June 24, 2007

Jefferson Awards National Ceremony Report

San Rafael Activist Among National Award Winners

By: Shelah Moody, SF Chronicle Staff Writer

Heidi Kuhn of San Rafael, founder the nonprofit organization Roots of Peace, was one of five recipients of the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award -- the National Jefferson Award for Public Service -- at a gala ceremony Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Kuhn, 49, received the Bay Area Jefferson Award for community service in 2006 for creating Roots of Peace, after the death of Princess Diana in 1997, in honor of Diana's crusade for landmine removal. Through Roots of Peace, Kuhn is trying to rid the world of landmines and transform toxic minefields into farmland. Roots of Peace has de-mining and replanting projects in Angola, Cambodia, Croatia, Afghanistan and Iraq. "As one of the Jefferson Award recipients so eloquently stated, 'I am floating on high cotton,' " said Kuhn. "As I visited the hospitality suite at the Mayflower Hotel, I was able to meet several recipients of the Jefferson Award from all over the United States. It was at this moment that I felt truly humbled by the extraordinary work that all of the national awardees were truly accomplishing from their respective locations. There was much to be learned from this gathering of unsung heroes who are contributing the 'best' of what America has to offer." The event was hosted by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland and daughter of Robert Kennedy. The four other Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award recipients were chosen from 81 Jefferson Award winners from across the United
States.

They are:
-- Kathryn Martin of Evansville, Ind., who worked to establish C.J.'s Law, which requires weather radios in all new manufactured housing. In 2005, Martin's 2-year-old son, C.J., was killed during a tornado.

-- Stevie Moore of Memphis, Tenn., who founded the Stop the Killing campaign to organize marches and rallies after the fatal shooting of his 23-year-old son. 

-- Nancy Costello of Salinas, also affectionately known as the Saint of the Hungry in Monterey County, for her efforts picking up leftover food from grocery stores and delivering it to migrant farmworkers in the fields.
-- Andrea Blamble of Columbus, Ohio, a high school senior who was diagnosed with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 13 and founded JACKS, Juvenile Arthritis Club for Kids.

The Jefferson Awards for Public Service were established through the American Institute for Public Service, which was founded by Onassis, Sen. Robert Taft and Sam Beard, the organization's current president, in 1972.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PENNIES FOR PEACE FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD!
Barrow Alaska joins Roots of Peace Penny Campaign in tribute to UN World Environment Day 2007

June 5, 2007--Barrow, Alaska--Roots of Peace,  a California based humanitarian non-profit organization, launched the Roots of Peace Penny Campaign today from the TOP OF THE WORLD in honor of UN World Environment Day 2007.  Roots of Peace will raise pennies from the northernmost city in the United States to replace the scourge of landmines with schools and soccer fields.  This town of 4000 residents will launch the campaign with a Native American blanket toss in the "Land of the Midnight Sun" where there is 24 hours of light during the summer months!

Wells Fargo Bank, the only bank in Barrow, opened the Roots of Peace Penny Campaign account, whereby every penny will count for peace!  "We are proud to launch this penny campaign on this important day, as we join in support of the other American children who have raised over 15 million pennies for peace," said John Gleason, Barrow Branch Manager.  "All Wells Fargo Bank locations will be willing recipients of "pennies" to help remove landmines and firmly plant the roots of peace--in the true pioneer spirit of the West!", says Heidi Kuhn, Founder & CEO of Roots of Peace who is in Alaska with her 12 year old son, Christian, to support this American frontier effort.

Mayor Nathaniel Olemaun Jr., Mayor of Barrow, will toss the first American pennies into the bucket during the Inuit Native American Pot Luck & Dance sponsored by the Barrow City Council.

The UN World Environment Day 2007 is celebrated in Barrow, Alaska on June 5, 2007, with the theme of Climate Change "Joining Hands Above The Artic Circle."  Ms. Brennan Van Dyke, Director, Regional Office for North America, UN Environmental Program (UNEP) is also joining hands with Ms. Heidi Kuhn, to declare that landmines are an environmental concern.  A UNEP Proclamation signed aboard the Cunard Queen Mary 2 in New York City paved the way for this day in the northernmost city in the United States--along the shores of the Arctic Ocean.  Through this innovative partnership, both UNEP and Roots of Peace will strive to alleviate this environmental issue where an estimated 70 million landmines plague the soils of 70 countries. "It is our hope that these concerted efforts from the top of the world may contribute to restoring the fertile soils of the earth, while at the same time contributing to the eradication of poverty and sowing the seeds of peace for future generations," says Ms. Van Dyke.

For further information, please visit www.rootsofpeace.org or www.rona.unep.org.

Roots of Peace is a San Rafael, CA based nonprofit organization whose mission is to rid the world of landmines and other remnants of war by transforming toxic minefields into thriving farmland and communities.