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#ThankyouTuesday: All the Peace Walkers!

"My favorite part of the Walk for Peace was the bubbles at the beginning. I was really excited to meet new friends and FINALLY do the Walk for Peace." -Samantha Armas

Thank you to all the amazing walkers who came out to Walk for Peace last weekend! It was a beautiful day last Saturday at the Bartlett Nature Center for the 2015 Walk for Peace and World Peace Day Celebration.  Volunteers and walkers from 12 different communities came out to support Play for Peace and enjoy wonderful international cuisines, activities and games, and of course our 1k and 5k walking trails, which featured Play for Peace games along the routes!

WBEZ's host of Worldview, Jerome McDonnell, helped start our event out with a program that honored our sponsors and our top fundraising participants. Eight-year-old Aidan Hennessy took the top honors, having raised more than $15,000 this year, with the help of his team, Give Peace a Chance. Aidan and his classmates from Wayne Elementary also took top team honors. Play for Peace Executive Director Sarah Gough traveled to Chicago from Guatemala with her daughter, Samantha Armas. Sam raised more than $3,000 with her team, Gough Family and Friends. Our event began with a Bubble Run, in which kids ran past two bubble machines and had bubble wands to walk and run with along a path. Play for Peace's founders Michael Terrien and Craig Dobkin joined together to light a special Peace Fire. Our International Food Festival  featured everything from chips and salsa to delicious samosas and delectable fried rice. Many generous donors contributed to our silent auction, which was a great success. More than 150 people participated in the event and we have raised nearly $34,000 so far. Our fundraising will continue through October 15, so you can still visit www.crowdrise.com/2015walkforpeace and make a general donation or donate to a walker. [caption id="attachment_3581" align="alignleft" width="150"]IMG_4178 Photo by Mazhar Sheriff[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3578" align="alignleft" width="150"]Photo by Zafar Sheriff Photo by Zafar Sheriff[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3579" align="alignleft" width="150"]Photo by Zafar Sheriff Photo by Zafar Sheriff[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3583" align="alignleft" width="150"]IMG_3723 Photo by Mazhar Sheriff[/caption]

 Create your footprint by clicking the Walk for Peace footprint below and supporting our event, we are still fundraising through October 15th!

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