Appleseed Foundation

Appleseed Foundation
Formation1993
TypeNonprofit
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Location
Executive Director
Benet Magnuson
Websiteappleseednetwork.org

The Appleseed Foundation is a nonprofit organization that serves as the administrative hub for the Appleseed Network, a social justice network of centers in the United States and Mexico. Appleseed has received support from organizations including DLA Piper[1] and the NFL.[2][3]

History

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Appleseed was founded in 1993 by members of Harvard Law School's class of 1958 at their 35th reunion.[4]

From the outset Appleseed was framed around what was then a singular approach to pro bono law. Its strategy was to address issues that lent themselves to system-wide reform rather than the traditional model of providing legal services to individuals with legal problems. While litigation is one tool used by some of the Appleseed Centers, the organization tends to focus on achieving structural changes through market-based reforms, policy analysis and research, legislation, and rule making.

Structure

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Appleseed's 17 Centers[5] function as independent organizations linked to each other and with the national organization. Appleseed's network office is based in Washington, D.C. Appleseed helps promote Center work, serves as a clearinghouse of projects, and provides training and technical assistance, particularly in communications, development, project management and board development, as well as in the areas of education, immigration, financial access, health care and disaster recovery.

Work

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Appleseed has achieved enduring accomplishment in areas ranging from children's welfare, education reform, criminal justice reform, juvenile justice, electoral reform, judicial independence, access to health care, immigrant justice, housing development, government accountability, and the integration of environmentalism and community development. Appleseed currently has Centers in Alabama, Chicago Appleseed, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawai`i, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Mexico.[citation needed]

Some of Appleseed's work has included research on child protection at the Mexico-United States border,[6] the HIV epidemic,[7] youth homelessness in Texas,[8] and broadband internet access in Kansas.[9]

In 2017 and 2020, Appleseed published reports on discrimination against black students in New York[10] and Massachusetts respectively. The research by Appleseed received congressional attention from Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Katherine Clark, who called on government agencies to rectify the situation.[11][12] Appleseed did additional research on child protective services in 2021.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Legal Nonprofit Pushes Law Firms to Engage in Pro Bono Work in Mexico". Law.com International. 2022-08-15. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  2. ^ "NFL Inspire Change contributions reach $300M as league strengthens efforts to advance social justice". NFL.com. 2023-05-18. Archived from the original on 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  3. ^ "Inspire Change". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  4. ^ Cavendish, Betsy (2015-11-17). "What Every Harvard Law School Student Should Know About Appleseed". The Harvard Law Record. Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  5. ^ "Appleseed Centers". Archived from the original on 2020-05-24.
  6. ^ Gordon, Ian (2014-07-01). "4 reasons why Border Patrol agents shouldn't get to decide whether child migrants can stay in the US". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  7. ^ Cohen, Matt (2013-11-13). "New HIV/AIDS Report Card Shows Improvement, But Things Can Be Better". DCist. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  8. ^ Arriaga, Alex (2017-11-15). "Texas' homeless youth slip through cracks of disjointed support system, new report says". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  9. ^ Taborda, Noah (2022-02-12). "Kansas broadband leaders tout ongoing programs, future initiatives to bridge digital divide". Kansas Reflector. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  10. ^ Veiga, Christina (2017-01-11). "NYU's David Kirkland explains the 'transformation' needed to integrate the city's schools". Chalkbeat. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  11. ^ Dwyer, Dialynn. "Ayanna Pressley, Katherine Clark urge Charlie Baker in letter to address racial disparities in school discipline". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  12. ^ Solis, Steph (2020-09-07). "Black girls in Massachusetts 3.9 times more likely to face school discipline, report shows". MassLive. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  13. ^ Wintersmith, Saraya (2021-07-14). "Inadequate Interpretation Services At Mass. DCF Lead To Risk Of Wrongful Family Separation, Complaint Alleges". WGBH. Archived from the original on 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
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