Search results for: FreeOK

By Brittany Shoots-Reinhard, Beyond Belief Network Coordinator

2013 marked the beginning of the Beyond Belief Network, which merged the existing Volunteers Beyond Belief, Foundation Partners, and Light The Night programs. Since our official launch in May, we’ve grown to 90 teams! Our teams recorded 150 events, and we’re nearing an exciting milestone of 30,000 hours donated to date. We’ve been able to provide teams with free logo t-shirts, grants, and assistance finding service activities and promoting events. Additionally, in September, we announced the winners of our first annual Heart of Humanism Awards (for Volunteers Beyond Belief teams active in 2012).

Beginning in October, we started issuing themed service guides once a month. October’s guide was about Domestic Violence Awareness; November’s guide was Fighting Hunger; December’s was Safe Toy Drives; January’s guide covers Mentoring children and other groups.

We also started recognizing the most active teams with Team of the Month awards. In September, we recognized the Humanist Community of Ventura County for their large number and variety of service events (and great pictures). October’s winning team was Flagstaff Freethinkers, who have both a recurring monthly commitment at a food center and incredible fundraisers, including Seráh Blain’s Blistering at the Margins project, a birthday Crochet-a-thon, and a Family Dance Party. Fellowship of Freethought Dallas was November’s Team of the Month. They’ve been consistently one of our top teams, in Volunteers Beyond Belief, Foundation Partners Programs, and Light The Night. They especially shine with food-related service and fundraisers. December’s team is FreeOK, who joined following the Oklahoma Tornadoes and were very active in cleanup and recovering efforts. They’ve been successful with blood drives, food drives, and the Holiday Humanist Gifting project, a wonderful toy drive that collected nominations and wish lists from more than 100 children, all of whom were adopted by members of their community.

In 2014, thanks to support from members and the community at large (and it’s not too late to give to our Year-End Fund Drive!), we will be able to support more teams with event planning assistance and guides, award more grants and t-shirts, and recognize even more teams with the Team of the Month and Heart of Humanism awards. If you know a local or online atheist or humanist group who would be a good candidate to join Beyond Belief Network, please send them to our website. Teams that join by the end of the day today may submit backdated reports for any service activities from 2013 and will be eligible for Heart of Humanism awards, t-shirts and grants, and a drawing to win a signed book from Dale McGowan or Chris Stedman (one entry per event report received by January 15, 2014).

By Elizabeth Dorssom

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. Our teams have been hard at work in November putting their compassionate humanism to work. During November, BBN observed Hunger Awareness Month, and in December we are encouraging everyone to keep toy safety in mind when making holiday purchases for children.

November Team of the Month Fellowship of Freethought Dallas teamed up with David Smalley of Dogma Debate to host a Cocktails for a Cause event for the Seagoville Senior Center. The Senior Center provides many seniors with their only healthy meal each day and is in desperate need of funds. FoF Dallas plans to donate a $150 award from FBB to the center in addition to the $250 raised at the event. They also hosted a mini Thanksgiving meal for the teens at Youth First Texas, complete with turkey, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. Some of the teens do not have families to go to or do not feel comfortable attending family gatherings, which makes the family-style meals even more important to them.

The Humanist Community of Ventura County volunteered with Heal the Bay as part of their monthly Beach Cleanup in Pacific Palisades, CA. Heal the Bay is a local nonprofit dedicated to making southern California’s coastal waters and watersheds safe, healthy, and clean. For two hours HCVC walked the beach with buckets and gloves picking up any and all trash they could find. HCVC was also educated about what drains from their local communities into the oceans and how dangerous that can be to the environment. Being no strangers to hard work, they also joined the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA), the Santa Monica Trails Council, and other volunteers for the 23nd Annual COSCA Trailwork Day. HCVC worked on new trails in the Conejo Canyons Open Space that are accessible because of a new bridge.

Finally, they volunteered at Sunday Assembly of Los Angeles and modeled their brand-new BBN gear featuring our brand-new logo! Sunday Assembly of Los Angeles is a new godless community that meets monthly to hear great talks, connect for service projects, sing songs, and generally celebrate life. Assemblies are free to attend, and everyone is welcome. HCVC brought nine volunteers to help with set-up, check-in, greeting, ushering, donation collection, service project signups, food distribution, and cleanup. Sunday Assembly of Los Angeles had more than 400 people in attendance, and the event was a huge success!

