John Lennon wanted the world to give peace a chance. Rebekah Carswell wants Virginia to give it a license plate.

Carswell, the executive director of the Roanoke Conflict Resolution Center, is collecting pre-orders from Virginia citizens in an effort to get the peace plate minted.

However, with a July 1 deadline looming, the project is still 75 commitments short of the 350 that the Department of Motor Vehicles requires before it will start pressing the plates, Carswell said.

Christine Poulson, the former executive director of the center who coordinated the effort before moving to Staunton, said the project originally had only six months to sell the plates but was able to secure a two-year extension. However, Virginia laws have changed since the project's inception and another attempt to pre-sell 350 plates would have only 30 days to meet that goal.

"There won't really be a second go-round. We're just hoping to get it on this one," Carswell said.

The project is part of a plan to generate revenue for the Virginia Association for Community Conflict Resolution, a consortium of nine mediation centers statewide that all share one problem: funding. If 350 plates are pre-ordered, the design will enter general production and will be available to all Virginia drivers. After the state sells an initial 1,000 plates, the association will receive $15 for each additional plate sold, Poulson said.

Poulson said money earned from plate sales would be used to fund association mediation programs and would help promote peaceful conflict resolution.

"We may disagree on the best way to achieve peace, but we all want it," Poulson said. "Maybe it'll help reduce road rage."

The plate, designed by Roanoke-based graphic artist Liz Frankl, features a dove holding an olive branch and the words "community peace building" across the bottom.

However, before the design ever sees the light of day, Poulson and Carswell will have to find 75 more people willing to purchase it.

Carswell said that several donors have pledged to cover the $25 fee for those who would like a plate but don't wish to pay for it.

Carswell said that plate applications can be found online at vaccr.org and that respondents who submit a pre-order form with "freebie" written on it before the group reaches its goal of 350 will have their expenses covered.