Shuvhir

Social change strategies depend on people's self-determination and empowerment, local and grassroots leadership development and support, and a common understanding of the causes of the problems. ACF continues to be guided by people grounded in the communities and work of the region who developed this working definition of social change.

ACF's Definition of Social Change

The Appalachian Community Fund defines social change as the movement of people toward the establishment of environmental, economic, and social justice and the redistribution of wealth, power, and resources as indicated by evidence of:

• Organizing and action led by people working to control their own lives;

• Educating communities about the root causes of oppression and injustice;

• Eliminating barriers to full participation in society ( i.e. racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ageism, ablesim, and exclusion from decision-making processes);

• Focusing on efforts to change cultural, social, political, and economic systems and institutions that create, accommodate, and perpetuate social injustice;

• Creating and modeling democratic cultural, social, political, and economic systems;

• Connecting local issues with national and global concerns; and

• Networking, collaborating, and cooperating with other change agents working toward similar goals.

ACF supports many different social change issues and approaches including:

• Educational opportunity and equity increased funding for schools, higher education opportunities, and racial diversity among teachers and administrators.

• Environmental action opposing unregulated practices of Mountain Top Removal, a process of blasting the tops off of mountains to get to the coal seam which destroys forests and mountains, creates dangerous rock slides and waste piles, and pollutes and dams up streams and creeks.

• Cultural and artistic participation for social change writing and performing historical and...