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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PENNIES FOR PEACE FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD! 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.
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