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~ ae eat kee es ad et. “FSC? merican Friends Service Committee is an jent Quaker organization, founded in 1917 je conscientious objectors with an oppof- aid civilian victims during World War 1. yith international headquarters in Philadet- 1 regional offices across the United States, rogram operations overseas, it is chartered on religious, charitable, social, philan- and relief work on behalf of the several 5 and divisions of the Retigious Society of (Quakers) in America. FSC is established as a non-profit Corpora- isisting of 160 Quakers, appointed by 20 “-aptings of American Friends and also _targe. A Board of Directors, drawn from nbership of ihe Corporation, governs the pro ns and administration of the AFSC. us program and administrative commillees, as at home and abroad, oN oversee the operations "44, of the AFSC ard con- sult with the more than 400 men and women who make up the staff of the Commmitice. Hun- "dreds cf vecuntears as- Sgt eurtent ag 4 and healed civillan victims without regaru to tha polilics «of those who needed help—in France, Germany and Russia, Spain, China and the Middle East, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Vietnam. In 1947 the AFSC, together wilh the Friends Service Council of Britain, received the Nobel Peace Prize for its “silent help from the nameless to the nameless..." in Guatemala, Mexico, Chile and Zambia, AFSC workers conduct projects of social and technical assistance designed to help people in developing areas discover and utilize their own power and resources. At home, the AFSC has long shared organizing skills and other resources with minor- ities and lower-income groups. In many projects _across the U.S., staff who themselves are members bf minority groups are hard at work in their own communities with the people most affected _ by racism and poverty. Because war substitutes outward force for inward guidance and conviction, Quaker testimony opposes war and encourages refusal to participate in it, in more than 20 communities across the country, AFSC staff work to build informed public resistance to war and militarism and advocate nonviolent action for change. . a” wee Last o ae ~, / of Poa - @- .* vr wer . - ¥ > ee eel = met cae AFSC staff in several countries, at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and in Washing- ton, D.C., organize informal meetings where leaders from different nations can explore ways to resolve international differences peacefully and to distribute world resources equitably. Quakers donot sub- FT" en | scribe to a formal creed, i *, oe j but place the authority 4. an : of conscience, individ- ; : ‘ y ; ual experience, and [ : : communal consensus . * | ; : above the authority of =~ ‘ , creeds or traditions. . ad With roots in the Reti- 4". | i « gious Society of, - oe Friends, and with many | | Quakers and others on fe 2-0 = sm its staff, the AFSC seeks to give contemporary meaning to the call of George Fox—a founder of Quakerism in the 171h Century—who urged Friends to “walk cheerfully over the earth, answering’ that of God" in everyone. Holding fast to the Quaker testimonies of love, integrily, c¢mpassion, and simplicity, the AFSC seeks to express a tenderness for the dignity and promise of every individual; a related emphasis on people rather than agendas, structures, or ideolo- gies, ‘a tolerance for cultural and philosophical diversity and a denial that violence can ever be right. The AFSC’ sees each human life as sacred, each person as a child of God. t t . . - : you tee ee Re Nee ee AP RS TE Som fe ee ee er emareme et cpm see en es are em Ae ee ee a SS a eS