Press

December 2004

Mines to be Cleared for Thousands of Migrating Elephants, UNEP News Release

October 31, 2004

De-mining Sows Peace Seeds in War-Torn Lands, Associated Press

Friday, October 22, 2004

Mine Field Demonstration Gives Napa Kids a Scary Lesson, Napa Valley Register

Hayden Stone reflected on kids his age who live in the war-ravaged country of Afghanistan, where hundreds of hidden landmines lie inches beneath fields and playgrounds. One misstep could be fatal.

Many of them can't even walk to school without passing precariously close to the explosives, said the 11-year-old Blue Oak School student. "I wouldn't want to live anywhere were I couldn't walk outside without worrying."

That's why Stone has decided to help. This week, he and his classmates at Blue Oak joined a national student-based initiative to collect pennies for clearing unexploded ordinances and landmines from areas frequented by kids in Afghanistan.

July 1, 2004

Where The Taliban Laid Mines, A California Charity Plants Vines, The Independent, UK

June 2004

A Victim Of Wrath, A Beneficiary Of Progress, Marin Independent Journal

June 11, 2004

North Bay Teens Lauded By Powell, San Francisco Chronicle

May 12, 2004

UCD Joins Anti-Land Mine Effort, The Davis Enterprise

April 2, 2004

Remarks By UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Praising Daughter Of Walt Disney
and Founder Of Roots Of Peace, Walt Disney Concert Hall Luncheon

March 4, 2004

GRAPE GARDENS IN THE DESERT, Martin Oliver, Australia

March 5, 2004

Seven Million Pennies Collected By Children In California Schools, UN Mine Action Service

March 1, 2004

"Dove Of Peace" Pin Makes Statement at Academy Awards, Global Vision for Peace Release

January 28, 2004

Fedex Partners With Roots Of Peace, Roots of Peace Release

January 2004

Local Activist And Author Team Up To Raise Money For Eradication Of Land Mines,
100 Faces of Marin Release

December 28, 2004 - January 3, 2005

Students Speak , Ross Valley Reporter

A trio of Branson students spoke earlier this month at Ross School during a special assembly to teach elementary schools students about community service. Student-body co-presidents Emily Cannon and David Wachtel joined by junior Raffi Mardirosian in talking to the younger children about volunteer programs involving Branson students, including providing sandwiches for the homeless, meals for AIDS patients and recreational activities for individuals with developmental disabilities at Cedars of Marin.

Raffi Mardirosian also presented a video and described his involvement with the global nonprofit organization Roots of Peace, which is dedicated to eradicating land mines in Afghanistan.

Face of Giving, Stories from our participants

Friday, June 11, 2004

North Bay Teens Lauded by Powell, San Francisco Chronicle

Dawn Yun, Special to The Chronicle

When a tall, distinguished man came up behind Kyleigh Kühn and put his hand on her shoulder, she was momentarily startled -- and star-struck. The man was Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"He said, 'Am I in the right place?' " Kühn recalled with a laugh. "I see him on TV all the time, and I was really honored to meet him. He cracked jokes. He was personable. I was relieved that there was a sense of humor."

Kühn, 17, her brother, Tucker Kühn, 19, and six other students from North Bay schools were in Washington on May 20 to be honored for the work they have done with Pennies for Peace -- Making Change Work, a nonprofit devoted to removing land mines in Afghanistan

Monday, May 31, 2004

Toast of the Town : Pennies Add Up for Landmine Victims, Chicago Tribune

By Lucinda Hahn
Chicago Tribune staff reporter

“I’m actually missing one final - U.S. history,” admitted Kyleigh Kühn, 17, who skipped the exam to attend the Center for International Rehabilitation awards dinner Wednesday night. Like any wily teenager, though, she found a way to justify her absence: “I figure we’re making history here.”

Kühn certainly has. In September she started a penny collection, Pennies for Peace, at her high school in Marin County, Calif., hoping to raise $1,000 for land mine victims; in three months, the program mushroomed to include 75 schools, amassing $70,000.

Since then, she has been honored by Secretary of State Colin Powell and flooded with e-mails from advice-seeking teens overseas. “They want to collect rubles for peace, pesos for peace,” Kühn remarked, receiving a standing ovation as she accepted a youth leadership award.