www.herndonfriends.org

(Updated for 2010/2011) year)
Inspired by a successful model developed by the Sandy Springs Meeting in Maryland, the Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County (formerly called the Northern Virginia Student Peace Awards) is in its seventh year, and the fourth under its current format. This year, twenty-six high schools within Fairfax County have been invited to select a student who has made a substantial contribution to peacemaking and/or conflict resolution The selected students each receives $100.

The invited schools are Annandale, Centreville, Chantilly, Edison, Fairfax, Herndon, Lake Braddock, Langley, Lee, Madison, Marshall, McLean, Mountain View, Oakton, Paul VI, Quander Road, The Potomac School, Robinson, Stuart, South Lakes, South County, Thomas Jefferson, West Springfield, West Potomac, Westfield, and Woodson. The students will be notified in December so that seniors can mention this honor on their applications for college.

Fourteen organizations are serving as sponsors:

• Accotink Unitarian-Universalist Church
• Alexandria Friends Meeting
• Alexandria South Rotary Club
• Great Falls Baha’I Community
• Fairfax Partnership for Youth
• First Church of Christ, Scientist, Fairfax, VA
• Herndon Friends Meeting
• Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
• Langley Hill Friends Meeting
• Northern Virginia Mennonite Church
• Reston Rotary
• St. John Neumann Catholic Church
• Temple B'nai Shalom
• Temple Rodef Shalom

We will invite the students and their families to a reception to be held in March (see our Facebook page to view videos of the 2010 and 2011 keynote speeches http://www.facebook.com/pages/Student-Peace-Awards-of-Fairfax-County/188....) After obtaining permission from their parents, we will speak to each of the students to learn more about their activities so that we can write news releases. The students will be presented with a certificate at their schools' end of year awards ceremony.

Each of the sponsoring organizations is asked to contribute $150. In future years we hope more groups will join us so that we can include more area schools. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor may contact Margaret Fisher 703.968.2971 studentpeaceawards@herndonfriends.org. Enthusiastic people are also needed to help with the organizational aspects of the project, such as serving as representatives to the schools.

The attachments below contain some of the details of how the awards are administered.

Contributions from individuals are welcome (and tax-deductible). Please mail to Herndon Friends Meeting, 660 Spring Street, Herndon, VA 20170.

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