Causes Selected for Distribution of (Anticipated)
Quaker Market 2025 Proceeds

Since the Quaker Market Committee (QMC) sees part of its mission as raising awareness of what recommended causes do as well as raising funds to support that work, we would like to provide some background on the causes and thoughts as to how they align with our Quaker values, beliefs and identity. – QMC

Friends Community School (in Greenbelt) is a small progressive Friends school founded by Adelphi Friends Meeting 40 years ago, where the approach to education reflects the intersection of Quaker values, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and progressive education. The K- 8th grade school is located on 17 acres in Greenbelt adjacent to Greenbelt National Park, well- sited for an emphasis on environmental stewardship reflected in their LEED-certified school building and integration of their natural surroundings into daily learning. Their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion is reflected in their demographic data: 56% students of color, 33% faculty and staff of color, 39% of students receiving financial aid. At a time when education in this country is under attack, recommending Friends Community School felt like one small symbolic way to take a stand for education, diversity and Quaker values.

Gaza Soup Kitchen was created in 2024 and is led and operated in Gaza. It was founded by two brothers from Gaza, one of whom relocated to the US and is currently the Senior Director of Philanthropy at USA UNRWA. The other brother, who was the chef in Gaza, lost his life there last winter. The Gaza Soup Kitchen operates a network of kitchens, providing daily hot meals and drinking water to those in need. The fact that Gaza Soup Kitchen is still able to get food and water to Gazans in need when so many organizations are now unable to get food into the country is a compelling argument for adding our support to this cause. Funding sources include Jews for Food Aid for People of Gaza, as well as a number of other faith communities and sponsor organizations, meaning it is one of the few organizations that truly brings everyone together to aid the people of Gaza. Gaza Soup Kitchen was brought to AFM’s attention through an announcement from Adelphi Friends Meeting. At ninth month meeting for business, there was unity on disbursing $500 to Gaza Soup Kitchen promptly through AFM’s Emergent Social Concerns Fund. In recognition of the ongoing horror and dire need in Palestine, QMC is recommending that AFM follow up this initial award with what we hope will be a larger award available towards the end of December through Quaker Holiday Market proceeds

Marshall Learning Center (MLC) was founded by Marshall Hope Corporation in 2022 to address the needs of students under two categories: English learners and Hispanic students, both of which have the highest dropout rate in Anne Arundel County. Marshall Learning Center offers a family-centered educational program, led by Tatiana J. Klein, who brings 18 years of experience directing after-school programs that target this need and has offered a summer camp for seven years. The center serves over 50 students (including an Afghan family) who speak a language other than English at home, and invites children eager to learn. Programs emphasize leadership development, a growth mindset, and rigorous study habits. Students participate in various activities, including a bilingual choir, STEM programs, art, music, tennis, and environmental initiatives, showcasing their talents at events throughout the county. The Learning Center provides space and support for and connection with the Annapolis Symphony, allowing children to get music lessons and practice time at the Learning Center during the week. The Center is dedicated to academic excellence, community engagement, and personal growth, providing other resources as academic advocates and mental health therapists to empower the immigrant community. The program provides students a safe haven at a time when they are afraid to go to school and possibly find their parents gone when they return home. Program leaders/teachers are international, from Costa Rica, Peru and El Salvador, and able to illustrate that it is possible to succeed in this country. During our discernment, Marshall Learning Center felt like a small local gem, providing hope and joy and skills to immigrant students at a time when those things could not be more needed.

Union of Concerned Scientists is a national nonprofit organization founded more than 50 years ago by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They view their mission as putting rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future. Today, they are a group of nearly 250 scientists, analysts, policy experts, and strategic communicators dedicated to that purpose. They analyze, expose, advocate and activate.

Issues they care about:

• They combat climate change and seek to alleviate harm caused by the heat, sea level rise, and other consequences of runaway emissions,
• They strive to develop sustainable ways to feed, power, and transport ourselves,
• They work to reduce the existential threat of nuclear war,
• They fight back when powerful corporations or special interests mislead the public on science, and
• They ensure their solutions advance racial and economic equity.

Our beneficiary discernment led us to include among our QHM beneficiary recommendations this larger, but well-rated non-profit (Charity Navigator: 4-star, 100%; GuideStar: Platinum) as a nod to the good work they accomplish and a symbolic support of science at this critical time in our country’s history. Let’s make it clear, Annapolis Friends Meeting stands with science and scientists.

Kallan Benson’s work on the World Council of Church’s Climate Justice and Sustainable Development Commission (Friends General Conference)

Quaker Market Internal awards have taken many forms over the years, including improvements of the meetinghouse and grounds (e.g., solar panels), personal ministry (e.g., Ann Riggs work at FTC in Kenya), and support of long-term partners (e.g., Light House). Our beneficiary recommendation for QHM 2025 fits in the personal ministry category, in recognition of Kallan’s long history of environmental work starting as a child growing up in Annapolis Friends Meeting, and wanting to support her ongoing environmental work through an exciting opportunity that has arisen thanks to Ann Riggs, who saw Kallan as an obvious choice when the World Council of Churches reached out to Friends General Conference’s Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee (which Ann clerks) for a nomination to their new Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development. They were particularly interested in young people involved in the work of climate justice. From 2024 and for the next 6 or 7 years the commission will meet several times in Geneva, Switzerland and in various settings in the world where climate justice and sustainable development are particularly important concerns. The internal portion of QHM 2025 proceeds will be used to help fund Kallan’s travel, through Friends General Conference, the organization that nominated her, and holds responsibility for funding Kallan’s travel and maintaining FGC’s membership payments to the WCC. QMC felt drawn to include this cause as a way of honoring Kallan’s past climate justice work and supporting this exciting opportunity to participate in environmental work through the larger Quaker world.

Relevant Links: World Council of Churches ; WCC video starring AFM member Kallan Benson Bing Videos; Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC (Programs – Friends General Conference)