Originally founded by Dr. Helen Caldicott in 1982 as Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament, the group changed its name after the end of the cold war to Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) and expanded its mission into directing federal budget priorities away from the military and toward human needs. The WAND Education Fund creates educational materials for training and briefing individuals, elected leaders and the media. Its goals are to:
- Challenge and promote alternatives to militarism and violence as the solution to conflict.
- Shift from a military to a civilian-based economy to address the threats to our real security, ensuring that human, economic and environmental needs are met.
- Clean up environmental effects of nuclear weapons production as well as toxic waste at all military facilities, and prevent further contamination.
- Eliminate the testing, production, sale and use of weapons of mass destruction.
- Prevent violence against women.
- Increase women’s political leadership to further WAND’s goals.
WAND honored September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows at its Mother’s Day luncheon on May 19, 2003. The annual event was created to celebrate the work of women for peace and is held in the name of Julia Ward Howe — who first called for a national celebration of Mother’s Day. Peaceful Tomorrows member Terry Rockefeller delivered a speech to the group that day at the Massachusetts State House.
Web site: http://www.wand.org/
