American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee ( AFSC ) is a Religious Society of Friends ( " Quaker " ) affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world . AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by American members of the Religious Society of Friends to assist civilian victims of World War I . Background . Quakers traditionally oppose violence in all of its forms and therefore many refuse to serve in the military , including when drafted . AFSC ' s original mission grew from the need to provide conscientious objector s ( COs ) with a constructive alternative to military service . In 1947 AFSC received the Nobel Peace Prize along with the British Friends Service Council ( now called Quaker Peace and Social Witness ) on behalf of all Quakers worldwide . History . In April 1917 — days after the United States joined World War I by declaring war on Germany and its allies — a group of Quakers met in Philadelphia to discuss the pending military draft and how it would affect members of peace churches such as Quakers , Mennonites , Brethren , and the Amish . They developed ideas for alternative service that could be done directly in the battle zones of northern France . They also developed plans for dealing with the United States Army , since it had been inconsistent in its dealing with religious objectors to previous wars . Although legally members of pacifist churches were exempt from the draft , individual state draft boards interpreted the law in a variety of ways . Many Quakers and other COs were ordered to report to army camps for military service . Some COs , unaware of the significance of reporting for duty , found that this was interpreted by the military as willingness to fight . One of AFSC ' s first tasks was to identify CO ' s , find the camps where they were located , and then visit them to provide spiritual guidance and moral support . In areas where the pacifist churches were more well known ( such as Pennsylvania ) , a number of draft boards were willing to assign COs to AFSC for alternative service . In addition to conducting alternative service programs for COs , AFSC collected relief in the form of food , clothing , and other supplies for displaced person s in France . Quakers were asked to collect old and make new clothing ; to grow fruits and vegetables , can them , and send them to AFSC headquarters in Philadelphia . AFSC then shipped the materials to France for distribution . The young men and women sent to work in France , working with British Quakers , provided relief and medical care to refugees , repaired and rebuilt homes , helped farmers replant fields damaged by the war , and founded a maternity hospital . After the end of the war in 1918 , AFSCs began working in Russia , Serbia , and Poland with orphans and with the victims of famine and disease , and in Germany and Austria , where they set up kitchens to feed hungry children . Eventually AFSC was chartered by President Herbert Hoover to provide the United States sponsored relief to Germans . During the 1930s and through World War II , AFSC helped refugees escape from Nazi Germany , provided relief for children on both sides of the Spanish Civil War , and provided relief to refugees in Vichy France . At the same time AFSC provided support in the US for Japanese - American s during their internment , and operated several Civilian Public Service camps for a new generation of COs . After the war ended , they did relief and reconstruction work in Europe , Japan , India , and China . In 1947 they worked to resettle refugees during the partition of India , and in the Gaza Strip . Between 1937 and 1943 , the AFSC built the Penn - Craft community for unemployed coal miners in Fayette County , Pennsylvania . As the Cold War escalated , AFSC was involved in relief and service efforts , often supporting civilians on both sides of conflicts around the world including the Korean War , the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , the Algerian War , and the Nigerian - Biafran War . Beginning in 1966 , AFSC developed programs to help children and provided medical supplies and artificial limb s to civilians in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam . Unable to secure U . S . State Department approval to send medical supplies to North Vietnam , the committee dispatched goods through Canada . AFSC also supported draft counseling for young American men throughout the conflict . In 1955 , the committee published " Speak Truth to Power : A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence " , drafted by a group including Stephen G . Cary , A . J . Muste , Robert Pickus , and Bayard Rustin . Focused on the Cold War , the 71 - page pamphlet asserted that it sought " to give practical demonstration to the effectiveness of love in human relations . " It was widely commented on in the press , both secular and religious , and proved to be a major statement of Christian pacifism . In the United States , AFSC supported the American Civil Rights Movement , and the rights of African - Americans , Native Americans , Mexican Americans , and Asian Americans . Since the 1970s AFSC has also worked extensively as part of the peace movement , especially work to stop the production and deployment of nuclear weapon s . Programs and projects . Today AFSC programs address a wide range of issues , countries , and communities . AFSC describes the programs as united by " the unfaltering belief in the essential worth of every human being , non - violence as the way to resolve conflict , and the power of love to overcome oppression , discrimination , and violence . " AFSC employs more than two hundred staff working in dozens of programs throughout the United States and works in thirteen other nations . AFSC has divided the organization ' s programs between 14 geographic regions , each of which runs programs related to peace , immigrant rights , restorative justice , economic justice , and other causes . AFSC ' s international programs often work in conjunction with Quaker Peace and Social Witness ( formerly the British Friends Service Council ) and other partners . AFSC also provides administrative support to the Quaker United Nations Office ( QUNO ) in New York City . This office is the official voice of Quakerism in the United Nations headquarters . There is a second QUNO office in Geneva , Switzerland ; support for that office is provided by European Quakers . QUNO is overseen by the Friends World Committee for Consultation . AFSC carries out many programs around the world . The organization ' s 2010 annual report describes work in several African countries , Haiti , Indonesia , and the United States . Recently AFSC opened a traveling art exhibit called " Windows & Mirrors " , examining the impact on the war in Afghanistan on civilians . Cost of War project . " Cost of War " are real - time cost - estimation exhibits , each featuring a counter / estimator for the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War . These exhibits are maintained by the National Priorities Project . As of June 1 , 2010 both wars had a combined estimated cost of over 1 trillion dollars , separately the Iraq War had an estimated cost of 725 billion dollars and the Afghanistan War had an estimated cost of 275 billion dollars . The numbers are based on US Congress appropriation reports and do not include " future medical care for soldiers and veterans wounded in the war " . The exhibits . Based on National Priorities Project Cost of War concept , American Friends Service Committee ( AFSC ) launched an exhibit title titled " Cost of War " in May 2007 , at the close of the National Eyes Wide Open Exhibit . It features ten budget trade - offs displayed on 3x7 foot full - color vinyl banners . AFSC uses to cost of the Iraq War estimated by economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz in the article " Economic Costs Of The Iraq War : An Appraisal Three Years After The Beginning Of The Conflict " , written in January 2006 that estimates the total daily cost of the Iraq War at $ 720 million . AFSC uses The National Priorities Project ' s per unit costs for human needs such as health care and education to make budget comparisons between the U . S . budget for human needs to " One Day of the Iraq War " . The ten banners read : There are currently 22 Cost of War exhibits located in Northern and Southern California , Colorado , Florida , Georgia , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas / Missouri , Maryland , Massachusetts / Maine , Michigan , New Hampshire , New York / New Jersey , North Carolina , Ohio , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Virginia , West Virginia . Current issues . For its anti - war , pro - immigration , and anti - capital punishment stances , the AFSC receives criticism from many socially conservative groups . Often the criticisms allege that the AFSC has supported Communist activities . Throughout much of the group ' s history the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies have monitored the work of this and many other similar organizations . Since the 1970s , criticism has also come from liberals within the Society of Friends , who charge that AFSC has drifted from its Quaker roots and has become indistinguishable from other political pressure groups . Quakers expressed concern with AFSC ' s abolition of their youth work camps during the 1960s and what some saw as a decline of Quaker participation in the organization . The criticisms became prominent after a gathering of Friends General Conference in Richmond , Indiana , in the summer of 1979 when many Friends joined with prominent leaders , such as Kenneth Boulding , to call for a firmer Quaker orientation toward public issues . Some Jews have accused AFSC of having an anti - Jewish bias . Jacob Neusner calls the Committee " the most militant and aggressive of Christian anti - Israel groups . "