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    We, the staff and volunteers of the Appalachian Peace & Justice Network, have served southeastern Ohio communities for 25 years now.  In 1984, Carol Kuhre began organizing concerned students to go door to door to get petitions signed supporting a freeze on nuclear weapons. Early on, we took over sponsorship of the annual Appalachian Ohio Peace Prize from the Friends Meeting to stimulate and publish visionary art and writing by young people. Fast forwarding to 2008-09, Mara Giglio is teaching conflict management skills in three Athens County Elementary schools and giving trainings for Ohio University’s Upward Bound staff. John Howell is developing a project in nine school districts about non-military service options in the face of stepped-up military recruitment. APJN co-sponsored and helped publicize a family concert by peace educator/songwriter, Paulette Meier. Staffer Jennifer McClung organized a show of local art at OU called “State of the World: An Appalachian Perspective”, and Jan Griesinger organized a presentation by a Pakistani speaker titled, “Afghanistan: What Are We Doing There?”
    In the years between, our Speakers Bureau, videos, and press releases impacted 13 counties with hard facts and clear alternatives on topics such as Star Wars, the sham of civil defense in the nuclear age, the personal effects of racism, and corporate lobbying as a challenge to democracy, Rev.Bob Gridley explored “just war” theories and New Testament imperatives with area congregations.  Bob Maher and Peggy Gish began the work in area schools with peer mediation and conflict management trainings. We organized part of an Ohio Women’s March for Peace from Athens to Columbus, with speakers on the State House lawn and exhibits of handmade banners along the way depicting what women would most hate to lose if there were a nuclear war. Staffer Lily Reeves presented trainings on Peaceful Parenting in Perry and Lawrence Counties as well as for Athens Foster Parents. Our staff and supporters helped start the Athens Area Mediation Service.  
    APJN facilitated many bus trips for students and community members to attend anti-war rallies in DC, and led the sign-painting sessions that preceded them.  We mounted special protest vigils with speakers and singers, such as one at the Piketon Uranium Enrichment Plant on Hiroshima Day, and several at the Athens County Courthouse on International Human Rights Days. We organized a “Break the Cycle” group to educate and demonstrate in Athens after 9/11 and set up non-violence training for Iraq War resisters.  
    Lily Reeves and Staffer Christie Truly sponsored educational film fests on topics such as the death penalty, war and peace, and music and justice.  Working groups on Ohio School Funding, NAFTA/WTO/IMF reforms, and closing the School of the Americas met under our umbrella. Staffer Debbie Phillips spoke out with clear perspective on inequalities between Ohio schools, and OU student activists took their passionate caring to the Seattle WTO demonstrations and a march on Fort Benning. APJN helped others around Ohio pass an increase in the minimum wage, going door to door as in our early days to get signatures on petitions. Christie researched the drain on specific SE Ohio county budgets caused by the Iraq/Afghanistan wars and presented talks on the urgency of “Bringing the War Dollars Home”.  Staffer Cat Cutcher attended citizen meetings in Piketon opposing new federal use of its still radioactive Uranium Enrichment Plant and reported the struggle in the media.  
    Our country continues to waste over 40% of its tax revenue on military spending while 36.5 million Americans live below the poverty line, and millions around the world are dying of disease or starvation. In a time of national crisis, when many donors have lost money and jobs, APJN faces a lean future without funding for a development coordinator. We do have a loyal board and a seasoned peace educator at our helm, but we community members who believe in APJN’s mission need to pull our weight now to keep its hopeful witness alive and strong.