90th Anniversary Reflections Scrapbook
Letter from Mary Ellen McNish
Dear Friend,
The American Friends Service Committee turns 90 this year.
For nine decades, we've worked with determination and hope to live up to the values we hold most dear: Peace. Equality. Integrity. Simplicity.
We've had many notable accomplishments over the decades. And I know that our strengths are based on the knowledge gathered and the lessons and beliefs of a lifetime.
We work for peace in Iraq because, after leading the cause for peace in the World Wars, Korea, during the Vietnam era, and in major conflicts since, we know that violence only plants the seeds of future violence.
We provide care and support today to people in need from Colombia to Cambodia because we listen to our community partners and respond to their needs rather than impose our own solutions.
And we uplift and empower our own citizens here in the United States because we're a trusted partner and mediator.
Steve Cary, whose services to AFSC spanned six decades as staff and volunteer, once said, "The American Friends Service Committee is not a peace agency; it is not a human rights agency, or an environmental agency. It is all of them together." He was so right. After 90 years, the Service Committee, as Steve said, "has cultivated the whole garden."
To commemorate our nine decades, we are creating a scrapbook filled with the reasons why you and our most committed supporters stand with us.
You've been with us, empowered our work, shared our values, and made a difference. I want to make sure your memories of AFSC, your reasons for becoming a valuable partner in our work, are documented and preserved.
I invite you to share a reflection, to draw a picture, write a poem or a prayer - express yourself as you like. Go to our reflections page to add your memories>
Compiling such a book isn't new for us.
In the basement of our Philadelphia headquarters you'll find AFSC's archives. I like to go there when I have a quiet moment, to help me remember the lessons of the past.
The room is filled to capacity with tightly-spaced shelves. On each shelf are neatly labeled boxes. And in each box there is passion. Commitment. Dedication. Hope. Love.
In these records are the words of people as alive and vital and funny and angry as you and I can be who made our values their cause. Young folks who went to our work camps, campaigners (who struggled to ensure voting rights, staff and volunteers who helped refugees and minorities)and people willing to tackle even controversial subjects because of a commitment to justice and peace.
There's one section that especially inspires me.
It's a collection lovingly put together in the 1920's of messages to AFSC from the children of Germany whom we fed in the aftermath of World War I. Each fragile page has a drawing - some of them exquisite, some touchingly childlike - and a message of thanks.
These small children grew up, had hopes and dreams, raised families, contributed to their communities because someone just like you cared enough about young strangers to support AFSC.
The messages and pictures, presented so gracefully and with such sincerity, remind us that the work we do every day has the capacity to lift the oppressed, empower the downtrodden, and bring peace to communities fractured by violence and war. See the pictures>
Such material reminds me of the heart behind our work. And I hope you will share your spirit for our 90th Anniversary celebration.
We want to learn about your connection to AFSC, to hear about why you are such a sincere and generous supporter.
I'll keep you updated on our 90th Anniversary celebrations as the planning continues.Thank you, as always, for your much-valued support.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen
McNish
General Secretary
Add your memories to our online scrapbook
Please add your memories to ours by writing your thoughts (or otherwise expressing yourself) for inclusion in our 90th Anniversary Supporter's Scrapbook to be displayed during our anniversary celebrations. Share your reflections>