Beyond Belief Network Teams serve with cheer

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network is a network of secular humanist groups volunteering in their communities and raising money for FBB’s featured charities and programs. Any group with a public secular humanist or atheist identity is welcome to join, regardless of experience or group size.

Twelve members of Humanists of Rhode Island raised money for the Elizabeth Buffum Chase Center, a shelter and services center serving individuals and families suffering from abuse. They manned a holiday gift wrapping station at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Warwick, RI. Members operated in shifts, staffing the station from the store’s opening until it closed. They plan to repeat this event later this month at the same location. If your volunteer group is interested in setting up a gift wrapping station for charity, check out our recent BBN guide!  

The Walk to End Hunger at the Mall of America helps over a dozen charities provide food and assistance for families in need. Minnesota Atheists spent their Thanksgiving morning participating in this event. The team raised $1,140 for Keystone Community, which serves three food shelves in their local area.

Austin Atheists Helping the Homeless collected $4,535 worth of basic living supplies and warm winter wear for their giveaway on November 16, 2014. Twenty-three members helped with the distribution, three of them new volunteers. One hundred twenty Austinites who are homeless were served. The volunteer group has started focusing on single-use hand warmers, emergency blankets, lip balm and other supplies that are appropriate for colder temperatures. November’s giveaway coincided with Hunger & Poverty Awareness Week. ATXAHH is also pleased to announce that their efforts were mentioned on the local NPR radio station and featured in a city-wide community events calendar.

Four members of the ATXAHH Gettin Knotty Knitting Guild also knitted 11 hats to distribute at the November giveaway. In addition, the Knitting Guild is also hosting a Warmth Drive to collect warm clothing to distribute during the winter giveaways (November – February). They collected items valued at $2,440, all of which were gone during the first 20 minutes of this month's giveaway.

Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry have been busy! In September, as a part of the adopt-a- highway program, seven SHL volunteers picked up trash along approximately 1.5 miles of Harborview Rd, in Charleston, SC. Five volunteers followed up in November and, due to recent construction in the area, trash that had been hidden behind the treeline during previous pick-ups was now visible. Ten bags of trash, four large rugs, several chunks of metal, and other mysterious items were collected over their 1.5 mile stretch of road. In another recent service event, nineteen volunteers from SHL joined volunteers from other organizations to assist Lowcountry Orphan Relief (LOR.) LOR's goal is to provide clothes, toiletries, books and school supplies within 48 hours, to children who have been removed from their parents custody due to abuse or neglect. The volunteers assisted by sorting donations and displaying them in their "store."

If you are a member of a secular humanist or atheist group and would like to participate in community service projects under the national umbrella of Foundation Beyond Belief, join Beyond Belief Network. We welcome all atheist groups interested in service, from groups with extensive volunteer experience to newly formed groups new to secular service. By aggregating our efforts, we demonstrate that all we really need is charity and goodness to make the world a better place.