Howdy, Folks!
 
If you're wondering about the success of the Western North Carolina Student Peace Alliance Walk-A-Thon to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace, I have great news for you. 

First of all Thanks to everyone who participated and donated in the walk! So far, we have raised a whole bunch of money, and checks are still coming in the mail. Nineteen youth attended the walk-a-thon, including 13 teens. We received great media coverage and best of all it looks like the WNC Student Peace Alliance has enough money and interest to get off the ground.  Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday night's Movie and Peace-ZA party was great fun. Three teens, one pre-teen and three parents attended.  We ate lots of Peace-ZA and watched "Peace One Day" - the story of Jeremy Gilley's journey to establish an International Day of Peace and Ceasefire as Sept. 21. A philosophical discussion followed the movie, covering topics from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to what a peaceful world would be like.  A merry sign-making party followed.

On the day of the walk, we started from City-County Plaza with roughly 35 people. Jessi from the Madison County Roots & Shoots/4-H group brought a gigantic peace dove, which really added visibility. Thank You to Madison County "Roots and Shoots" 4-H Club for lending us your Peace Dove and to all the businesses and media that helped us out!

Bystanders  applauded, whistled, cheered, took pictures and honked their horns the whole way. We stopped at the Grove Corner Market for free water, where News 13 caught up with us and did some interviews. The TV crew followed us until the hill on Haywood Rd., just after the big bridge. In all, it was a great experience. Best of all, the media coverage was BIG and POSITIVE!!!

We made $370.67, and TOP STORY in the news that night!  Kids DO make a difference! Quoting former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan: "Individuals can make a difference, and if each of us did our bit, collectively we will make a major contribution."

Read the newspaper article about our participation in the event here.

Daniel Pinelli