Editing Friends General Conference (section)

==The Gathering==
A key program of FGC is the annual Gathering for all ages, traditionally held at a different college every July. Before the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the event attracted between 800 and 1,500 attenders from around the world, with most participants coming from the United States and Canada. During the height of the pandemic, 2020 through 2022, it was held virtually.  Starting in 2023 a hybrid Gathering was implemented. The event features 40–60 mostly week-long workshops and a slate of both Quaker and non-Quaker plenary speakers. Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] offered a plenary presentation in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.friendsjournal.org/2008054/|title=A Significant Anniversary|date=2008-06-01|language=en-US|access-date=2022-05-16}}</ref> In addition to workshops and plenary sessions, the Gathering features concerts for all ages. Renowned folk singer [[Pete Seeger]] performed in 1997. There are programs for children, youth, and young adults.

Since the 1990s the Friends General Conference annual gathering has implemented a unique [[golf cart]] [[transit system]] on campus.  Volunteer cart drivers will drive anyone with [[mobility impairment]] anywhere on campus between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. each day of the conference, plus limited after-hours midnight movie runs and 6:00 a.m. shuttle connection runs as needed.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}  Staffers are to answer the dedicated Golf Cart Central cell phone and then dispatch volunteer drivers at all hours between 7:00 and 10:00.  All priority riders take a card with the Central phone number, so that if they ever try to walk 1/2 mile but it turns out that they only can walk 1/4 mile that day, they can call for a ride.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}  Cart drivers may also move parents dropping off their children at children's programs, travelers moving their luggage to or from shuttle buses and then they can move anybody else, because certain people's mobility can change on an excessively hot and humid afternoon.  Drivers are trained to never judge whether someone is able-bodied just because they are not visibly disabled.  Volunteer golf cart driver training takes about one hour.  Safety and diplomacy are emphasized.  Typically 30 volunteer drivers, six dispatcher shifts per day and six to eight golf carts combine to move up to 100 priority riders around campus.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}