When Ploughshares Fund wanted to do a special video project to inspire mothers, grandmothers and even great-grandmothers to ask their children for a meaningful gift this Mother’s Day, we didn’t have to look very far.
Kristi Denton Cohen, accomplished documentary film maker [1] (Vertical Frontier [2]and The River Why) [3], was quick to offer up her services. Kristi is after all Sally Lilienthal's (our founder) daughter-in-law. Kristi ‘cast’ her step-daughters (Sally’s granddaughters), Sarah Cohen Stoelting and Molly Yasuda and their lovely children, making this year’s Mother’s Day for Peace video a Ploughshares Fund family affair. Additionally, Kristi’s own sister was kind enough to offer her lovely home in Mill Valley, CA as the location for our video shoot.
The day of the shoot saw heavy wind and rain but that wasn’t going to stop Sally’s longtime friend and Ploughshares Fund supporter Corinne Abel from joining us to make sure that the world knows she wants “the gift of a more peaceful world, free from the threat of nuclear weapons” this Mother’s Day. Corinne, a great-grandmother herself, was thrilled to meet three generations of Sally’s family under one roof. And, it was a pleasure to meet and work with Grace Hughes [4], former CEO of Marin Airporter [5] and Liz Moskowitz, retired teacher of special needs children, for the first time. All of these women generously donated their time to be a part of our Mother’s Day for Peace video in order to send the message that a true gift is one that will last generations – the gift of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Our moms, grandmothers and great-grandmother proved to be brilliantly adept in front of the camera – with wonderful direction from Kristi and her team. And, as luck would have it, the shoot itself turned out to be a great rainy day activity for Sally’s great-grandchildren who performed beautifully.
We are so thankful to everyone who helped with the video, and we are greatly heartened to have the continuing support of Sally’s family and friends.
Honor Sally's legacy by sending a special Mother's Day for Peace e-card [6] to the mother in your life.