ASF maintains links with many organizations (both international and in the U.S.) that are dedicated to furthering Dr. Schweitzer’s legacy, including those listed below.

AISL
The Association Internationale pour l'Oeuvre du Docteur Albert Schweitzer de Lambaréné (AISL), more colloquially known as the International Schweitzer Foundation, is the umbrella group for national Schweitzer organizations around the world.  ASF serves as the U.S. affiliate and, through AISL, provides annual financial support to the Schweitzer Archives in Gunsbach, France. 

Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné
ASF has served as the U.S. link to the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene since 1940 and continues support through its Lambarene Programs.  The Hospital’s website has detailed information in French and German about the Hospital (the English section is currently in development.) The “Galerie” contains many recent photographs of the Hospital, most of them taken by ASF President, Dr. Lachlan Forrow.

The Hospital’s world-renowned research laboratory maintains its own website, including information on current research and hundreds of scientific publications.

Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Deshapelles, Haiti
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS-Haiti) was founded in 1956 in Haiti by Larry and Gwen Mellon. Today, HAS-Haiti serves as a model for healthcare facilities in developing countries around the world. As an integrated rural health system, HAS-Haiti provides medical care and community health and development programs for 285,000 impoverished people in the Artibonite Valley of central Haiti. The Community Health Program of HAS-Haiti was a model for ASF’s efforts in the 1990s to establish a greatly-expanded Community Health Program at the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné. The two Hospitals maintain a close sister-hospital relationship, bridging their trans-Atlantic separation.

Tennessee Players
Led by Schweitzer devotee Thurston Moore, Tennessee Players has performed its multimedia program Words of Albert Schweitzer and the Music of Bach in more than 100 cities throughout the United States, including the Washington National Cathedral, and in Canada and Europe.  Initial proceeds from these performances were donated to ASF to support the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné. Those interested in a well-tested, inspirational production that will increase visibility and understanding of Dr. Schweitzer’s life and legacy in their own community are strongly encouraged to visit this site and contact Thurston Moore.

Other Schweitzer Organizations Operating in the U.S.

Albert Schweitzer Institute of Chapman University
The Albert Schweitzer Institute of Chapman University in Orange, California, under the direction of renowned New Testament scholar Marvin Meyer, “seeks to preserve, critically interpret, and spread the ethical teachings of Albert Schweitzer in the context of the study of ethics and ethical values.”  In addition to information on the Institute’s activities, their web site includes the complete text of Reverence for Life: The Ethics of Albert Schweitzer for the Twenty-First Century, excerpts of Dr. Schweitzer’s writings, and numerous contemporary commentaries edited by Professor Meyer and the late Kurt Bergel. Since 1982, the Institute’s Award of Excellence has been given at the September convocation at Chapman University “to an individual or organization that exemplifies Schweitzer’s ethics of Reverence for Life and his dedication to a life of service.”

Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University
The Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University “was founded in 1984 as the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Foundation and affiliated with Quinnipiac University in 2002. This affiliation has allowed the Institute to sponsor several programs that not only carry on but invigorate Schweitzer’s humanitarian legacy. We’ve introduced students to volunteer opportunities in the local area, sent students on international trips to assist the needy, and brought inspiring world leaders to campus to speak on current issues."

Other Organizations Carrying On Dr. Schweitzer’s Legacy

Nuclear Weapons and Peace

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
Founded in 1980, IPPNW carries on Dr. Schweitzer’s legacy of commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons.  Honored with the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, IPPNW is “a non-partisan, global federation of national medical organizations in 58 countries dedicated to research, education, and advocacy relevant to the prevention of nuclear war. To this end, IPPNW seeks to prevent all wars, to promote non-violent conflict resolution, and to minimize the effects of war and preparations for war on health, development, and the environment.” 

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)
PSR is the U.S. affiliate of IPPNW.  Founded in 1961, PSR “is committed to the elimination of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the achievement of a sustainable environment, and the reduction of violence and its causes.” A beautiful pastel portrait of Dr. Schweitzer created by the late Shirley Seltzer Cooper (whose portrait of President Kennedy is in the Gallery of Presidents at the Smithsonian) hangs at the main entrance of PSR’s headquarters in Washington, DC. It is on loan from The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, which received it as a gift from the artist’s family. 

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF)
Founded in 1982, NAPF’s vision is “a world free of the threat of war and free of weapons of mass destruction.”  Its mission is “to advance initiatives to eliminate the nuclear weapons threat to all life, to foster the global rule of law, and to build an enduring legacy of peace through education and advocacy.”  Their free monthly e-newsletter, The Sunflower, is sent to more than 10,000 subscribers and provides educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security. 

Environment

The Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School
The Center was founded in 1996 at Harvard Medical School to expand environmental education at medical schools. It was also established to further investigate and promote awareness of the human health consequences of global environmental change, especially climate change and issues of biodiversity.  Course materials are available on line, and the Center also publishes an online publication entitled The Bulletin. Authored by scientific experts in their respective fields, The Bulletin summarizes the latest findings in the field of human health and global environment in terms that are understandable.

Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare Institute
The Animal Welfare Institute was founded in 1951 “to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans.”  In 1951, Dr. Albert Schweitzer gave his permission to the Animal Welfare Institute to strike a medal (http://www.awionline.org/schweitzer/) in his honor to be presented for outstanding achievement in the advancement of animal welfare.  In granting his permission, Dr. Schweitzer wrote, “I would never have believed that my philosophy, which incorporates in our ethics a compassionate attitude toward all creatures, would be noticed and recognized in my lifetime.” In 1954, a gold replica of the medal was presented to Dr. Schweitzer by Dr. Charles Joy in Oslo, Norway, where Dr. Schweitzer had gone to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
HSUS, founded in 1954, “is dedicated to creating a world where our relationship with animals is guided by compassion.”  HSUS seeks “a truly humane society in which animals are respected for their intrinsic value, and where the human-animal bond is strong.”  ASF Advisory Board member Dr. Andrew Rowan serves as Senior Vice President for Research, Education and International Issues of HSUS. 

Other Links

The Albert Schweitzer Page
This site is a personal project of Jack N. Fenner, who writes that “In my opinion, the Man of the Twentieth Century was Dr. Albert Schweitzer. Not because of his impact on the century; in fact, the century was in large part a dismal sequence of collective violence and individual moral collapse in direct opposition to Schweitzer's life and ethics.  Rather he is to be admired as a man who discovered, or perhaps revealed, an immensely ethical approach to life, and then lived it as well as a human is able.”  His site includes a collection of Schweitzer quotes, his reviews of many of Dr. Schweitzer’s books, as well as links to a wide range of Schweitzer-related pages.