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US Peace Memorial Foundation |
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ANNUAL REPORT 2016
OUR MISSION AND OUR GOALS
The US Peace Memorial Foundation, founded in
2005, exists to honor Americans who stand for peace as a way to increase the
number of voices that speak out against a war or wars. If
we are going to stop the killing, we must create a culture of peace where more
of us feel comfortable demanding peaceful alternatives to war in times of
international crisis.
We do this by:
• Publishing the US Peace Registry to
document the antiwar and peace activities of individuals and organizations.
• Awarding an annual Peace Prize to an individual or
organization that has made an exceptional effort to stop wars and to work for
peace.
• Raising funds to build the US Peace Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
At this critical moment in history, we must increase the number
of Americans who are willing to speak out against war. We need your
help, now more than ever, to make our voices heard. In 2016,
President Obama’s forces dropped at least 26,172* bombs on people living
in predominantly Muslim countries.
That was 3,028 more bombs than in 2015. We
continued killing, wounding, and making refugees of people in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria. Many of the
victims were children.
Those of us who work for peace are pulled in many directions.
Antiwar resources have been stretched thin, and peace seems elusive as our
country's militarism maintains a fixed hold on our culture. The
endless wars will stop only when the American people demand it, and the more
people who demand it, the louder our voices will be.
Please
help us to honor those who stand for peace by adding your voice to our cause.
·
Become a Founding Member
·
Add yourself and/or your organization to the US Peace
Registry.
·
Do both.
Your work will encourage more Americans to feel comfortable
confronting our government, just like they did to help end the wars in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia.
By celebrating many diverse role models, we can inspire other
Americans to speak out against war and to work for peace. For more details, please read the short
commentary “World Peace: A First Step.”
BRIEF REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Teach-In
In April, we addressed a standing room only teach-in entitled
“Making a More Peaceful World: Money Out of Politics, Honoring Peacemakers, and
Challenging the Empire” at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, D.C. As a result of the teach-in, we attracted a
few more Registrants as well as additional names for the listserv.
Afterwards I joined CODEPINK’s Alli McCracken,
Medea Benjamin, and Rebecca Green for the well-attended Democracy Awakening
march.
The 2016 Peace Prize
In August, the US Peace Memorial Foundation awarded its 2016 Peace Prize to Veterans For Peace “In
recognition of heroic efforts to expose the causes and costs of
war and to prevent and end armed conflict.”
We presented the award at
the Veterans For Peace national
convention banquet at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Peace Prize was
accepted by Michael McPherson, Veterans For
Peace Executive Director; Barry Ladendorf,
President of the Board of Directors; and Doug Rawlings, a VFP Founder, to
loud applause from an audience of about 400.
President Ladendorf
commented, “For 31 years, Veterans For Peace has been the only veterans
organization that has consistently led the peace movement in an effort to
abolish war, eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, expose the real costs of
war, stand in solidarity with veterans and victims of war, and to keep our
nation from interfering overtly and covertly into the affairs of other
nations. This award is a great honor for Veterans For
Peace and is a testament to the foresight, wisdom and dedication of our
founders and to the thousands of VFP members worldwide who have led us in our
non-violent struggle for a peaceful world. We are indeed grateful
and honored to receive the 2016 US Peace Memorial Foundation Peace Prize.”
In addition to receiving the
2016 Peace Prize, which is our highest honor, Veterans For Peace was
designated a Founding Member of
the US Peace Memorial Foundation. Other
distinguished Americans and nationally prominent U.S. organizations that
were nominated and considered for the 2016 award included Center for
Global Nonkilling, Lynn M. Elling, Colman McCarthy, and
Psychologists for Social Responsibility. See
Peace Prize details at www.uspeacememorial.org/PEACEPRIZE.htm.
Public Speaking
In November, we were honored
to speak about our vision for the US Peace Memorial in Duluth, MN, to various
classes at the College of St. Scholastica and at the Peace
Church. The visit was sponsored and hosted by Veterans for Peace,
Duluth/Superior Chapter.
If you belong to a group that
might appreciate and support our mission, please suggest that they invite us to
speak on the topic: "Changing Our War Culture By
Honoring Those Who Stand For Peace."
Year-Round Search for Antiwar Quotations
Our Founding
Members are helping to choose the best antiwar and
pro-peace statements made by well-known Americans. Eventually, the
selected quotes will be chiseled on the US Peace Memorial we are planning to
build in Washington, D.C.
Participate in the process! We are looking
for statements to inspire Americans to speak out against war and to work for
peace. Let us know which ones are your favorites – and share with us any
great quotes we may have overlooked.
As new quotations are referenced, they
are posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USPeace
and www.facebook.com/Peace.Knox,
as well as on Twitter: @USPeaceMemorial.
