Staff meal at Quang Ngai Provincial Hospital. Photo: AFSC
Dear Friend,
Fifty-seven years ago this month, AFSC opened Quang Ngai daycare and hospital in South Vietnam. While there, patients from both sides of the conflict received treatment side-by-side. Read more about the opening in this Quaker Service Bulletin from 1967.
We count on friends like you to fund all our work in communities worldwide. If you are able, now is the best time to give to make the most of your donation. AFSC’s Compassion in Action Matching Gift Challenge—our largest match of the year—will match your gift, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000 until Nov. 20. Please give today.
With deep appreciation,
Tonya Histand
Director of Public Engagement
Alumni news & notes
Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman president of Harvard, just published a new book. In it, she credits AFSC with her moment of greatest enlightenment. In 1963, she enrolled in the East-West Travel Seminar, a program of AFSC that took American students “to meet with their counterparts behind the Iron Curtain to discuss foreign affairs and the means to avoid world war.” The summer solidified Drew’s commitment to the pursuit of justice.
Congratulations to Jonathan Pulphus, Jr. on his recent appointment as director of grant initiatives by Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS) in St. Louis. Previously, Jonathan worked as a program associate for AFSC’s St. Louis Peace Program.
Linda Rubiano worked as the executive assistant in the General Secretary’s Office at AFSC. She passed away in August.
AFSC alum Ruth Lor Malloy recently published a book based on her tireless efforts to counter discrimination. The book recounts stories from her time with AFSC in Mexico, India, and Japan.
Longtime AFSC New Mexico volunteer Dorie Bunting passed away in August at the age of 101. Dorie was a founding member of the AFSC office in New Mexico and was a well-known peace and justice activist.
Bette Rainbow Hoover directed the Washington, D.C. office of AFSC’s Peace & Economic Justice Program from 1994-2004. She passed away on Aug. 24.
Check out this article featuring AFSC Michigan alum Ron Simpson-Bey. Ron says we need to ensure “that people with lived experience of the system have their voices heard about what will make life safer and more dignified behind bars.”
Hettie Simmons Love, the first Black woman known to earn a master’s degree from Penn’s Wharton School, died at 100. Hettie worked as a bookkeeper in AFSC's Finance Department in Philadelphia.
Do you have news to share? Email us today!
Updates from AFSC
Crisis in Gaza
Mounting violence in Gaza and Israel has created a humanitarian crisis. Learn more about AFSC’s efforts to provide relief to Gaza and advocate for peace. Join us every Friday at 12 p.m. ET for an Action Hour to hear updates from Gaza and take action with us.
Emerging Leaders for Liberation
This year’s ELL participants are confronting militarism, Israeli apartheid, and other forms of systemic injustice. Meet three of these young leaders.
San Diego: AFSC and partners respond to Border Patrol’s open-air detention sites
Border Patrol is once again holding migrants for hours, sometimes days, between border walls without access to basic services. As we did in May, AFSC and partners are providing emergency aid to migrants through the barriers and advocating for an end to this inhumane practice.
Planned Giving
Meet Henry Kingsbury, who first encountered AFSC when he heard about draft counseling offered at the Cambridge, Massachusetts office. As Henry got older, he considered his connection to Quaker values pivotal, both spiritually and literally. “I met like-minded people at meetings,” he shares. “And the draft counseling saved my life.” These experiences inspired him to include AFSC in his will five decades later. Read more of Henry’s story and how you can nurture peace around the world here.
More ways to take action and connect with AFSC:
- Donate to support Gaza emergency response
- Tell your governor to restore voting rights for all!
- Join us for the “Stop Cop City” training series
- Are you interested in receiving life income while supporting AFSC? A gift annuity is easy to arrange. Reach out to GiftPlanning@afsc.org or visit us online.
Thank you for reading our AFSC Alumni Newsletter!