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'Vermont's Finest' Peace Pioneer
Student Peace Alliance Director and Vermont Native Named One of Ben & Jerry's Peace Pioneers
Nationwide contest provides $10,000 award to two modern-day peace movement leaders
Ben & Jerry's, the Vermont-based socially conscious ice-cream maker, announced yesterday at its Times Square Scoop Shop in New York City that Aaron Voldman, Executive Director of the Student Peace Alliance (SPA) and a resident of South Burlington, Vermont, is one of two nationwide winners of its "Peace Pioneer" contest.
The ceremony was part of Ben & Jerry's joint effort with The Lennon Estate and Peace One Day, a nonprofit global peace organization, to encourage people to work for peace every day.
Award-winning actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, presented Voldman and fellow Peace Pioneer, Robert Kent of the Peace Camp Initiative-a program that provides summer camp experiences for war-torn children from Israel and Palestine-with donations of $10,000 each for their respective organizations.
Voldman, a 21-year-old Brandeis University student and graduate of Vermont Commons School was chosen to represent the next generation of peace pioneers for his work in co-founding and directing The Student Peace Alliance (SPA), a national youth movement using education and grassroots action to advocate for legislation to establish a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. SPA has 100 chapters on high school and college campuses around the country.
"We're so proud that an organization such as Ben & Jerry's is recognizing the leadership in Aaron that we get to enjoy every day," said Wendy Greene, Managing Director of The Peace Alliance, the nonprofit organization leading the growing national nonpartisan grassroots movement for a Department of Peace and SPA's partner organization. "He reminds us that world peace is everybody's job, and each one of us can work to educate ourselves, our communities, and our members of Congress about the power of nonviolent conflict resolution and the importance of making the reduction and prevention of violence a national-and global-priority."
"Our generation must begin to build a culture that supports not only a peaceful tomorrow, but a peaceful today," said Julia Simon-Mishel, SPA Managing Director. "We are so grateful to Ben & Jerry's for recognizing Aaron's efforts to further the cause of peace and justice."
The event yesterday highlighted Ben & Jerry's John Lennon-inspired Imagine Whirled Peace ice cream and included a modern-day "Peace Bed-In" marking the 39th anniversary of the day John Lennon and Yoko Ono hosted their legendary event in Montreal, Canada.
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