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As a member of The Andrew Goodman Foundation community, I thank you! You helped us accomplish great things in 2014 and your continued support will help us do even more in 2015.

In just one year, The AGF engaged more than 2,000 young people in the democratic process, built new intergenerational coalitions, and raised public awareness on social justice issues.

Here are some highlights of what we’ve accomplished together in 2014:

AGF’s 19 Ambassadors, representing 13 universities, engaged more than 2,000 students to register to vote and engage in issues activism. I hope you’ll take a minute to hear what the Vote Everywhere Ambassadors have to say about the program.

Our 2014 Hidden Heroes event this past November brought together civil rights luminaries, millennial activists, and social entrepreneurs who are all dedicating their lives to effective and sustainable social justice.

Andy Goodman was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—for his selfless dedication to Freedom Summer ‘64 and the ideals it stood for.

Carolyn Goodman’s memoir My Mantelpiece was released to share with a new generation  — one woman’s story of bravery, tenacity, and compassion even in the face of great tragedy and injustice.

The AGF honored the 50th Anniversary of Freedom Summer by participating in a number of commemorative events including: commemorating the beginning of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge; CBS News: 50 Years Later; So All Can Vote, in partnership with Bend the Arc; Freedom 50th Conference in Mississippi; David Goodman appeared on the PBS program Tavis Smiley; Freedom Summer: The Next Generation at West Park Presbyterian Church; the grand opening of the Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, GA; and a Thunderclap on June 21 — the day Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner went missing — reaching 410,276 people.

As proud as we all are of these achievements, everyone at The Andrew Goodman Foundation and anyone watching the news knows there is much more work to be done.

Please remember The Andrew Goodman Foundation in your end-of-year giving. Your donation will help us double the number of Vote Everywhere Ambassadors from 19 to 38, and exponentially increase the number of Millennials engaged in the democratic process and social justice projects.

Our ambassadors have set their sights on many of the social ills facing our country, including voting rights violations, sexual violence on campus, skyrocketing tuition, inadequate health care, racial profiling and the destruction of the environment.

I hope you are as inspired as I am to know that the next generation is working today to make a more peaceful, just, and sustainable tomorrow.

About the Author

Sylvia Golbin-Goodman is the Executive Director of The Andrew Goodman Foundation and a member of its Board of Trustees. She leads the Foundation’s programming and developed the Hidden Heroes Awards.