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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 9, 2001
CONTACT: Ivan Suvanjieff
TELE: (303) 455-2099
EMAIL: peacejam@aol.com
FAX: (303) 455-2099
SNAIL MAIL: PeaceJam Foundation . 2427 W. Argyle Place . Denver CO 80211
http://www.peacejam.org

COLUMBINE SURVIVOR RICHARD CASTALDO LEADS EFFORT TO GATHER SCHOOL
SUPPLIES  FOR WAR-TORN EAST TIMOR

WHAT: Press conference for PeaceJam Educational Relief for East Timor
(PERFET)
WHO: PeaceJam Foundation, Richard Castaldo, TheCommunity.com
WHERE: Burnsley Hotel, 1000 Grant Street, Denver, CO (tele: 303 - 830-
1000)
WHEN: Monday, January 15, 2001, at 10:30 am

WHY: To gather educational supplies like pens, pencils, notebooks,
erasers,
dictionaries, etc., for the world's newest democracy -- war-torn East
Timor.
SUPPLIES WILL BE ACCEPTED FROM: January 15 - March 10, 2001.
SUPPLIES SHOULD BE SHIPPED TO: PERFET, c/o TheCommunity.com, 3212
Jefferson
St.  #217, Napa, CA 94558

The PeaceJam Foundation, in conjunction with Columbine High School
survivor
Richard Castaldo, and TheCommunity.com (http://www.TheCommunity.com)
are
pleased to announce the launch of PEACEJAM EDUCATIONAL RELIEF FOR EAST
TIMOR (PERFET).

This eight-week relief effort (Jan. 15 - March 10, 2001) will mobilize
thousands of young people in the USA, under the leadership of Columbine
survivor Richard Castaldo, as they collect school supplies such as
pens,
pencils, notebooks, and dictionaries. These school supplies will then
be
shipped to East Timor, the world's newest democracy, where students and
teachers are struggling to reopen the many schools destroyed in the
conflict there.

When Richard Castaldo was recuperating in the hospital after the
Columbine
High School tragedy, he was visited by 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate Jos�
Ramos-Horta of East Timor, who had just led a PeaceJam prayer service
for
Columbine and who was deeply concerned for Richard. Richard,
acknowledging
this act of compassion, has decided to return the favor by acting as
the
spokesperson for PEACEJAM EDUCATIONAL RELIEF FOR EAST TIMOR
(PERFET). "Jos�
Ramos-Horta stood by me in my time of need. It's time for me to be a
friend
to him, and to lead this initiative to help round up basic school
supplies
for the students in East Timor," Castaldo said.

Just how bad is the situation in East Timor? A holocaust survivor,
after
viewing the snapshots of the decimated country, said, "At least the
fascists and the communists in World War II left the buildings standing
in
case they could use them later. I have never seen such complete and
utter
destruction. What Indonesia did to East Timor is truly beyond the pale."

The world's newest democracy, the predominantly Catholic island nation
East
Timor is a former Portuguese colony that was "governed" by Indonesia
from
1975-1999. The East Timorese voted for and received their independence
from
Jakarta (the seat of the Indonesian government) in 1999, but not
without
the complete destruction of the country and the ruthless murders of
thousands of East Timorese.

In January, 2000, the PeaceJam Foundation was invited by 1996 Nobel
Peace
Laureate Jos� Ramos-Horta to witness the carnage in East Timor caused
by
Indonesian-supported militias during the national referendum to obtain
independence. PeaceJam saw that the militias had not only murdered
countless thousands of East Timorese, but they also destoyed every
vehicle,
killed every piece of livestock (and then threw the carcasses in the
river,
poisoning the water supply), and burned every building to the ground--
being
particularly violent towards schools, administration buildings, etc.),
and
then torched off the steel roof supports and trucked them across the
island
to Indonesian-governed West Timor, where they were put up for sale! Of
course the East Timorese can't afford to buy back their roofs, and now
must
attempt to live under the elements and the stars.

PeaceJam President Ivan Suvanjieff, at a dinner in the capitol Dili
with
Ramos-Horta and his president-to-be Xanana Gusm�o (East Timor's Nelson
Mandela), was asked by these East Timorese leaders to spearhead
PEACEJAM
EDUCATIONAL RELIEF FOR EAST TIMOR (PERFET). Ramos-Horta and Gusm�o
asked
him to gather up all the basic school supplies possible, and to ship
them
to their fledgling democracy. They are looking for money, exercise
notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, dictionaries,
math
text books--any kind of basic school supplies.

