History

The Children's Program of Northern Ireland (CPNI) was founded in 1973 in response to a letter to the editor of the Fargo Forum newspaper from a Belfast mother who wanted her son to be free from the violence in Northern Ireland for the summer. The following year the Hibbing Minnesota Rotary Club sponsored 150 children from Northern Ireland for the summer. In 1975, the program moved to the Twin Cities, of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota, where it has remained. During the summer of 2008, 71 children will be hosted by families in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Over 5000 children have participated in the program over the past thirty-five years. CPNI is operated by two volunteer boards, one in Minnesota and the other in Northern Ireland. CPNI is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization.

In 1994 CPNI implemented cross-community programming. In cooperation with the designated schools in Northern Ireland, CPNI provides opportunities for children from the two traditions to meet, talk, work, and play together. CPNI believes that the experience the children gain from the cross-community programs in the U.S. and in Northern Ireland as well as the experience of living with an American Family for five weeks, promotes the possibilities for them to develop positive and constructive relationships with persons from the other traditions throughout their lives.