American friends service committee

Variant names
Dates:
Active 1971
Active 1974
Americans,
English,

Biographical notes:

Quaker organization formed to promote peace and reconciliation through its social service and relief programs.

From the description of American Friends Service Committee records, 1933-1988 (bulk 1933-1938). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70983753

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was organized in June 1917 as an outgrowth of and coordination point for the anti-war and relief activities of various bodies of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States. A co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947, the AFSC continues to work to relieve human suffering and to find new approaches to world peace and non-violent social change.

From the description of American Friends Service Committee collected records, 1917- (Swarthmore College, Peace Collection). WorldCat record id: 502158067

Quaker organization.

From the description of Papers, 1971-1974. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 31526821

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a nonsectarian pacifist and service organization which was founded by Quakers in Philadelphia in 1917 in order to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims. During its first year, the AFSC sent young men and women to France where they cared for refugee chidren, founded a maternity hospital, repaired and rebuilt homes, and helped returning refugees restart their lives. After the war ended in 1918, the AFSC helped Russian workers who were victims of famine and disease. It also helped Poland and Serbia to establish an orphanage and rehabilitate their agriculture. Also, the AFSC fed hungry children in Austria and Germany. In the 1930s, the AFSC helped refugees escape from Adolph Hitler's Germany, provided relief for children on both sides of the Spanish Civil War; fed refugees in occupied France, and helped victims of the London blitz. The AFSC helped with relief and reconstruction in many parts of Europe after World War II, as well as in India, China, and Japan. The AFSC also mobilized itself to lend assistance to many of the conflicts that followed World War II including the Korean War, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Algerian War. In the 1950s, the AFSC began to focus its efforts on relieving tensions in order to prevent war. The committee created programs of social and technical assistance in developing nations in order to address the disparity between rich and poor nations. It has also brought together mid-career diplomats from many nations in informal, off-the-record conferences. More recently, the organization has begun targeting injustice in the U.S. by involving itself with Native Americans, Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, migrant workers, prisoners, and the poor. The AFSC helps work with people to organize community action to obtain better education, housing, and working conditions. Today, the AFSC carries out service, development, social justice, and peace programs throughout the world. The work of the organization is based on the Quaker belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

From the description of Records, 1931-1967. (University of Illinois-Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 55689121

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that was founded in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian victims during World War I. Today the AFSC sponsors programs that focus on issues related to economic justice, peace-building and demilitarization, social justice, and youth in the United States, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. These reference files were collected and assembled by the American Friends Service Committee to keep it informed of parallel service work by British and Irish Friends in the years 1916-1944.

From the description of Friends International Service reference files, 1916-1944. (Swarthmore College). WorldCat record id: 42951710

Produced by Lee Swenson and others (Bob Burnett, Dwight Clark, Beth Collison, Bonnie Richardson and Bob Newick) of the Simple Living Program of AFSC, in Palo Alto, California.

From the description of Simple Living Newsletter, 1976-[1977]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122289382

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Subjects:

  • American literature
  • Coal mines and mining
  • Coal mines and mining
  • Coal mines and mining
  • Conscientious objectors
  • Endowments
  • Endowments
  • Endowments
  • Society of Friends
  • Society of Friends
  • Society of Friends
  • Society of Friends
  • Pacifism
  • Pacifists
  • Quakers
  • Social problems
  • Social problems
  • Social problems
  • World War, 1914-1918
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • Pennsylvania (as recorded)
  • Germany (as recorded)
  • Austria (as recorded)
  • North Carolina (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • France (as recorded)
  • Switzerland (as recorded)
  • Kentucky--Hemphill (as recorded)
  • China--Shanghai (as recorded)
  • Serbia (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Kentucky--Letcher County (as recorded)
  • Great Britain (as recorded)

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