American Friends Service Committee

In January, Jeff Napolitano took over as area head of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The 93-year-old group has been in the Valley since 1968, when activist Frances Crowe started the local chapter in her basement. The chapter was founded in reaction to the Vietnam War and promoted nonviolent resistance to the draft and war effort, but its mission has become much broader. Its Help Increase Peace Program (HIPP) is one effort that sends members to schools to train students in nonviolent responses to bullying and how to teach others the techniques. AFSC has also recently been involved with efforts to close the troubled Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.