PEACEJAM'S  PARTNERS IN THIS CAMPAIGN:

Richard Castaldo has been an active PeaceJammer since May, 1997, when
he
participated in the PeaceJam led by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of
Tibet. An artist and musician, Richard Castaldo is currently playing
with
the hot Denver group Zebra Junction, and continues to record his solo
material with other friends. He now attends Aurora Community College,
in
Aurora, Colorado.

TheCommunity.com is an Internet gateway to community involvement, in
both
the local and global communities. Founded by leaders in the high tech
industries, and forming partnerships with top-tier non-profit
organizations, they offer exclusive projects and contents for socially
responsible and humanitarian Internet users. Chairman Jim D'Arezzo was
the
first VP Marketing for Compaq Computers. Mary Wald, President  and CEO,
was
the Founder and Chairman of New West Media, a Bay Area web design firm,
before co-founding TheCommunity.com.

WHAT EXACTLY IS NEEDED?

East Timor needs NEW pens . pencils . exercise notebooks . gluesticks .
glue
. chalk . crayons . markers . highlighters . white out . tape
(masking/scotch
etc.) . solar-powered calculators . erasers . soccer balls . paper (all
kinds--construction paper, notebook paper, blank paper, etc.) .
teachers'
planning diaries . activity books (connect-the-dot, coloring books, maze
books, word search, math-related, language skills related) . CASH
DONATIONS
WELCOME (make check payable to PeaceJam Foundation/PERFET, 2427 W.
Argyle
Place, Denver, CO 80211--Yes, donations can be tax deductible, a
receipt will
be issued & mailed to you)

East Timor also needs NEW/USED rulers . protractors . compasses . slide
rulers . pencil sharpeners . hole punchers . staplers/staples .
blackboards .
dictionaries . math text books . scissors . English text books . CASH
DONATIONS WELCOME (make check payable to PeaceJam Foundation/PERFET,
2427
W.  Argyle Place, Denver, CO 80211--Yes, donations can be tax
deductible, a
receipt will be issued & mailed to you)

WHERE DO WE SEND THESE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES?
PERFET, c/o TheCommunity.com, 3212 Jefferson St., #217, Napa, CA 94558

PeaceJam Information

It is the year 2001, and there are more than two billion teenagers
alive on
this planet.  Nearly half of the world's population is under the age of
twenty.  We are in the "Era of the Global Teenager." And yet, this
generation is a generation in crisis.  Most teenagers do not yet
identify
themselves as people who can generate greatness in the world. Our young
people are plagued with overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and
powerlessness. These feelings are universal and transcend racial,
political
and economic boundaries.

The PeaceJam Foundation was founded in 1996 in Denver, Colorado, to
address
this need.  PeaceJam is built around Nobel Peace Laureates who work
personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom that
they
embody. The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new generation of
peacemakers
who will transform themselves, their communities and the world.

PeaceJam is a year-long, on-going educational program for youth. The
participating Nobel Peace Laureates are directly involved in developing
the
curriculum and the program itself.  PeaceJam is the only organization
in
the world which has eleven Nobel Peace Laureates working together long-
term
for a common cause - our children.

Since the PeaceJam program was launched in March of 1996, 20,090
teenagers
worldwide have participated in the program. Each student has had an
average
of 45.5 contact hours with their teacher, mentor, community leader, or
PeaceJam staff member. Through the PeaceJam program, 402 new service
projects have been developed and implemented, and thousands of new
volunteer opportunites for youth have been created.

The PeaceJam program has a powerful impact. As one student wrote after
her
first PeaceJam experience, "PeaceJam says, I know you've got promise
and
potential; PeaceJam reaches in and pulls it out of you." Evaluation
data
shows that 85% of those who participate in a PeaceJam Youth Conference
leave believing that "one person can make a difference," and 97% felt
that
because of their experience in PeaceJam, they would be peacemakers for
the
rest of their lives.

The PeaceJam Foundation relies heavily on volunteer involvement. This
past
year, almost 1,000 volunteers participated in the program worldwide.
Our
volunteers are mainly middle and high school teachers, college
students,
high school students, and community activists. It would be impossible
to
deliver the PeaceJam program without the efforts of our many committed
volunteers.

Please view our website http://www.peacejam.org for more information.


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