We invite our Founding Members to add their comments on any of these social
media sites. See www.uspeacememorial.org/Quotes.htm for more
details about the quotation selection process.
NOTES OF APPRECIATION
Thank you to our Directors:
Dr. Lucy Bradley-Springer, Dr. Charles F. Clark, and Jolyon Sasse;
Assistant Editors: Sondra G. Cadman, Dr. Martha Friedrich, Barbara Gerten, Mikell T. Herrick, Beverly Lowenstein, Dr. Lynette
J. Menezes, and DonWeise; Librarian: Mary Robin
Leigh; Coordinators: Dick Bernard, Dr. Dennis Neyman,
and John Clark Pegg; Bookkeeper: Donald
Martin; and other volunteers: Dr. David Chiriboga,
Sharon Leban, and Brian J. Trautman. Without these incredible and dedicated
supporters, very little would have been accomplished during the year. We
greatly appreciate their contributions.
Our volunteers are the backbone of the foundation. As a nationwide
grassroots organization with annual expenses of less than $12,000, we are
heavily dependent on them. We are especially in need of assistant
editors, researchers, marketing specialists, fund-raisers, and
coordinators. If you have the skills for one of these jobs and can donate
four or more hours a month, we could certainly use your help. Please
see www.uspeacememorial.org/Volunteer.htm for more
details.
Thank you to all of our new Founding Members and other 2016 donors. They
are:
Bashir G. Ahmed, OH
AmazonSmile Foundation
Rev. Jennifer A. Amy-Dressler, MN
Brooks Anderson, MN
Philip Anderson, WI
Dr. Paul Arons, FL
Dr. Lucy Bradley-Springer, CO
Dr. Laurence G. Branch, FL
Sondra G. Cadman, FL
Dr. Axel Frank Campbell, FL
Dr. David A. Chiriboga, FL
Dr. Charles F. Clark, CO
Stephen D. Clemens, MN
Pauline E. Cragun, MN
Kenneth Crowe, SC
Jodie Evans, CA
Daniel Falcone, DC
Barbara Fite, FL
Dr. Sondra J. Fogel, FL
Dr. Donna Gallagher, MA
Marilyn Gallant, MA
Barbara Gerten, MN
Dr. Joan E. Gildemeister, MD
Katherine A. Gildemeister, MD
Dr. Thomas C. Greening, CA
Amanda Hall, FL
Dr. Linda Heath, WI
Fletcher W. Hinds Jr., MN
Ali Ismail, FL
Isabella Jancourtz, MA
Linda Musmeci Kimball, OH
Chris A. Knox, OH
John M. P. Knox, TX
Dr. Michael D. Knox, FL
David M. Korman, PA
Dr. Jeffrey D. Kromrey, FL
Stephen D. Landers, NC
Beverly Lowenstein, MD
James A. Lucas, AZ
Susan K. Mathias, PA
Coral McDonnell, MN
Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, MN
Dr. Victor A. Molinari, FL
Dr. Janet L.S. Moore, FL
Dr. Thomas W. Morgan, MN
Dr. David P. Nichols, IL
Dr. Glenn D. Paige, HI
John Clark Pegg, MN
Lyn Clark Pegg, MN
Gail S. Phares, NC
David Reddy, FL
Dr. Kathleen M. Rehl, NY
Dr. Ona Riggin, FL
Barbara Riordan, FL
Chaia Ross-Booker, NM
Jolyon Sasse, FL
Bonnie Beth Silvestri, FL
Fredric D. Sirasky, FL
Sally J. Van Slambrouck, MI
Partha Ve Srivathsa, OH
Dr. Rick Staggenborg, OR
Dr. Arthur Ulene, CA
Veterans for Peace, Chap. 80 (Duluth/Superior), MN
Dr. Alvin W. Wolfe, FL
Brenda Woodard, FL
Stephen G. Yovino, FL
BEQUEST
We were saddened to learn of the death of our dear
friend and long-time Founding Member, Dr. Joan Gildemeister. Joan was the first person who
remembered us in her will by including a bequest to the Foundation. Her wish was “to counterbalance the
war monuments on the National Mall by building the US Peace Memorial in honor
of those devoted to world peace.”
Thanks to the work and support of her daughter Katherine Gildemeister, the gift was received as
a charitable distribution to the US Peace Memorial Foundation.
You may read about Joan’s antiwar/peace work in the US Peace Registry.
We need your help, too. Without your ongoing
generosity and commitment, the US Peace Memorial will never become a
National Monument that can help move the United States toward a culture of
peace.
MEASURED PROGRESS
Early on we set four benchmarks to achieve before going
public with a national campaign to build the US Peace Memorial. This
chart shows how we are doing and where we need your help before we can
distribute our initial press release.
