Category Archives: Human Rights

Education, General, Human Rights, Immigration, Philadelphia, Social Justice

New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia

New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia builds community across faith, ethnicity, and class in their work to end injustices against immigrants regardless of immigration status, express radical welcome for all, and ensure that values of dignity, justice, and hospitality are lived out in practice and upheld in policy.

Through grassroots organizing led by affected immigrants, New Sanctuary Movement fights and wins immigrant justice campaigns with members across nationality, faith, class, and immigration status. Their community organizing in Philadelphia builds power in immigrant communities to alter the power imbalance, organizes direct action campaigns, builds the individual and collective capacity of the immigrant community and brings immigrant and ally communities together in solidarity to work for change.

The New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia has multiple campaigns that change from time to time, as well as the following permanent programs:

  • Accompaniment Program (a primary method through which allied congregations provide solidarity to our immigrant members facing deportation)
  • New Leadership School (an intensive five-month course that educates immigrant leaders to organize for change and immigration justice in Philadelphia)
  • Know Your Rights Trainings (inform immigrants of their legal and civil rights, provide the tools to defend those rights, and engage communities to address the roots causes of immigration injustice)
  • Immigration 101 Workshops (educate hundreds of people each year to distinguish between immigration facts and myth, and engage allies in our immigrant justice movement)

Website: sanctuaryphiladelphia.org

Facebook: facebook.com/New.Sanctuary.Movement.of.Philadelphia/

Contact: 215-279-7060, nsm@sanctuaryphiladelphia.org

Location: 2601 Potter St, Philadelphia, PA 19125

Children, Economic Development, Education, Health Literacy, Health Services, Human Rights, International relations, Literacy, Low Income Populations, Secane, Social Justice, Women

Sierra Leone Children’s Fund

The fund’s primary mission is to alleviate the vicious cycle of chronic poverty in the nation of Sierra Leone through the generation of educational and economic opportunities for the native Sierra Leoneans. Our efforts are conducted with the intent to impact these communities in a significantly progressive and sustainable way. We believe that the areas we have identified, education and economics, will be the most essential areas to village and national development. Although there are many aspects where these two areas overlap, we focus on each separately and approach the problems with unique initiatives.

The Sierra Leone Children’s Fund’s strategies Sierra Leone are:

  • Short-term
    • Primary School Renovation
    • School Clinic Initiative
    • Teachers Training Program
    • School Team Sports
  • Long-term
    • Women’s Micro-finance Program
    • Village Businesses: Bakery, Community Center, Mechanic/tire Shop, and Restaurant

Website: http://www.sierraleonechildren.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sierraleonechildrenfund

Contact: 515-639-0730, info@slchildren.org

Location: P.O. Box  574, Secane, PA 19018

All Opportunities, Economic Development, Education, Field of Interest, General, Human Rights, International relations, Location, Peace Work, Philadelphia, Technology

Global Education Motivators (GEM)

Global Education Motivators, GEM, is a non-governmental non-profit organization organization associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information.  GEM’s main office is located at Chestnut Hill College. GEM works on introducing ideas of global awareness, human rights and responsibility at different school levels. GEM does so by on-site and distance-learning workshops and classroom programs with students, teachers and administrators. Their motto is to “bring the world into the classroom”.

GEM received the UN Peace Messenger Award in 1989 for its work on behalf of the UN and world peace. The organization created UNISER (United Nations Information Services), an on-line UN database that it managed for the UN before the advent of the Internet. GEM has helped various UN Missions and NGOs get a basic introduction to the Internet to learn how to access and efficiently use the various databases of the United Nations.

Internships are open to undergrad and graduate level students. The internship is an unpaid position. Internships are available for fall (September-November, spring (February-April), and summer (June-August).

Website: http://www.gem-ngo.org/

Contact: 215-248-1150, gem@chc.edu

Location: 9601 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118 (Click here for map)

*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus. Please see transportation reimbursement policy.

All Opportunities, Children, Education, Field of Interest, General, Globalization, Human Rights, International relations, Location, Peace Work, Philadelphia, Political Science, Social Justice

United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia

United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia (UNA-GP) is a chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA). For more than 6 decades UNA-USA has been at the forefront of the advocacy on behalf of the UN. UNA-GP works on educating and motivating Americans to support UN causes to improve education and understanding of the UN goals and initiatives. UNA-GP looks to promote a greater commitment to internationalism, multilateral agreements, respect for international law, and more positive participation in the U.N in the US. Part of their mission includes advocacy for the development of constructive U.S. leadership. UNA-GP hopes such efforts would help U.S. and other nations to shift hundreds of billions of dollars from spending on weapons to programs serving human needs.

Volunteer roles include:

  • “Ground work, participating in events, and community interaction. This may involve anything from advertising and promoting events to general operations of UNA-GP events and activities.”
  • “Advocacy: volunteers will help promote UN activities and make local, state and national politicians and bureaucrats more UN-friendly and more global in their outlook.”
  • “Joing the UNA-GP speaker’s bureau and hosting talks on specific topics. Volunteers will be trained and asked to speak within the Philadelphia area.”
  • “Community education for global citizenship. This will involve going into classrooms and talking to students to help them understand their impact in the world and the role of the UN.”
  • “Mentorship for school students. This involves assisting students who have schoolwork on a UN topic and need a sounding board.”

Recent projects include lobby campaigns for nuclear awareness, planning for the International Day of Justice in partnership with the mayors office, and involvement in micro-banking development programs. Volunteers have also worked on summer education programs with the Philadelphia School District on lesson plans concentrated on global issues. UNA-GP is currently working on an alternative Model UN that would focus on International NGOs such as Oxfam and Red Cross.

Website: http://www.una-gp.org/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UNAGP

Contact: 1-215-241-5738, info@una-gp.org

Location: Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

*This site is accessible via public transportation from the Bryn Mawr campus. Please see transportation reimbursement policy.

All Opportunities, Economic Development, Field of Interest, Globalization, Human Rights, International relations, International Trade, Peace Work, Philadelphia, Political Science, Social Justice

Foreign Policy Research Institute

Mission:

Founded in 1955, FPRI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. The organization aims to add perspective to events by fitting them into the larger historical and cultural context of international politics.

Programs/Services Provided:

Through numerous publications including Orbis, a quarterly journal, FPRI scholars offer insight into world affairs from perspectives of national security, globalization, East-West relations, and more. The organization also participates in educational initiatives, such as offering resources for high school teachers who wish to bring an awareness of global politics into their classrooms.

Student Opportunities:

FPRI offers a variety of internships during the academic year. Check current listings at http://www.fpri.org/about/internships.

Bryn Mawr students have structured Praxis III courses with FPRI. Contact the Civic Engagement Office for more opportunities.

Website: http://www.fpri.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FPRInews/

Contact: 215-732-3774, intern@fpri.org

Location: 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 610, Philadelphia, PA 19102