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  Youth for Hope is a studentfounded and studentrun peace organization in Davis, California. It was founded by Davis High School sophomore Julia Cortopassi after she watched a screening of http://imdb.com/title/tt0446345 The Ground Truth on 20061204 at the Varsity Theatre. She is assisted by her friends Sophia Cortopassi, Elisa Espinoza, and Jessica Weidenfeld. They stress YFH is not an antiwar organization, but a peace organization.
  
  Their first public event was filling Central Park with Youth for Hope Peace Vigil 10,000 luminaries on New Years Eve.
  
  On 20061231, 67PM they held a new years eve candlelighting event in which 10,000 votive candles and a little compost were placed in white paper bags and set covering the inner area of Central Park.  At 6PM there was a brief prayer, several spoke about the war, interspersed with performances by the Davis High School choir.
  
  Julia said http://www.icasualties.org/oif Three thousand of the candles were to remember the http://www.icasualties.org/oif/US_NAMES.aspx U.S casualties of the Iraq war, the other http://www.iraqbodycount.org seven thousand, times ten, represent the Iraqis who were killed.
  
  Volunteers started setting the candles up at 8AM, they started lighting them at 4PM, and the vigil started at 6PM. All of the planning was accomplished in only a couple weeks time. Total power output of 10,000 burning candles: approx. 400kW. Reportedly, Julias parents paid the $3000 tab for the candles and bags.
  
  Other supporters included Freedom From War (now Teach Peace), Code Pink, Capitol Area Progressives, Progressive Democrats of America, and the Davis Community Church.
  