DONATE TO SUPPORT THE PEACE ECONOMY PROJECT

The Peace Economy Project is a non-profit, grassroots organization that researches military spending and the military-industrial complex, educates about military spending and advocates for a peace-based, rather than a war-based, economy. PEP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible. Donations to support the work of the Peace Economy Project may be sent to our office at:

Peace Economy Project
438 N. Skinker Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

HOW TO JOIN OR GET INVOLVED IN THE PEACE ECONOMY PROJECT

For over the last 25 years, the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project (SLECP), now the Peace Economy Project, has relied upon the generous support of individual members and member organizations to continue its work. If your concern about the amount of money devoted to the military budget or St. Louis' role in producing armaments for the Pentagon seems to be growing and you're not sure what to do about your concerns, we have a suggestion. BECOME A MEMBER of the Peace Economy Project!

It's easy. Simply send us an email at:
join at peaceeconomyproject.org
(just replace the word "at" with the "at" symbol @ for the email address - we list it this way to prevent automatic spamming)

or give us a call at:
314-726-6406

You can ask for information on how to join PEP, or to request a newsletter or more information on about the Peace Economy Project's program work. Or you can join by sending a contribution that fits within your means to the Peace Economy Project at:

Peace Economy Project
438 N. Skinker Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63130

Members receive our quarterly newsletter, Peace Economy News, as well as mailed notices and email alerts about issues and actions you can take, as well as invitations to PEP events. You can do your own "economic conversion" and divert some tax money that would otherwise go to the Pentagon and invest in local disarmament work and local peaceful businesses. No matter what your decision, please do what you can to become empowered and help eradicate violence and its escalation in our world.

Also check our NEWS and CALENDAR for more information about activities organized in our local community. The Peace Economy Project is a member of the St. Louis Instead of War Coalition (IOW) and United For Peace And Justice (UFPJ).

2007 Year End Appeal Letter

Good friend and advocate for Peace,

What an exciting year 2007 has been for the Peace Economy Project! It was highlighted by our October conference entitled “Defining Security: Why Peace Wont Break Out if we Keep Spending Half-A-Trillion Dollars a Year on War.” The 25+ participants, representing organizations from coast to coast, worked collectively on how to make disarmament and economic conversion a part of the discussions surrounding the 2008 elections.

To me, what continues to be the most stimulating session from this event was simply entitled “Issues.” This sitting was a fruitful conversation on peace and security, which can be boiled down to three needs:

- Sustainable security for our future and resources
- A compassionate government, focused on the above, and
- A voice and vision that reaches a wide audience

“The need for sustainable security for our future and resources” includes the areas of health, education, and the environment. Conference attendee Mary Beth Sullivan asked, “How secure does someone with a sick child but no access to proper healthcare feel?” It was very clear to all present at this conference that security requires much, much more than guns.

“A compassionate government” is one that is representative of the needs of its people. It is a government that understands that human needs and true security are much higher priorities than corporate profits and campaign donations.

“The need for a Voice and Vision that reaches a wide audience” means that we must constantly search for ways to get our message out. If you regularly access the PEP website (www.PeaceEconomyProject.org) you may have already seen some of the projections of this voice in the form of our 10 Questions and the videos that we submitted for the November CNN/Youtube debates. These questions are designed to contrast the perpetual War-Time Economy with the potential of a Peace Economy. We are committed to taking these questions to federal candidates throughout the 2008 election year!

This conference has provided us at PEP an amazing opportunity to share our vision of a Peace Economy with national organizations. We have created an online idea-sharing forum and have plans to meet next year in Washington DC. PEP’s co-authoring of the Dec 3, 2007 article in the Post-Dispatch entitled “Plan for a new Missouri nuclear weapons plant is premature,” came out of a relationships built at this conference. And many of the actions you will see (and hopefully participate in) in 2008 will have come from the ideas stimulated at this terrific gathering.

While our October conference facilitated relationship building on a national scale, this letter is about rekindling our local relationships. Your ongoing support in 2007 helped us not only put together the “Defining Security” Conference, but it also published our annual Signature Ad, helped us with our spring and summer film series, got PEP speakers on KWMU and KDHX-TV, and distributed the quarterly Peace Economy News across St Louis.

With your donation for 2008, PEP will continue to monitor Boeing , the ultimate local manifestation of the Military-Congressional-Industrial complex. We will track and profile other local defense contractures as well. We will update our website and make it more interactive. We will continue working with the Instead of War coalition, the Justice and Peace Shares coalition, join the soon-to-be-public Bite the Bullet network, and we will seek to strengthen the connections made at our own “Defining Security” conference. And you’ll see our 10 Questions in action at federal election events! But we can’t make these things happen without your help.

Please remember the Peace Economy Project in this season of gift giving! Your donations help pay for staff, printings, events, speakers, and the countless intangibles that go into making PEP work!

Thank you so much for your time and involvement with PEP! May peace be with you and yours!

Sincerely,

Andy Heaslet
PEP Coordinator