Winston Salem, NC

On Sept 16, over 150 people walked for peace through the downtown streets of Winston-Salem, NC. Most had never heard of the US Dept of Peace before the organizing of this walk. The walk received coverage in two city newspapers and on the local nightly news. The message was simple and clear, "If you want PEACE, you must focus on PEACE - not fight against war." In addition, 2,000 information cards were distributed and petitions to government leaders for their support of a US Dept of Peace were signed.

A day-long peace festival followed the walk. Music, dance, ritual - Native American, Turkish, Egyptian, Spanish, Indian, American Folk African - energy healings, angel drawings, henna tatoos, and more helped to anchor the energy of Peace in Winston-Salem and radiate it back out around the globe.

May we all radiate Peace.

San Diego, California
San Diego took one more giant step towards peace at our First annual Walk For Peace!  We had almost 300 peace-loving people come together for our 3K Walk through the gorgeous Balboa Park!  The particpants carried signs promoting the Dept. of Peace and were cheered on by 35 teens from one of our local Student Peace Alliances.  The teens all wore "New Peace" shirts donated by Re:Volve and held signs with inspirational quotes for all Walkers to read during their 3K journey.

The uplifting Walk was followed by 2 1/2 hours of motivational talks about the Dept of Peace and beautiful music including a jazz band, folk singers, a teen Indy Rock band, a soft-rock duo and 2 world-beat drum groups.  News of this important event spread through San Diego as three TV stations came out to cover our Walk!  We celebrated raising over $4000 by dancing to the beat of the drummers!  It was a joyful, inspiring and powerful day for all! ~Jill M.

More San Diego Walk photos at: http://jans-man.smugmug.com/gallery/1905839  

Naples & Ft. Meyers Florida
In District 14 we held two walks. The first at 8:30 am in Naples and the second in Ft. Myers at 4:30 pm.  We had very good attendence and great people participating in both events.  Both routes in each location was 3.5 miles.  The morning crowd was lively and it produced one member of the press.  The afternoon walk in Ft.Myers was also well attended and had several teachers and students from our local schools.

This walk did produce alot of media, we had 3 television networks and 4 local newspaper reporters who conduted a significant amount of reporting.  We are anxious to see the results on tonights news and in the periodicals in the days to come.  All the participants on both walks were extremly appreciative of our efforts and the DOP.  We also produced over 45 applicants to sign up on the website the data has yet to be entered. ~Rick G.

Gainesville, Florida
We gathered early Saturday morning at Veteran's Memorial Park in Gainesville.   

From babies a few months old to elders in their 70's we walked three miles to the beat of lots of car horns honking at us and giving us the thumbs up sign!  It was a beautiful sight to see a long line of 75 people with red, white and blue signs calling for a Department of Peace.  We raised over $4000!

We had a great deal of fun and we appreciated our friends from District 5 coming up and joining us for the occasion.   We hope to do this Walk-A-Thon yearly...until the bill is passed! ~Heart P.

Hernando, Florida
We woke up extra early to meet up and had different carpools in our county headed out to join the Gainesville group.  It was definitively worth the drive and more so, the walk!  This event helped in raising awareness in our community.  Cheers to all nationwide for adding another feather in the cap for a DoP! ~Becky J.   

Morristown, New Jersey
Ten enthusiastic walkers wearing our Department of Peace t-shirts walked a three mile route in Morristown, New Jersey.  We carried our Department of Peace Campaign banner and saw many a head turn to see who we are.  Lots of folks gave us a thumbs up.  We gave out pamphlets to some people.  We felt we got lots of visibility and positive feedback.

Earlier, while we were setting up, two army recruitment officers from a nearby recruiting center stopped by curiously.  A woman in our group explained the purpose and  philosphy of the Department of Peace and gave them information.  They left smiling and seemingly in support of what we are doing.  We felt gratified in being able to bring our message to many new people. ~Tricia I.

Long Island, New York
On Saturday, September 16th as concerned citizens from around Long Island held their breathe as the rain came pouring down, the sky cleared, the sun came out and peace was the word of the day.  Over 60 people, took part in the 5K Walk for Peace in Sea Cliff, NY.  After a brief overview of the Department of Peace by Long Island organizer Brian Mannix, State Assemblymen Chuck Lavine address the walkers and spoke of the need for peace.

By raising over $2,000 and more importantly by raising the spirit and consciuosness of those in the area concerned about peace, the 5K Walk for a Department of Peace in Long Island achieved its goal of raising awareness and financial support for the Department of Peace.  For information of how to get involved in Long Island, please contact Brian Mannix at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit our website at www.longislandersforadepartmentofpeace.org

Peace out! ~Brian M.

