Recent Projects

Coffee Strong

FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Just steps from the Army base sits Coffee Strong, where coffee and combat talk brew together.

Created by veterans, the shop recently opened with the mission to help soldiers in service.

Seth Manzel, one of the driving forces behind the shop, said soldiers can bring in any sort of problem for consultation.

"If soldiers have problems with their command, if they have command abuse problems, if they're not getting enough time with their family," he said. "Everyone that's come in has been very positive about what we're doing."

Address: 15109 Union Ave SW in Lakewood, next door to Subway
Open: Monday - Saturday, 7am to 7pm and Sunday 9am to 7pm

Peace Activist Training Program

The PAT program is a paid month-long summer program for high school students who want to gain skills in organizing for peace and social justice. It is run by WWFOR staff in partnership with the Abe Keller Peace Education Fund. The students learn about peace and justice issues, the practice of non-violence, and gain skills such as public speaking, group leadership, conducting surveys, public relations, outreach and lobbying. They meet individual activists, visit organizations, are introduced to current issues, and are mentored by experienced activists. The Abe Keller Fund helps recruit PAT candidates and provides funding for stipends and overhead costs.

An important part of the program is when students work together to create an activist project that puts the knowledge they are gaining into action in the community. Previous group projects have focused on topics such as police accountability, racism in Seattle, terrorism, the military in schools, the war in Iraq, and nonviolence.

The PAT program has graduated a total of 40 students from the greater Seattle area. After returning to school, PAT graduates have put what they learned into practice. Examples include launching a school peace group, directing an all-day Martin Luther King Day event, helping organize a city-wide opposition to the Iraq war, limiting the Junior ROTC program, raising funds for Katrina victims, serving as a panel member at a large event on the illegality of the Iraq war, and co-teaching a high school class on social change.

The PAT program is both challenging and fun. It's a whirlwind of learning that leaves students inspired to work, along with new friends, to make this world a better place!

Whatcom Peace & Justice Center

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center provides educational programming; leadership on legislative advocacy; and opportunities to resist injustice through public protest, writing, media reform, & organizing. Since opening in 2002, WPJC has become a voice at the table of community stakeholders and policymakers, bringing consciousness of U.S. foreign policy into the local sphere. WPJC is based in Bellingham, home to the longest-running weekly peace vigil in the nation (started in 1966).

It is the mission of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center to create an active, inclusive, community voice for peace and social justice in Whatcom County through partnerships with local community and religious organizations, education on alternatives to violence and war, and actions to promote lasting peace and justice both at home and worldwide.

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