Give peace a future:
Launching the Jean Donovan Fund
Honor the legacy of Jean Donovan by empowering the next generation of young adult peacemakers
Donate now
In the summer of 1979, Jean Donovan, a young woman from Cleveland, followed a faith-filled call to service in war-torn El Salvador where she lived and worked alongside refugees and people living in poverty. This commitment to justice and human rights led to her brutal death at age 27; she and three US American women religious were murdered by US-backed national security forces in December 1980. Jean’s life and martyrdom reminds us that peace requires courage, solidarity, and sacrifice.
Today, a new generation of young adults in their 20s and 30s is answering the same call—showing up at the border, organizing in their parishes, advocating for justice. The Jean Donovan Fund for Young Adult Peacemakers will equip them with resources, training, and community support to sustain this vital work.
Your gift today launches this fund and ensures Jean’s legacy of prophetic witness lives on in the hands and hearts of young peacemakers.
“Peace of Christ”
Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus member Anna Nowalk offers an original song …
Passing the rose: Our young people speak
Young peacemakers across the country share the peace of the rose
Speakers include Gabriella Dudajek, Cameron Bellm, Joryán Hernández, Michelle Sherman, Jessica Sun, and Michael Martin
Get involved: Ways for young adults to engage
Pax Christi USA has several pathways for young adults ages 20–39 to connect with the peace movement:
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Join the Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC) — monthly gatherings, an in-person annual retreat, the annual Literary Circle for Liberation, scholarships to peace conferences, book reviews, and more.
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Join Peace Pairs — the annual intergenerational co-accompaniment program connecting younger and older peacemakers.
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Register with the Ben Salmon No Just War Registry for Conscientious Objectors — open to those ages 18–35.
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Start or join a campus chapter — if you are in high school or college, connect with your community of peacemakers. Email Camila Perez for more information.
- Join a working group — Pax Christi USA has several working groups on issues including immigration, indigenous solidarity, nuclear disarmament, Palestine solidarity, nonviolence, and ending gun violence. To learn more, email info@paxchristiusa.org.
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Nominate a young adult peacemaker for the Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU Peacemaker Award. Nominations are closed for 2026; next year’s request for nominations will open by March 2027.
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Enter the “Blessed are the Peacemakers” essay invitational — open to high school juniors and seniors through college and graduate level students. Deadline to enter is June 15.
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Apply for a scholarship for college students who sign the Ben Salmon Conscientious Objector Registry.
Support the Jean Donovan Fund
Your gift today will equip young adult peacemakers with training, resources, and community — carrying forward Jean’s legacy of courageous solidarity.
Suggested gifts: $50 helps fund training resources • $100 supports a young adult’s retreat participation • $250 sponsors leadership development programming
