June Team of the Month: Central Ohio United Non-Theists

Congratulations to Beyond Belief Network’s June Team of the Month: Central Ohio United Non-Theists (COUNT)! COUNT was chosen for this honor because of their regular service event schedule and outstanding participation in Week of Action!

One of their regular events is to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Columbus, Ohio. RMH provides housing and meals to families with children being treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and other area hospitals. Housewarmers work with the guests to provide a home-like environment. They greet the guests, assist with family needs, answer phones, give tours, assist with check-in/check-out, prepare guest rooms after checkout, clean the facility, do laundry, restock supplies and staff the front desk. Six COUNT volunteers worked as Housewarmers for 30.5 hours in April 2014. Their nine regular Housewarmers try to volunteer at least one four-hour shift a month and have so far contributed 265.5 hours!

COUNT also participated in two events during Week of Action! Their first event was a Week of Action Bowling Party & Food Collection. They were able to donate 125 pounds of food plus $25 in cash/gift card donations to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Five members of COUNT also joined numerous other volunteers to participate inthe Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) Big Spring tree planting at the Ohio School for the Deaf. Hundreds of trees native to Ohio were planted. Participants enjoyed a cookout after the work was done.

Team of the Month recognition is a benefit provided by Foundation Beyond Belief to our Beyond Belief Network teams. In order to be considered, your group must be a Level One Beyond Belief Network team and you must submit at least one event report during the month. Team of the Month selection is based on the number, length, variety, and documentation (e.g., submitted pictures, blog posts, videos, etc.) of events.

Teams can only be Team of the Month once per calendar year. If your local group does great service work, but isn’t a member of BBN, you can join anytime! In addition to recognition, your team can qualify for free t-shirts and grants. If your local humanist group doesn’t volunteer, but you’d like to start, we’d love to help! For teams new to secular service, we offer tons of ideas, event guides, and advice.