Action Reconciliation Service For Peace - ARSP

In August 2026, our new volunteer from the US, Jack, will volunteer with ARSP/ASF at the Concentration Camp Memorial in Germany for one year. Jack decided to visit the site and met current volunteers Margalit (USA) and Emma (Netherlands).
In his words:
“It was great being able to see the area and the facilities in which I
will be living and working, and getting to meet both of the current
ASF representatives, they were tremendous as well. I am glad that I was
also able to further familiarize myself with the Deutsche Bahn, among
other things”.

ARSP volunteer Nell (l) tells us about her service at CHDC. She is seen here with her supervisor and Community Program Manager Dilcia and her co-volunteer.

“Volunteering at Clinton Housing Development Company (CHDC) in New York has shown me how important community and affordable housing are for people’s everyday lives. CHDC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1973. It is dedicated to preserving and creating permanently affordable housing in the Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods while also building strong and supportive communities.

As a volunteer, I help organize and execute social activities for tenants across five supportive housing buildings. One of my favorite activities is hosting monthly Bingo events, where tenants can come together, have fun,connect with each other and win prizes. I also support the community café, where tenants socialize, play dominoes, and enjoy spending time together in a welcoming environment.

Another meaningful part of my role is participating in Food Rescue, where donated food is distributed free of charge to tenants by me and the other volunteers. This helps support residents while also reducing food waste and encouraging community care.

What makes CHDC special is that they focus not only on affordable housing, but also on creating a real sense of belonging. Through community activities, green spaces, cultural programs, and supportive services, they help make neighborhoods stronger and more inclusive for everyone.

It brings me joy to see that tenants get the chance to win tickets to Broadway shows, boat tours across New York or tickets to the cinema through Clinton housing. This way they can experience cultural events they normally couldn’t afford themselves and still be integrated in the society.

I am very grateful to be part of an organization that truly puts people and community first and to be able to help support this cause and local people.“

Being in Berlin is a gift as I am able to meet interesting people & projects. Thanks to the “Stadtteilmütter” (neighborhood moms), our ASF team learned about Neukölln’s history that is deeply intertwined with women’s stories. They researched the history of Jewish culture before the Second World War and shared personal experiences. Thank you for opening up and sharing your stories.

US program director Dr. Monika Moyrer attended the ASF/ARSP annual conference in Berlin, Germany. Around 180 people gathered in workshops, on city walks, and during breaks: How are democracy and social cohesion under attack in Germany and many other countries? How do far-right extremists network across borders? And what responses and ideas does democratic civil society offer to counter this trend and promote an open and united society in a multi-cultural Europe? At the conference Monika Moyrer had a chance meeting with Ella, former ARSP volunteer at Selfhelp Home Chicago and volunteer for many of our summer seminars in Philadelphia. We still hope to see Ella again in Philly this year. We will miss you Ella.

In 2017, Ben Ferencz partnered with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (USHMM)Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide to establish the Ferencz International Justice Initiative to continue his legacy of demanding justice for victims of atrocity crimes. He was a former Nuremberg investigator and prosecutor. On April 14th, 2026 during the national commemoration of the Holocaust at the US Capitol, Benjamin Ferencz was presented posthumously with the Congressional Gold Medal. ARSP volunteer Victor, our DC biking enthusiast serving his year at USHMM was very excited to assist this event.

For more information please follow the link:
https://www.ushmm.org/watch/2026-days-of-remembrance-commemoration

If you ever have been to the National Mall in Washington DC, you noticed the magnificent building which is housing The National Museum of African American History & Culture. The building is looking like a corona which was inspired by the three-tiered crowns used in Yoruban art from West Africa. This building offers 10 floors of exhibition space. Our volunteers tried to explore as much as possible.

ARSP volunteers also had an invitation to visit the Boell Foundation and met Carl Robert, the Director of Communication. Carl told us how the Boell Foundation connects people across the Atlantic, who work on gender equality, climate action and social justice. We are grateful that they opened their doors and helped us better understand the mission of the foundation. Thank you!

In this past week our volunteers met so many wonderful people, encountered interesting stories and topics and once a day they got together to talk and reflect on it. We thank everyone who made this Seminar possible, who took the time to meet us and who came to visit for conversation and pizza.

Our ARSP volunteers had a great opportunity by visiting the Gallaudet University in Washington DC and receiving a tour. Founded in 1864 in Washington, D.C., Gallaudet University is the world’s only liberal arts university specifically for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Authorized by Congress and signed by President Lincoln, it began as a school for deaf and blind children in 1856, later becoming a degree-granting college and eventually a university in 1986.

ARSP volunteers also visited Howard University. We are grateful that the Goethe Institute Washington DC supported our desire to learn about an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Dr. Sephocle shared her thoughts about teaching in a primarily Black community and how important it is to speak out. Dr. Sephocle is connected with important figures in the Civil Rights Movement like Coretta Scott King; the late Rosa Parks and Jesse Jackson.

We loved hearing PhD candidate Ambachew Anjulo honestly talk about his experiences in Germany and the opportunities he encountered at Howard University. Both were very inspiring!

ARSP has a relationship with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C since 1994 and our current volunteer Victor organized yesterday's visit to the museum and also to meet Peter Gorog, born as Peter Gruenwald in Budapest, 1941. Peter, a Holocaust Survivor, tells our volunteers about his mother Olga and father Arpad in Budapest and their hardships during the 1940’s in Hungary.
His father was conscripted into a forced labor battalion and was declared missing in 1943. After many struggles, imprisonment, lack of food, lost housing and constant fear, his mother and Peter were forced to live in the Budapest ghetto, which was liberated in 1945. Unfortunately, the living conditions and lack of food did not change and Peter lost his grandparents. In 1962 Peter changed his last name to Gorog for fear of antisemitic discrimination in Hungary. Peter defected to the US in 1980. He participated in the design of the first computer made in Hungary. In the US, Peter worked for NASA on different projects like GOES, LANDSAT, Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope. Today, he is a volunteer at the USHMM. Thank you Peter Gorog for sharing your and the story of your family with us.