Through grassroots organizing, public education, and coalition building, Appleseed justice centers bring people together to build long-lasting solutions that benefit us all.
Community organizers at Alabama, Nebraska, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Texas, and South Carolina Appleseed harness people power on issues of poverty, mass incarceration, voting rights, healthcare, and more to advance community-driven advocacy for justice.
Appleseed’s deep relationships with our communities support big grassroots advocacy campaigns, like collecting over 160,000 signatures in Nebraska to win a living wage and over 133,000 signatures to expand healthcare access in the state.
We help connect directly-impacted community members with their elected representatives, fueling important legislative victories [link to Appleseed in the Statehouse] across the US.
Appleseed justice centers provide legal expertise and representation to community organizations serving the public interest.
New Jersey Appleseed’s zealous legal representation has advanced environmental justice, empowered voters, ensured government and corporate accountability, and improved access to healthcare in the state.
Through a first-of-its-kind pro bono network, Appleseed Mexico provides free legal advice and training to hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout the country.
In partnership with community groups, Appleseed brings leading-edge impact litigation to build justice and defend the rule of law.
Coalitions are at the heart of Appleseed’s collaborative approach to advocacy. Our work to end mass incarceration, ensure every child has a quality education and a healthy childhood, advance systemic solutions for families in poverty, help immigrants fleeing violence, and build up our democratic institutions – all of it is made possible through our coalitions and shared leadership with the community.
Appleseed believes progress truly is possible, and communities working together can ensure tomorrow is more just and more prosperous than today. That’s why Appleseed justice centers are committed to developing innovative solutions to problems that too often feel impossible.
The New Mexico Appleseed Poverty Policy Lab is rigorously testing new approaches to reduce poverty and protect kids, including their pandemic response 1,2,3 Eyes on Me project and their conditional cash transfer pilot project for students experiencing homelessness.
To increase integration in NYC public schools, which are among the most segregated in the country, New York Appleseed worked with community stakeholders in 2012 to design and implement the city’s first proactive diversity admissions plan. There are now over 200 schools and programs in NYC that use these plans to address racial and socioeconomic segregation.
Georgia Appleseed and their community partners are field testing a holistic approach to barriers that children in foster care face at school. Their FAIR Project advocates for legal and policy innovations to the foster care system, recruits and trains advocates for children in care, and provides direct legal representation for children in care facing suspension or expulsion from school.
Social justice and systemic change is a long-term endeavor, often spanning generations of work. To support new leaders, Appleseed justice centers, including Chicago, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arkansas, provide paid fellowship opportunities, and all Appleseed centers have served as the host organization for social-justice fellowships. Arkansas Appleseed leads a two-month professional development program for fellows from across the Appleseed Network.
