ISU students and members of the Ames community met Saturday to award a community member with the Ames Peace Prize and address issues of peace.

Time for Peace, an ISU organization started after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 to focus on peace and nonviolence, awarded the Ames Peace Prize to Lynne Carey of Nevada for her work promoting peace in the Ames community.

Carey works with international women’s day programs and has completed film series, including “Palestine Unabridged.” She has given programs at the Ames Public Library of controversial issues for educational purposes, including presenting a video series on Palestinian-Israeli discussions, said Deb Fink, who nominated Carey.

“We really wanted to find someone who is working for peace actively in their lives and in some small way reward them,” said Thomas Kula, Time for Peace member.

Peace prize recipients are chosen based on their role in advocating peace, living life by their ideals, and they must be a member of the local community, he said.

“I want to say thank you because I am so honored and so touched,” Carey said of receiving the award.

Not taking full credit for the award, Carey said she was accepting the prize on behalf of all the people she had ever had the opportunity to work with, because any action takes many people to complete.

Carey grew up in Nevada and attended Iowa State from 1979 to 1984, and graduated with a degree in psychology and women’s studies. While at Iowa State, she said she was active in numerous organizations that promote peace.

“While applying for scholarships, I realized that I was involved in 30 organizations at one time,” Carey said.

Kula said the group works to bring students together and advocate peaceful solutions.

“It doesn’t matter what way you really feel, but we want people to acknowledge the costs we’re facing,” Kula said.

Carey said she feels the Ames Peace Prize is a way to honor an individual working for peace, and it also increases awareness to people in the community and those working on social justice issues.

“I’ve been involved in working toward peace and social justice my whole life,” she said.

Raised to think about others and their situations, Carey said she continues to stay involved with local projects including Time for Peace and Alliance for Global Justice, organizations that cross student and community lines and bring people together.

“I’ve learned to never give up hope and never stop working,” Carey said.