  We can post these great stories on the yobo news site and tell our friends what they can do to make a difference.

What Are We Planning To Accomplish?

We are building a community of people who love to communicate about what they are thinking about and doing to create the intersection of peace and sustainability—to bring those who are already making this effort together with those who don’t realize they are having a positive effect on peace and sustainability by eating local food, buying local products, planting trees, helping their neighbor, resolving conflicts, caring for others, and performing other actions and generating other ideas to make the world a better place. Peace is something we can accomplish one message, one article, one community event, one act of kindness, and one day at a time.