Information About Efrén Displayed at 2nd Annual Westside Summer Fest in Lansing

Saturday, July 26, 2008 the 2nd Annual Westside Summer Fest was held in Lansing from 2 PM to 9 PM. The event, organized by Westside Alliance, drew over 5,000 people. There was face painting, food, music, poetry readings, farmers and artisans markets, bicycle races, a basketball tournament, and other activities at this all day event.

"Westside Alliance is a program of NorthWest Initiative, which seeks to create healthy communities in Northwest Lansing. Through community engagement and mobilization, the NorthWest Initiative advances the development of healthy, vibrant communities by building capacity to identify needs and formulate strategies to create change." (NorthWest Initiative web site)

Visit www.nwlansing.org to learn how to support and learn more about Westside Alliance and NorthWest Initiative.

T-shirts, posters and other information related to the campaign to free Efrén Paredes, Jr. were on display throughout the day at A.R.R.O. (Advocacy, Re-Entry, Resources, Outreach) and Peace Education Center tables. Members of The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee were present as well and did a wonderful job sharing information about Efrén and gathering postcard and petition signatures supporting his release.

Many people stopped to inquire about Efrén's case and take information. The event also resulted in a significant increase in traffic to our web site and campaign blog. The event was a success and proved that once again people are deeply concerned with wanting to combat social injustice.

Thanks to NorthWest Initiative for organizing this wonderful event, to A.R.R.O. for displaying information about Efrén, to the Peace Education Center for helping gather postcards signatures of support for Efrén, and to members of the Lansing TIME Committee for their hard work.

Bill Woods at Westside Summer Fest

Stephanie Fisher and son at Westside Summer Fest

Woman signing Free Efrén postcard at Westside Summer Fest