Stand4Peace Manhattan Beach: Here's How You Can Participate!

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The Manhattan Beach community and beyond can join students from the Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Compton Unified School District tomorrow [Monday, Sept. 21] when they celebrate "Unification through Education" and build upon the United Nations International Day of PEACE 2020 movement "Shaping PEACE Together."

Anyone with access to YouTube may participate in a virtual "Shaping PEACE Together" program [reservations/tickets and details are on Eventbrite.com] provided by STAND4PEACE, a local non-partisan, apolitical, non-profit organization that last year celebrated the UN's International Day of Peace by spelling out the word PEACE through people joining hands on the sand just north of the Manhattan Beach Pier.

This year's 2020 virtual program will be 30 minutes, starting at 11:40 a.m. and concluding around 12:10 p.m. It will bring together some 40 schools in both MBUSD and CUSD. The program will be live from Pennekamp Elementary in Manhattan Beach and Emerson Elementary School in Compton. Participants at those locations include event organizers, designated speakers and honored guests. Students, teachers and community attendees will all participate via online.

The program gives students the opportunity to create a personalized PEACE Action plan in which they declare what PEACE means to them and what they will commit to do to encourage PEACE within their community, family and themselves. STAND4PEACE is providing online resources for all to use — students, teachers and the community.

There is no cost to watch the online program. Registration via eventbrite.com enables organizers to plan for the live event. STAND4PEACE was founded by two Manhattan Beach women, Karen Wooldridge and Donna Barney Nicholson — "boy moms" and residents who decided they wanted to promote peace. Nicholson is a First Grade Teacher at Pennekamp Elementary School and launched the "Mind Lounge" in her classroom so students could learn skills to create peace within themselves and then use their learning when interacting with others.

What Is International Peace Day:

The International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”) is observed around the world each year on September 21st. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution 36/37, the General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.”

The United Nations states: "We encourage more people to take ACTION for PEACE in their own lives, positively impacting the lives of others. We can all be part of a movement towards a culture of PEACE and tolerance in the family, in schools, in the workplace, in the community and ultimately in society at large.

What Is STAND4PEACE:

• STAND4PEACE is a private organization, based in Los Angeles, CA, that is impartial and independent of any government, political persuasion, corporation or religious creed.
• STAND4PEACE is locally honoring The United Nations’ Day of Peace 2020 theme — “Shaping Peace Together” — with a partnership between Compton Unified School District and Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
• The STAND4PEACE local theme will be “Unification through Education”. This partnership has been created to learn and grow with each other through lessons of peace.
• It takes just ONE second, ONE minute, ONE hour, ONE day at a time for…ONE note of gratitude, ONE moment of deep listening, ONE courageous conversation, ONE act of kindness, ONE heartfelt connection to make a difference. STAND 4 PEACE with us Today and the Days to Come!

What Is The Intention of STAND 4 PEACE:

• To be a resource to educate and bring public awareness on issues related to PEACE.
• To educate and bring awareness by commemorating the United Nations’ Day of PEACE on the 21st of September and all that it “STANDS 4”…
• To assist educators, community members, civic leaders, business partners and beyond through these resources to bring hope through action.