40 States Represented - 80% of our goal
We have achieved 80% of our goal to have Founding Members from
every state. With 40 states (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), we still need our first Founding Members
from Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Please help
us get new Founding
Members from these 10 states.
The 5 leading states in terms of membership
are Florida (112), Minnesota (28), California (18), Massachusetts (12),
and New York (11). Help us increase the number of supporters in your state.
316 Founding Members - 32% of our goal
We are at 32% of our goal to announce 1,000 Founding Members in
our initial press release. We must have 684 more Founding Members from
throughout the country. Currently, our Founding Members list includes 287
individuals and 29 organizations/businesses, 9 of which are religious
organizations.
Thousands of people have joined our email list, yet only 316 of
you have become Founding Members. You
don't have to be an activist to be a Founding Member. Join us – add your voice and your support for
the goal of peace.
194 Registrants - 19% of our goal
I can't think of a better way to end
the current U.S. wars than to have more Americans speak out against them. There are a lot of ways to make your voice heard. The US Peace Registry documents and
honors what many of you have done. Our publication currently
recognizes the work of 135 individuals and 59 organizations that are
role models for a broad range of peace and antiwar activities.
Donations - Almost 10% of our
goal
We have received $98,704 towards the $1 million benchmark we
must reach before making a public announcement of our plans to build the US
Peace Memorial as a national monument. If you are in a
position to make a charitable contribution, please consider the importance of
supporting our goal to move the U.S. toward a culture of peace.
SOCIAL MEDIA / INTERNET / ONLINE STORE
If you
would like one of these t-shirts to show your support for the Foundation
and for our antiwar/pro peace message, here’s the link to order yours: www.cafepress.com/uspeacememorial.
You can also purchase other items with our logo on them, including
buttons, magnets, signs, water bottles, tote bags, and more. You’ll be
encouraging your friends and everyone you meet to think about peace and join
our mission. It’s always time to get the conversation started!
“Like” us at facebook.com/USPeace and Follow us on Twitter @USPeaceMemorial.
If you make Amazon purchases, please support the US
Peace Memorial Foundation by shopping at smile.amazon.com.
The AmazonSmile Foundation
donates .5 percent of the purchase
price every time you shop at smile.amazon.com. You'll get the same
Amazon login info, same products, same prices, and same
service. These donations have totaled $402. Please tell
your family and friends about this easy way of supporting us.
During the year, many of you have created a link to USPeaceMemorial.org on your
website or blog. We hope that this trend will continue. Feel
free to use the logo with a link to our homepage.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
We Need Your Financial Support (All donations are tax deductible to
the extent provided by law). CLICK HERE to see our
2016 Financial Report.
·
Become a Founding Member. Add your
name to our list of more than 300 visionary leaders, and be permanently
associated with the US Peace Memorial. CLICK
HERE to donate by credit card or PayPal. Or mail checks to: US Peace
Memorial Foundation • 334 East Lake Road #136 •
Palm Harbor, FL 34685. The only
requirement for becoming a Founding Member is the desire to honor those who
have worked for peace.
·
If you are already a Founding Member, please make a contribution for
2017.
·
Consider moving to the next donor level. Credit
for your contributions is cumulative.
·
Give whatever you can. Donate $5, $10, or
$20. Every donation counts!
·
Make your Amazon purchases at smile.amazon.com.
The need to change our war culture by honoring those who stand for
peace is greater than ever. When you
reply with a contribution, you are showing that you value and support our
programs to recognize courageous Americans.
We Need More Role Models for Peace
·
Add your information to the US Peace Registry. We are looking for Americans whose
antiwar behavior, example, or success can be emulated by others. If you have done anything to oppose U.S.
wars, please submit your bio: Individual. To see examples, read some of the listings at www.uspeacememorial.org/Registry.htm.
·
Add your organization to the US Peace Registry. Please submit your organization's
antiwar activities: Organization. To see
examples, read some of the listings at www.uspeacememorial.org/Organizations.htm.
·
Help us find our
first Founding Members from Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Nebraska, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West
Virginia.
·
Help us increase the number of supporters in your state.
We Need You to Volunteer
Can you volunteer? Even if
you have only a few hours to give, we would greatly appreciate your help.
We Need You to Keep in Touch
Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Let me know if you would like a call to
discuss any aspect of the Foundation's work and/or how you might like to
participate. I can be reached at Knox@USPeaceMemorial.org or (202)
455-8776. Thank you very much for your support.
Wishing you a Happy and Peaceful 2017!
Michael Knox, Ph.D.
Chairman
* How
Many Bombs Did the United States Drop in 2016?
US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public
charity.
Donations to the
Foundation are tax deductible to the extent provided by U.S. law.
Florida
registration #: CH20094. A COPY OF THE
OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE
FLORIDA DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352)
WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR
RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
Copyright 2017, US Peace Memorial
Foundation, Inc.