 St. Louis, Missouri
Approximately 30-40 people came out to celebrate a beautiful day in Queeny Park in west St. Louis county.  The afternoon began with the music of several local musicians, including Mitzi MacDonald & Michael Levine, Doogie Armstrong and Bob Dill.  Organizer Steve Oâ•˙Rourke welcomed the crowd, providing a brief overview and background on the Peace Alliance and the Department of Peace.  Rev. Sandy Schwartz of the Spiritual Enrichment Center of Wildwood offered an ecumenical prayer of thanksgiving, inspiring the crowd as they prepared to walk around a one-mile trail through scenic woodlands and grasslands of the park.

Walkers carried signs touting the Department of Peace logo as they followed the trail marked by Walk for Peace signs.  A local television station, KPLR, provided positive coverage of the event on their evening news program, showing dozens of walkers as they made their way back to the eventâ•˙s focal point.  The event raised awareness of the Peace Alliance and the Department of Peace, as well as hundreds of dollars. ~Steve O.

Salt Lake City, Utah
Our weather took a 48 hour turn from temps in the 90's to temps in the 30's with rain and snow that morning!!  We were thrilled to have 30 people show up and to raise what we did.  It was a small but joyous, exuberant bunch, comprised of adults, children, and dogs, and we made a sight with our red, white, and blue umbrellas, our signs, and some kids in their rw&b shoes all mixed in with our winter rain gear. 

We were the recipients of honking horns, peace signs, even a guy brushing his teeth and waving from his window!

It was a great day and we are ready to host a HUGE walk next year.  With much better weather! ~Kathy L.

St. Louis, Missouri #2
It was a beautiful day for our St. Louis Walk for Peace in Clayton, MO. About 25 people came to walk including several children. While we didn't have lots of people, we had a whole lot of heart, so it felt as though many more were with us that day. And in fact there were as at least two thousand more people in the city, including universities and media, are now aware of The Peace Alliance and the Dept. of Peace. Martin' Rafanan, Executive Director of the National Conference for Community and Justice provided great inspiration for our walk along with wonderful music graciously provided by Hot House Sessions. We are also very appreciative that Congressman William Clay Jr., who has already signed the bill for a Dept. of Peace, made sure a staff member was with us, as he was unable to attend himself. Webster University sent a reporter to learn more about The Peace Alliance and the Dept. of Peace. We walked 2.5 miles, have beautiful pictures taken by one!  of our generous participants which we will treasure reminding us of our first annual St. Louis Walk for Peace. We will enjoy all that we have learned, the new friends we have made and the wonderful heart connections we now have in our city to take peace to the next level and beyond. ~Laurie L.

Parker, CO

 

Oakland, California
Even though it was a last minuted event, we had about 35 people walking in Oakland on Sunday the 17th around beautiful Lake Merritt.  Lot's of signs and banners and many honked horns in support.  We even had a table set up at the main park entrance for any visitors to learn.  We handed out many flyers with Department of Peace information to interested people we walked by.  It turned out to be a lot of fun and we all felt pleased that we rasied awareness for this effort!  Thanks to our event organizers Paula, Willard and Stephanie.  ~Matthew A.

Altoona, PA
Our walk was a huge success!  I'm a local volunteer and I made a last-minute decision to organize the event.  I recruited a handful of people to pitch in and help pull it together.  The response we received from our community (walkers and non-walkers alike), and the media on such a short notice was amazing! 

I can't tell you how many times we heard, "I didn't even know such legislation existed."  Well, now our community knows!  Aside from raising awareness and funds, one of the goals we set for our walk was to create a local group.  I'm happy to say that our first local meeting will be in October.  The "Walk for Peace" marked the beginning for our community!  ~Amy A.

St Clair Shores, Michigan
Although we did not raise a great deal of money, I feel we did raise awareness to this movement.  I took DOP balloons into businesses along our walk route and left a few with brochures.  I also found that when I made it known that this was not necessarily, and not just, an anti-war movement, more Republicans were willing to listen.  I informed that the bill was also about resolution to domestic violence, gang activity, and child abuse. People were definitely willing to listen.  This was my first experience with organizing something like this, so I know next time there will be room for many improvements.  Even though many funds were not raised, I think the time was well spent.  I received a great deal of support from leaders in my state and I was grateful for their encouragement. ~Cynthia K. 

Stuart, Florida
This was a great experience for my bookstore. Our town is very consertative and it was a re-freshing introduction to making change in our little town of Stuart. It went so fast and we would all do this again. We had fifty people come out and we sang the peace song after the walk and celebrated with more music and food. I am proud to be a part of all of this!!! I hope and pray we will have a Peace Department!!! ~Debbie W.

Fontana, California
Our two and a half mile Walk for Peace in Ontario, California included nine walkers and two tablers.  Carrying signs and wearing t-shirts we proclaimed that peace be heard in our Inland Empire community.  We walked in the public street around the Ontario Mills Mall on 4th Street and Milliken Ave. We gathered together from 6 different cities and as we walked we were inspired by the cheers, honks and peace signs shared by passersby. ~Bobbi Jo C.

Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas held their first Walk for Peace Sat. Sept. 16th. It was a beautiful day where families came out and enjoyed the walk and learning about the Dept. of Peace Campaign. ~Mitzi R.

More coming soon...