American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organisation that brings together people of all faiths and backgrounds to challenge injustice and build peace around the globe. It was founded in 1917 to create alternatives to military service during World War I, and describes its work since then as standing with communities taking bold action to overcome violence, inequality and oppression. Its stated values are peace, equality and human dignity, and its position is that everyone has a role in building a better world. AFSC combines direct humanitarian relief with community organising, public education and policy advocacy. It works both inside the United States and internationally, including in conflict-affected regions.

Youtube Video >

Major Areas of Work

• Economic Justice: organising around economic conditions, workers and community livelihoods.

• Global Peace: opposing war and militarism and supporting nonviolent alternatives to armed conflict.

• Migration and Immigrant Rights: supporting migrants and immigrants facing detention, deportation and border enforcement.

• Prisons and Policing: challenging incarceration and policing practices and the civil rights consequences that follow them.

• Climate Justice and Youth Organising: connecting environmental harm to social inequality and building the organising capacity of young people.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Gaza Emergency Relief: direct humanitarian response in Gaza, including distributing food and supplies to families and working with local farmers.

• Deportation preparedness resources: practical guides written for people who are facing deportation and for the people supporting them.

• Restoring the Right to Vote for All: campaigning against felony disenfranchisement so that people with criminal convictions can vote.

• Friends Engage: a channel for Quaker meetings and faith communities to take part in AFSC's organising and advocacy.

• Take Action campaigns: public advocacy directed at Congress and other decision makers on war, militarism and immigration enforcement.

Impact

AFSC states it has been active for over a century, having helped rebuild war-ravaged communities in Europe after World War II, organised people in the United States against apartheid in South Africa, and stood with communities working to overcome violence, inequality and oppression. Its own site cites the organisation as a co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded on behalf of Friends worldwide.

Leadership

• Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary
• Hector Cortez, Deputy General Secretary
• Laura Boyce, Associate General Secretary for U.S. Programs
• Kerri Kennedy, Associate General Secretary for International Programs

AFSC offers people a chance to work on frontline social justice issues within a values driven, century old organization with a global reach and a strong record of institutional impact. Staff work alongside grassroots partners across the US and abroad, with clear focus areas in peacebuilding, migration, and economic justice, backed by an established international network and Nobel Peace Prize legacy.