HREC Human Rights Education Center: Blog

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Hi everyone:

As we grow nearer to realizing our dream of the Utah Peace House, I would like to remind everyone of our vision and purpose, found at http://www.utahpeacehouse.org.  The Utah Peace House project aims to provide outreach and education on peace and justice issues and space for peace and justice organizations that promote peace and justice to hold meetings and events.

I have included many of our friends and acquaintances from out of state so you can see the project which we are building, in the hope that perhaps you can offer anything from your perspectives.

As many of you know, Tom and I have been working towards taking action on this concept for a few years.  We are finally coming close to finishing our plans for our new home on our property in order to convert the existing structure into a temporary peace house (in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley in Utah) until funds are then raised to demolish it and build a new peace house.

Tom and I are seriously committed to advocacy for peace and justice in our world.  We have worked hard over the years to educate our community on issues pertaining to a more peaceful world.   We plan to continue our work for the rest of our lives, hoping to instill in others the desire, enthusiasm, living by example and passion for the protection of our planet and all of its life.  Many of you know our dedication to peace on earth by virtue of seeing us in action - participating in peace and justice actions in many ways, at home and outside of Utah, working to build relationships, speaking out against injustices, organizing dozens and dozens of events for the community over the years, doing endless outreach, attending and supporting events that many of you and your organizations have organized over the years, responding to your calls for assistance with your own respective projects and, when needed, providing personal assistance to many of you in your times of need.

Tom and I were inspired to pursue the Utah Peace House Project by seeing with our own eyes peace houses in action across the United States, in our various activist travels.  After seeing the peace house in Crawford, TX when we spent time with Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey along with fellow peace activists/green party cohorts, we knew that we wanted to build a similar project in Utah.  Thus, the birth of the concept of the Utah Peace House Project.

Now we are asking for *your* assistance by helping us spread the word about the Utah Peace House project.  While we are moving forward with our plans for the mid valley peace house on our own property in West Jordan, UT, we are still seeking a donated property, or funds to acquire a property, in Salt Lake City (see the website for description), preferrably close to public transportation (our property in West Jordan is right across from a future light rail station and currently only a mile from an existing station.).  We have started organizing events to raise funds, such as last Saturday's peace symbol celebration (see http://deesings.livejournal.com/562950.html).  We would like to see more of you come out to these types of events and/or help support this project in any way that you can. For some of you, you may respond to our call for help when we are ready to clear our land for building, help with the actual building of our new house so that we can move closer to the implementation of the project, help with sprucing up the existing structure for the temporary mid-valley peace house space, help with gardening in our community garden, or passing out flyers and helping with fund raisers.  For others of you, a monetary donation might by your contribution when the time comes (Blue Sky Institute is a 501c3).  Whatever your level of contribution, it will be greatly appreciated and helping to get us that much closer to the dream we have been conceptualizing for some time.

I have a discussion/notification/update list that I will be dedicating to this project.  Please let me know if you are interested in being a subscribed member of that list and I will help you get set up on it.


Below are some samples of Peace Houses across the nation, some with varying foci, but all committed to peace and justice education and advocacy:

http://peacehousetulsa.blogspot.com - Tulsa, OK
http://www.peacehouse.net - Southern OR
http://www.crawfordpeacehouse.org - Crawford, TX
http://www.peacehousecommunity.org - Minneapolis, MN
http://www.taospeacehouse.org - Taos, NM
http://www.peacehouse.net/home.html - Ashland, OR
http://orgs.jmu.edu/peacehouse - Harrisonburg, VA
http://www.peacehouseok.org- Oklahoma City, OK
http://www.plowsharesproject.org - Indianapolis, IN
http://www.earlham.edu/~pags/peacehouse.html - Richmond, IN
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/03/peace_house_out.php (article) - New Haven, CT

We love and appreciate you all.  Thank you from our hearts for everything you all have done for peace and justice in our world.  We look forward to our continued relationships with you and our work together for the good of our planet.

Love and peace,
Deanna and Tom

HREC teaches tolerance in Utah public schools and their communities an effort to promote a safe and bias-free environment for all. Intolerance, bullying, exclusion, disrespect and violence are preventable behaviors with EDUCATION. With our communities becoming increasingly more diverse the need for this work is apparent. PLEASE HELP US! We rely on donations, fundraising and philanthropic foundations to enable us to do this work.

Ask your employer if they have a matching gift program. Many organizations will match up to 100% of your contribution.

Make a generous (and tax deductible) donation today!

We are able to accept donations via PayPal.

$25 will help us with everyday expenses

$50 pays for the supplies needed for students to create a panel of the Names Project quilt.

$100 will buy children's books about tolerance to be read and/or donated to a school.

$150 will provide a stipend for a student intern.

$200 will provide bullying prevention educational materials.

$250 pays for sponsorship for an anti-bullying assembly.

$300 will take 30 students to visit the TOPAZ Japanese-American internment site/museum at Delta,Utah.

$500 pays for a bullying prevention training for 30 teachers.

$1000 pays for 8 weeks of a bullying prevention training for foster kids and/or kids in the juvenile justice system.

Or make checks payable to HREC Utah and mail to:

HREC Utah
400 South 455 East, Suite 212
SLC, Utah 84111

Whatever you give is greatly appreciated.