KENT MAY 4 CENTER

~ Mission Statement ~

The KENT MAY 4 CENTER is a non-profit educational charity based in Kent, Ohio. Since 1989, the KENT MAY 4 CENTER has been recognized by the state of Ohio and the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational charity organization.

Although the KENT MAY 4 CENTER was organized and incorporated in 1989, all members of the Board of Trustees of the KENT MAY 4 CENTER have been long-standing activists at Kent for many years prior to 1989. Alan Canfora, our volunteer KENT MAY 4 CENTER director since 1989, was among those wounded by Ohio National Guard bullets at Kent State on May 4, 1970.

Additionally, on an annual basis since the May 4 Task Force student organization was established at Kent State University in 1975, leaders of the KENT MAY 4 CENTER have assisted educational efforts and May 4 commemoration events sponsored by these dedicated Kent State University students.

Indeed, the KENT MAY 4 CENTER was established in 1989 as an attempt to address national off-campus educational goals in support of the students of the May 4 Task Force. Today, while we attempt to address our national educational goals, the KENT MAY 4 CENTER still actively supports the on-campus educational work of these dedicated students of the May 4 Task Force at Kent State University.

In these regards, the KENT MAY 4 CENTER continues to provide information in Ohio and throughout America concerning several important educational goals:

10-POINT PROGRAM of the KENT MAY 4 CENTER ***

1. education concerning the May 4, 1970, tragedy at Kent State University: four students were killed and nine other students were injured when members of the Ohio National Guard fired 67 gunshots into a crowd of unarmed students under the noonday sun during an anti-war demonstration;
2. education concerning other similar examples of excessive force: students were also shot dead at several other American campuses including Orangeburg College, Jackson State University, Southern University, the University of Kansas and elsewhere;
3. education concerning American student activism as an important contribution to positive social change: the longstanding tradition of American student activism and the crucial need for modern students to continue to promote positive social change on and off the campus;
4. education concerning the continued need for peaceful conflict resolution on the local, state & national levels: peaceful conflict resolution can prevent future tragedies similar to the 1970 Kent State situation & the war in Vietnam;
5. education as a means of truly healing the wounds that remain at Kent State and as a result of the war in Vietnam, including projects to benefit surviving Vietnam veterans & their families;
6. projects to benefit the parents & families of student martyrs at Kent State, Jackson State and elsewhere--as well as efforts to maintain effective communication and respectful relations with other victims of excessive force;
7. establishment of memorial educational scholarships in tribute to student martyrs at Kent State, Jackson State & other universities;
8. establishment of educational scholarships at Kent State University to support tuition & housing needs of members of the May 4 Task Force educational student organization in order to facilitate future annual May 4 commemoration events;
9. construction of significant memorials in tribute to student martyrs and/or victims of the war in Vietnam either in the city of Kent, Ohio, or on the Kent State University campus;
10. creation of a permanent, comprehensive educational center in Kent, Ohio.

*** The KENT MAY 4 CENTER is recognized as a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational charity according to section 501(c)(3) of the United States tax code by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) since 1989.

All donations to facilitate the above-mentioned goals of the KENT MAY 4 CENTER are therefore tax-exempt according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Please consider sending a tax-exempt donation in support of any or all of the above goals of the KENT MAY 4 CENTER. If you prefer, please specify which particular goal you choose to support.

Tax-exempt donations may be mailed to:

KENT MAY 4 CENTER
P.O.Box 3313
Kent, OH 44240