santacruz coalition

For 12 years we’ve run a Peace Camp for one precious week each summer. We picked the first week of August–the anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki–with a purpose, since that’s when many people reflect on the threat of nuclear annihilation.

The camp is supported by Santa Cruz and Watsonville WILPF, as well as the Resource Center for Nonviolence and the Center for Nonviolent Communication.

It is with intention that we choose to work peaceably and for peace in the world. The volunteers who organize the Jane Addams Peace Camp believe that the place to start is with children. We serve 60 children each summer, ages six to 17. Campers come from diverse backgrounds and every corner of Santa Cruz County. We fundraise and provide scholarships for all children who want to participate. Our goal is not to discriminate in any way, including ability to pay. We’ve even traded a sushi meal with a parent for a scholarship.

The generosity of many community members and organizations make scholarships available. We conduct the camp at Orchard School, a private school in Aptos, CA. We also have many artists and community activists who come to camp as guests.

Each year we choose a theme such as “Every Voice Counts” or “Extending Hands” to inspire our curriculum. In January we start looking for counselors, contact the facility we use for the camp and start our letter-writing campaign for donations of money, food, supplies and volunteers. We prepare a brochure promoting the camp. The camp’s mission is to foster an understanding of peace and justice through art, music, drama, games, stories and discussion. The WILPF branches help distribute our brochures and spread the word about the camp.

Two Iraqi labor leaders are featured speakers at a program offering local residents the chance to hear from workers who are struggling to end the occupation, sectarian violence, and the repression of women and working people in Iraq. Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, the first woman to head a national Iraqi labor union, is President of the Electrical Utility Workers Union, and Faleh Abood Umara is General Secretary of the Southern Oil Company Union.
They will explain why unions oppose the proposed privatization law favored by the Bush administration and oil corporations. They will also address the role of unions in rebuilding Iraq, and the prospects for a stable, democratic, non-sectarian future.
The event is part of a national tour sponsored by U.S. Labor Against the War, United for Peace and Justice, and the American Friends Service Committee. Local sponsors include Central Coast Workers Against War, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Resource Center for Nonviolence, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Families Against War, UC-AFT 2199, UPTE CWA-9119, and the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers. The event is endorsed by the Santa Cruz Green Party.
A sliding scale donation is requested—no one turned away.