Save Darfur Coalition of South Palm Beach brings together over fifty diverse, committed houses of worship, organizations, and concerned individuals. The Coalition formed officially summer 2004. It has since become the local branch of the national interfaith alliance of approximately 175 faith-based, humanitarian, human rights, and interfaith groups united to raise awareness and mobilize efforts to help end the suffering in Darfur.

The volunteer Coalition meets weekly or biweekly, and works on the issue in several ways. They have held a number of community-wide events featuring interfaith clergy, congressmen, humanitarian aid speakers, and others, along with music, dance and poetry, demonstrations, and opportunities for humanitarian giving and advocacy. These events engage diverse people from throughout the south Florida area and beyond; the April 30, 2006 event at First United Methodist Church in Boca Raton turned away many after 700 people filled the space. The January 28 2007 rally at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton drew a very diverse more than 1,000 people of all ages; the event featured John Heffernan of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum?s Committee on Conscience, Congressman Ron Klein, State Senator Ted Deutch, interfaith clergy, secular and religious music, and Camp Darfur ? an installation of five tents with lessons about genocide and hands-on activities from Southern California. Other venues have included St. David Armenian Orthodox Church in Boca Raton.

The Coalition further works to inspire and support activities and groups through houses of worship, schools and organizations throughout the area, including pulpit sharing, sermons, guest speakers, performers, informational and advocacy tables, displays, discussion groups, youth group and religious education involvement, advocacy, and raising funds for humanitarian aid.

The Coalition also raises funds through sales of T-shirts and pins. It maintains an email list of over 500 for meeting and event notices, advocacy alerts, information sharing, etc. Information is posted on a local website as well as a page of the savedarfur.org national site. The Coalition, by consensus decisions, distributes funds raised to established and new innovative efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the refugee areas in Chad.

Throughout the year, the Coalition works to keep the issue of Darfur in the local news media, cultivating press relationships, submitting opinion pieces and letters, involving media in events, and keeping the media apprised of activities and people that will be of particular local interest.

In July 2006, two of our co-chairs were invited to and attended a national Darfur planning summit in DC with advocates from throughout the country. In March 2007, 3 FAU students attended a student Darfur Summit in Washington, DC at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, with Coalition assistance.

In December 2006, the coalition received the Palm Beach County Chapter of American Jewish Committee's annual Humanitarian Award. The award was created to recognize outstanding organizations and individuals that dedicate their time to fighting indifference, intolerance and injustice and whose accomplishments.

The Coalition initially asked local State Senator Ted Deutch, and developed grassroots advocacy to pass a 2007 bill mandating targeted divestment of state funds from Sudan. Gov. Crist signed the bill in Boca Raton in June.

In June 2007, the Coalition held an interfaith worship service and tri-county advocacy training with Mark Hanis, Founder & Executive Director of the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net),

A "Dream for Darfur" Symbolic Olympic Torch Run is being scheduled to raise awareness of China's responsibility for and ability to facilitate an end to the violence in Darfur.

SaveDarfurSPB, 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 , e-mail to SaveDarfurSPB , September 2007