Dear Friends,
This is our annual appeal for funds for Ground Zero.
Thank you for your financial contributions and for keeping us in your thoughts during these challenging times. We especially appreciate your support at our demonstrations throughout the year. Please join us when you can.
Ground Zero is funded mostly by small donations, which in many cases represent significant sacrifices by the donor. We are mindful of our donors and of the many sacrifices that have been made for Ground Zero as we continue our work.
The 2019 Hiroshima/Nagasaki demonstration showed our strong commitment to nonviolent direct action and our willingness to try new methods and tactics to tell others of the threat of nuclear war.
Last year, Susan Delaney suggested an action with flash mob dancers in the highway entrance to the Trident base. This would require a tight sequence of events to succeed, including stopping traffic, making time for dancers to complete their performance before being stopped by law enforcement officers, and basic items like a sound system–all which had to work at an early morning event.
The Hiroshima/Nagasaki action showed the high level of trust between Ground Zero members. Many of Susan Delaney’s family and friends were in the highway, knowing we would keep them safe and fulfill our part of the action.
The Hiroshima/Nagasaki event ended with eleven demonstrators cited for blocking the highway. Five of the original eleven in the roadway then re-entered the roadway and were cited with a more serious charge (although Kitsap County Prosecutor declined to file the charge.) In all, the main entrance to the base was closed for approximately 30 minutes during peak traffic. The resulting flash mob video on Facebook has reached over 16,000 people. Please see the flash mob performance and related videos at https://www.facebook.com/groundzerocenter (scroll to August 5.)
Another new tactic—in June 2019, Ground Zero members leafletted the base with an Appeal to Navy Personnel in which Navy personnel are encouraged to refuse illegal orders and to obey international law, the U.S. Constitution, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Ground Zero members risk being charged with federal statutes for addressing military personnel in this manner.
The Appeal, in part, stated: We bring our plea to you, sisters and brothers, in the armed forces: Resist illegal orders; Refuse to kill innocent civilians; Refuse the order to use nuclear weapons. Please see the appeal at https://www.gzcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/April-19-newsletter-for-website.pdf. Leafletting with the Appeal at the Trident base will likely become a yearly event. We believe the Appeal to Navy Personnel shows respect for military personnel–for each member of the military to decide whether to resist nuclear war as they can.
Also, in May 2019, Ground Zero obtained permits from Kitsap County for the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda. This restarted a process that was stopped when the original permit for the Peace Pagoda was rescinded by Kitsap County in 1982–over thirty-seven years ago. Please know that all funding and construction of the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda will be by the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order.
Ground Zero works to stay an effective and sustainable organization in all our efforts. We are one of the few all-volunteer organizations where members are not compensated for time, travel or other personal expenses. Your contribution will help preserve the Ground Zero house and grounds and allow us to continue our work for nuclear disarmament. All donations to Ground Zero will be made for the promotion of peace.
You can donate online to the Ground Zero Community (via GivingFuel) by clicking here. To learn more about donations to Ground Zero Community and Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, please click here.
You may also contribute by including Ground Zero as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or by making charitable gifts directly from your IRA account. Taxpayers age 70½ or older are required to make annual distributions from their traditional IRAs, which are then included in their adjusted gross income and subject to taxes. However, donations made directly to 501(c)(3) organizations from traditional IRAs may be made without paying taxes on them. These types of distributions are considered as viable forms of war tax resistance. Please contact us at 360-930-8697 or info@gzcenter.org if you are interested in donating to Ground Zero in this manner or through a bequest.
We would be remiss not to mention the loss of Ground Zero member Tom Shea. Tom represented the best in peacemaking—always creative and always hopeful. Tom was a war tax resister and a long-time member of the Ground Zero Stewardship Council.
To all Ground Zero supporters, we promise to remain true to our Mission Statement, which reads:
Founded in 1977, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action offers the opportunity to explore the meaning and practice of nonviolence from a perspective of deep spiritual reflection, providing a means for witnessing to and resisting all nuclear weapons, especially Trident. We seek to go to the root of violence and injustice in our world and experience the transforming power of love through nonviolent direct action.
Please join with us when you can.
Peace and love,
Editor’s Note: Donations to Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action support our ongoing direct actions to eliminate the threat of nuclear annihilation (and are not tax deductible). Ground Zero Community is organized to support the educational activities of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including but not limited to the promotion of peace, social change through nonviolent action, and the abolition of nuclear weapons.. Please see our Donation Page to donate to either entity.
