Petrea from San Francisco, CA
Former Intern
What brought you to RCF?
What interested me most about the Rachel Corrie Foundation was the opportunity to really make a change. The Rachel Corrie Foundation embodies its values of furthering peace and justice through direct action. I knew I would be working with some of the most incredible minds, all striving for the same goal of making a better world.
What impacted you the most during your time at RCF?
While working at the Rachel Corrie Foundation, I was most struck by the dedication and integrity of everyone there. During my time at RCF, the Rachel Corrie Foundation held its annual Peace Works conference, featuring scholars and activists from around the globe. It was an incredible opportunity to see everything come together resulting in a world renowned event.
The Rachel Corrie Foundation is a resource for anyone who is invested in a more just world. Peace and justice aren’t simply values they hold, but rather they shape the way the Rachel Corrie Foundation engages with the world around them.
What did you learn about social justice, activism, and inequality from RCF?
I learned social justice is not a passive interest. The struggle against inequality requires commitment, accountability, and action. It is certainly hard work. I also learned how deeply fulfilling and important this work is. Connecting and engaging with one another for a more equitable world, is absolutely life changing.
What RCF projects on which you worked meant the most to you?
I was lucky enough to be part of Peace Works, an event the Rachel Corrie Foundation hosts every year. It is a conference widely known among community members of Olympia, Washington, the home of RCF, but also recognized worldwide. Helping to coordinate the event was really extraordinary. From start to finish, my voice was heard, and I could see the impact I had.
How did your experience with RCF impact your future choices around education, career, and activism?
My perspective and values were reinforced in my time at the Rachel Corrie Foundation. I found strength and conviction by working with RCF. Moving forward in my education and career, I am more confident in my values of equity, peace and justice because I know I’m not alone.
What would additional funding for RCF mean to you?
Additional funding for RCF is important to me, because it means the Rachel Corrie Foundation will have the opportunity to share its message to a wider audience. RCF is a champion for those of us who are not able to dedicate as much time as we would like to the struggle for justice.
What does being an alumna of RCF mean to you?
I’m very proud of my past involvement with the Rachel Corrie Foundation. I hope to have the opportunity again.
Any additional information you would like to share?
I’m grateful for the Rachel Corrie Foundation and the work they do. Thank you to Cindy, Craig, and all others for everything they are doing.
Becca from Olympia, WA
Former intern, volunteer, staff, and board member
What brought you to RCF?
I began an internship with the Rachel Corrie Foundation in 2007 as a student in International Studies at The Evergreen State College. At the time, I was interested in continuing my education in Middle Eastern political science, while getting some hands on experience in the nonprofit world. I ended up enjoying my quarter-long internship so much that after it concluded, I continued to volunteer with, and eventually work for, the organization.
What impacted you the most during your time at RCF?
Through my work at RCF I immediately became immersed in a welcoming, progressive, and supportive activist community that helped shape the person I am today. I learned to work collaboratively with people from every walk of life, brought together by our cultural, religious, and socioeconomic differences, rather than separated by them. The connections I made across the globe still make up a huge part of my life.
What did you learn about social justice, activism, and inequality from RCF?
Through my work at RCF I learned about the meaning of solidarity and cross-movement building. For the first time in my life, I put faces and names to struggles that I had only read about in textbooks. Most importantly, I learned that with the support of a courageous community, the work of a few, dedicated employees and volunteers can change lives.
What projects on which you worked meant the most to you?
I worked on many meaningful projects during my time with RCF, but the project that meant the most to me was Peace Works: Solidarity in Action, featuring keynote speaker Alice Walker. The conference was planned at a time when the Foundation only had two paid staff members, and the Corries were in Israel for the majority of the year seeking justice in the trial over their daughter’s wrongful death. Despite these challenges, not only did we organize a wonderful educational weekend of plenaries and workshops, we sold out The Washington Center for Alice Walker.
How did your experience with RCF impact your future choices around education, career, and activism?
Through my work at RCF I gained the organizational skills I needed to further my career in local politics. I learned how to talk about politically sensitive issues, organize and facilitate meetings, plan large-scale events, and so much more.
What would additional funding for RCF mean to you?
RCF is in need of additional infrastructure to support its growth. The office needs laptops, meeting space, desks, and chairs for current and incoming staff and volunteers.
What does being an alumna of RCF mean to you?
I’m proud to call myself an alumna of the Rachel Corrie Foundation, and I know that with additional funding it can provide the same opportunities I benefited from to even more future social change agents.
Karl from Washington, D.C.
Current Manager of Finance and Administration at the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, former RCF volunteer & staff
For over a decade, the Rachel Corrie Foundation has been positively influencing lives of Palestinians through a diverse array of projects. My first day with the Foundation was the day that Israel began its brutal 51-day assault on Gaza in 2014, and I was profoundly inspired by RCF’s ability to effectively and energetically organize our community against the horror Palestinians experienced that summer. RCF, partnering with other like-minded organizations, delivered immediate relief by providing emergency sanitary supplies, including soap, shampoo, detergent and diapers to those displaced by the horrific assault. This vigorous spirit is part of every campaign those at RCF put their minds to, and I continue to be as moved by them today as I was in July of 2014. Those seeking to make positive and material differences in the lives of Palestinians should support the Rachel Corrie Foundation and their efforts to bring a just peace to the Middle East.
