PeaceWorks’ 2020-2021 Accomplishments

Submitted by Henry Stoever, Co-chair of the Board, for the Annual Meeting, March 7, 2021

1. In June 2020, we issued an Open Letter in regard to the Murder of George Floyd.  It was far-reaching and called for systemic changes.
2. In support of our Open Letter regarding George Floyd, we ordered and distributed yard signs, “DEMILITARIZE POLICE, DEFEND BLACK LIFE.” (We have more signs for your use.)
3. For Memorial Day, 2020, due to COVID-19 and 15 persons on Probation, we did a Memorial Day Rally, at St. Mark’s Hope & Peace Church, in the open air, followed by a car caravan with signs through the central part of KCMO, and some went to the Kansas City National Security Campus.
4. PEACEWORKS KC LOCAL ART FAIR was held virtually due to COVID-19, in keeping with our many years of working for peace and supporting local artists.
5. ICAN, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, welcomed us as a member and we received a $1,700.00 grant, which went toward four billboards. On Jan. 22, 2021, we held a Mill Creek Rally to celebrate the Treaty going into effect, and we have continued working to ask more city mayors to join Mayors for Peace.
6. ORGANIZATION: Begun 39 years ago, PeaceWorks Kansas City (PWKC), a 501(c)(4), and Missouri Peace Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt org., are Missouri not-for-profit organizations, in good standing.  PWKC meets bi-monthly, with work by the Board and various Committees, has a long-range planning meeting, and is affiliated with the national organization PEACE ACTION.
7. VISION & MISSION: See our brochure.  Our Vision:  A healthy world of justice and peace without war and its weapons.  Our Mission:  To nonviolently embody and empower our core truth – peace works!

8. FOCUS: Responsibility for local issues that impact our world – production and assembly of weapons of mass destruction here, the environmental crisis and environmental justice, gun violence and availability of weapons, deaths in our areas, contacting local elected leaders to seek policy changes, race issues are peace issues, move the money from warfare to human support, etc.
9. LOCAL EFFORTS FOR PEACE: Curtailed due to COVID-19, we support the Learning Club of KC, KS in its tutoring programs; and in the past, we have given scholarships to students who take peace studies courses.  We have supported the Poor People’s Campaign; we are a co-sponsor of Grandparents Against Gun Violence; we did the annual Memorial Day Remembrance (see above) and we are planning another Memorial Day event, May 31, 2021; we did our annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance, virtually; we support the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN); we are involved with and support a number of other groups.
10. PEACEWORKS’ ART FAIR: This year, Sept. 25-26, 2021, at Theis Park (47^th – 49th & Oak, across from Nelson Art Gallery south), our main fund-raiser.  It promotes our organization and its messages, while supporting over 100 local artists.  VOLUNTEER TO HELP AND ASK ARTISTS TO APPLY.
11. MEDIA AND OUTREACH: Our Newsletter contains many current events (by mail and e-mail); PeaceWorksKC.com; our Facebook, PeaceWorksKC; updates on our website and posting of new information.  We seek to grow our membership, and to do more public speaking.

Thank you for your support and activities for peace!