Central Florida Pledge leaders push regional network to coordinate responses on hate incidents, housing and growth

RK Kelly, one of the event organizers, opened the third annual Central Florida Pledge Leadership Luncheon and described plans to move the pledge from individual signers into a coordinated regional network of organizations across counties including Osceola, Seminole and Orange County.

The pledge is a civic commitment that asks individuals and organizations to treat people with respect, avoid inflammatory words and actions, report incidents of hate and stand with those who are threatened. The speaker recounted the pledge’s origin following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel and said the pledge has already led to on-the-ground responses, including community members standing outside Joy Metropolitan Community Church and arranging a meeting between several pastors and local law-enforcement leaders to improve understanding.

Why it matters: organizers framed the pledge as a “vehicle” to connect sector-specific networks (faith, business, education, law enforcement and nonprofit groups) so they can respond regionally to issues that cross municipal and county lines, such as immigration, housing and the pressures of rapid growth. Leaders stressed that many problems cannot be solved by isolated interest groups and that a regional infrastructure can mobilize resources and relationships more effectively.

Speakers at the luncheon included two guests with international peacebuilding experience. Bertie Ahern, former prime minister of Ireland and a lead architect of the Good Friday Agreement, described the slow work of building trust—listening, treating people with dignity, and creating inclusive institutions—and said small, shared successes matter. Reverend Dr. Gary Mason urged religious leaders to acknowledge when religion has caused harm and to use faith networks to prevent violence and support public-health recovery for affected communities.

Youth engagement was a central theme: Dr. Louis Hancock of the Ginsburg Family Foundation outlined the Phoenix generation, a student leadership network active on college campuses; organizers cited recent convenings (about 400 students at a Stetson conference and a 200-member Rosen gathering) and a target of 1,000 students for a large November event next year. Octavius Johnson, Rollins College SGA president, described campus “tension talks,” informal forums that let students surface and work through disagreements. “Boldness is service,” Johnson said, urging peers to ask who is missing from conversations.

Organizers said roughly 6,000 individuals have signed the pledge and that the next phase is to turn signers and early institutional adopters into a coordinated network with curated resources, workshops and ambassador roles to extend the pledge’s reach. Presentations at the luncheon also included awards to civic, business and education leaders who organizers said exemplify the pledge’s values.

The luncheon closed with a call to action: organizers asked attendees to move from statements to regional collaboration and offered training resources (including a Dialogue Across Differences workshop and a planned Faith and Politics series) to help institutions implement the pledge’s commitments.

The organizers did not announce a formal governance structure, binding commitments or new funding that would legally obligate counties or cities. Next steps described were largely organizational and programmatic: recruiting ambassadors, expanding student engagement and piloting training and dialogue tools across partner organizations.