April 11, 2016

WASHINGTON – Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice (EAD) is pleased to announce that, as part of its upcoming National Gathering which begins this Friday in Washington, D.C., advocates will be encouraged to support both a D.C.-based area voter registration effort and an international faith-based organizational effort to empower women and fight gender-based violence in South America.

Each year, as part of its National Gathering, EAD seeks to identify and support a domestic and international organization whose mission and activities tie in with the broader theme and congressional advocacy “ask” that form the core of the Christian multi-denominational annual gathering’s efforts. This year’s theme for the National Gathering, “Lift Every Voice! Racism, Class and Power” demonstrate the need to address significant policy effects of the realities of race, class and recent efforts to disenfranchise voters across the United States. EAD 2016’s advocacy efforts will focus specifically on the repair and restoration of the Voting Rights Act, and opposition to the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership.

This year’s free-will offering will be equally divided between two worthy programs. The first is Church World Service (CWS)’s “Women Empower Women” program. This program – a significant part of CWS’ international development programs – focuses particularly on the needs of indigenous women in South America. The objectives of the program include empowering indigenous women though the creation of culturally appropriate spaces to speak out about gender based violence; strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations working on gender based violence in the South American Chaco to understand the particular experience of indigenous women in relation and across to justice; and generating dialogue between indigenous and non-indigenous women on identifying strategies to fulfill the right to a life free from violence.

The second program to receive funds from the annual collection will be the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). This D.C.-based nonprofit organization, founded in 1996, is a broad-based, multi-racial, multi-faith, strictly non-partisan, District-wide citizens’ power organization, rooted in local congregations and associations. WIN is committed to training and developing neighborhood leaders, to addressing community issues, and to holding elected and corporate officials accountable in Washington, D.C. The proceeds from the collection will go to support WIN’s voter registration efforts in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

EAD participants are well-known for their generosity, having donated thousands of dollars at each National Gathering in support of important advocacy and justice-focused organizations.

Those wishing to support these organizations in solidarity with the over 1,000 advocates who will gather this week in Washington, D.C. are encouraged to do so via online donations.

In addition to this issue-based collection, a second collection will take place over the National Gathering weekend in support of EAD’s own efforts to empower the current and next generation of engaged, young adult Christian advocates. EAD’s Scholarship Fund, which provides young scholars, ministers, and others who might not otherwise be able to come to the National Gathering, the opportunity to receive a free registration for the conference. Young adult participation has seen a strong increase over the past several years, due, in large measure, to the donations of EAD supporters from across the country. The scholarship fund monies are the only organized self-focused donation effort which EAD pursues.

Click to support EAD’s Young Advocates Scholarship Fund.