In her introduction, Stern set the tone for the evening by reminding attendees of the power of individual actions. “We know that peace begins with each of us, with you and me,” she said.

Karen Wooldridge, who cofounded Stand 4 Peace with longtime MBUSD teacher Donna Barney Nicholson, spoke about the organization’s mission and their ongoing efforts to raise awareness about peace as a global issue.

Wooldridge also shared that this year, for the first time, Stand 4 Peace partnered with the MBUSD and the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate to host “Peace Week” across all of the city’s schools. Over the course of the week, students pledged what they would do to help create a more peaceful world and learned about the importance of peace.

The most outwardly visible part of the organization’s efforts are the ‘Peace Poles’ installed around town. The poles are a globally recognized symbol that promotes peace and unity, with an estimated 250,000 of them spread across the globe.

Stand 4 Peace and the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation worked with the school district to get peace poles added to its campuses, with the first one being installed at Pennekamp Elementary in 2021.

Two years later, MBUSD is proud to have peace poles at all its schools and at its district office, said Bowes, making it the first school district in the country to do so.