Humanist Disaster Recovery Teams
FBB reacts to San Antonio mayor’s comments
Earlier this month at a mayoral forum, the current mayor of San Antonio, TX, Ivy Taylor, was asked by a representative of SA Christian Hope Resource Center what she saw as the deepest systemic causes of generational poverty. Her answer was disappointing. “Since you’re with the Christian Coalition, I’ll go ahead and put it out…
Read MoreFBB monitoring famine for possible HDR Drive
At this time, one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the modern age is unfolding in Northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. This past weekend, in only the Jubbaland region of southern Somalia, 26 people lost their lives to starvation in the span of a day and a half. Famines have started to become…
Read MoreFor HDR Teams, 2016 was a year of baby steps, 2017 is the year of leaps and bounds!
In January of 2016, Foundation Beyond Belief (FBB) reached the culmination of multiple years of planning and preparation by much of our staff and some volunteers. We had finally achieved something that no one had done before – the first deployment of a national Humanist Disaster Recovery (HDR) Team. Our South Carolina team worked for seven days in the city…
Read MoreRandom Acts of Kindness Day
Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day, a nationwide day to encourage kindness. Foundation Beyond Belief is thrilled to work with incredible volunteers who put their kindness and compassion to work in their lives every day, and we'd love to have you join us! With a number of programs that offer ways to volunteer both…
Read MoreAll Hands Volunteers is the Beneficiary of our Louisiana Flooding Drive
On August 17th, Foundation Beyond Belief announced a Humanist Disaster Recovery Drive to raise funds for the recovery effort after the flooding in Louisiana, the worst U.S. natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy. Effects from the flooding include: More than 40,000 homes damaged Nearly a third of Louisiana's parishes declared disaster areas 70,000 applications for FEMA assistance…
Read MoreA Humanist Response to the Severe Flooding in Louisiana
National coverage has finally begun for what the Lower Mississippi Forecast Center, a division of the National Weather Service, is calling a “1000 year rain event.” Flooding is occurring like the state hasn’t seen since Katrina due to a complicated, slow moving weather system that dumped as much as 30 inches of rain in only…
Read More“I’m actually an atheist” three years later: Tornadoes and HDR Teams
On May 20, 2013, an EF5 tornado destroyed Rebecca Vitsmun's home in Moore, OK, and almost killed her and her young son. Later, while standing in the ruins, she was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer in a clip that has since become famous. As he asked her repeatedly if she thanked the Lord for her survival,…
Read MoreOur first Humanist Disaster Recovery Team deployment is live
Our Humanist Disaster Recovery Team is currently on its first deployment to an area of South Carolina ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Joaquin. The group has trained, demolished the interior of a home, performed mold remediation, and will soon begin the work of putting the structure back together. The group is led by Foundation Beyond…
Read MoreHumanist Disaster Recovery: A look forward to 2016
2015 saw a huge number of disasters and, according to statistics, those numbers aren't likely to go down in 2016. The question is, what does that mean for those in the humanist community who wish to help? Our challenge moving forward is two-fold. First, we challenge ourselves to find local organizations working on the ground,…
Read MoreHurricane Sandy: Three Years Later
Three years ago this week Hurricane Sandy tore across the Atlantic. New York and New Jersey faced the most extreme impacts with 60 deaths in the two states alone. Sandy caused an estimated $65 billion in damage, second only to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Given the widespread impacts and extent of need Foundation Beyond Belief…
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