FreeOK took Hunger Awareness month to heart by collecting non-perishable food items for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma during a recent blood drive. Twenty-eight people donated blood, and 100 pounds of food were collected. The event also served as the first official drop location for Humanist Gifting Project contributions. This innovative project allowed needy children nominated from the community to make wish lists, which FreeOK staff turned into Amazon wish lists. Members were able to bring in toys, “adopt a child,” and purchase toys directly from Amazon. Kai Tancredi of FreeOK reported that as of Monday, 100% of the children in the program had been adopted by generous donors! In addition, FreeOK returned to their original work site for their Oklahoma Tornado Disaster Response project at Steelman Estates to assist with the tent city that has sprouted up since their last venture there in May. They organized overflow donations that could not be put in the limited warehouse space, sorted a 35-foot moving truck full of donated clothing, and put together care packages of clothing items to be distributed to local women’s and children’s shelters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association of OKC.

Central Ohio United Non-Theists held their 2nd Annual Flying Spaghetti Monster Benefit Dinner. The dinner topped last year, with 76 pounds of food collected at the event and more than $2,000 raised for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Volunteers from several local atheist and freethought groups entertained and fed more than 120 guests. Their fun-filled event featured a raffle and silent auction of items donated by 21 area businesses, artists, and individuals. COUNT handled project management and post-event activity, made jewelry for the silent auction and raffle, and were represented by nine volunteers at the event. COUNT only recently reached 100 members, making it a prime example of what newly formed groups are capable of!

Ethics in Action recently helped Voices for Children in setting up a giving tree for the upcoming holidays in their local Whole Foods market. Voices for Children advocates for abused and neglected children and youth in St. Louis by representing their best interests in court and in the community. Volunteers spent most of their time preparing the ornaments, which double as gift wish tags. Shoppers collect tags and later return to Whole Foods with gifts for the children. The initiative has helped make the holidays brighter for nearly 600 kids in foster care over the past decade.

Secular Hub sorted medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. in their first month of BBN membership. Project C.U.R.E. collects medical supplies and equipment from hospitals and other medical facilities and ships them to clinics and hospitals in poor countries, where the supplies are desperately needed.

Northern Arizona University’s Secular Student Alliance recently volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. NAU SSA members assisted with cleaning and painting the home of a local resident.

North Florida Atheists volunteered at Dignity U Wear to fold clothes that help out less fortunate families and kids. Dignity U Wear gives new clothing to schools and nonprofit agencies to serve those in need. Every North Florida Atheists member in attendance also brought canned goods to support their local Second Harvest Food Bank.

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 show the world that all we really need is charity and goodness to make the world a better place.

By Elizabeth Dorssom

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network is a network of secular humanist groups interested in volunteering (Volunteers Beyond Belief) and raising money for FBB and our beneficiaries (Foundation Partners Program).

Our teams have been busy spreading goodwill and humanist values throughout their communities this Novemeber!

Secular Humanists of the Low Country raised $625 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and walked in the Light The Night Walk that took place at the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park. This group also picked up 12 bags of litter on their adopted portion of Harborview Road.

North Florida Atheists recently attended the Florida Freethought Conference. The conference held a toy drive, so NFA members collected toys to donate. North Florida Atheists participated in the Light The Night Walk for the first time this year. They had a great participation rate, especially for a weeknight. Children also enjoyed the event, although they were very tired at the end.

Fellowship of Freethought Dallas prepared a mini Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings for Youth First Texas. A delicious meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce was prepared for the teens. Youth First Texas provides a Safe Haven for LGBT youth who do not have families or feel uncomfortable with family gatherings.

FreeOK has kicked off their eight-week gift drive: the Holiday Humanists Gifting Project! HHA Gifting is the part of FreeOK’s 2013 Giving Drive aimed at providing holiday gift relief to families housing foster children and those in need of assistance for other reasons. Kids up for gifting adoption provide FreeOK with wish lists, which are then made available to volunteering sponsors. To purchase a gift from the wish list, click here.

In December, Beyond Belief Network will observe Safe Toys and Gifts Month by encouraging BBN teams to donate toys to Ronald McDonald Houses, Toys for Tots, and women’s shelters, among other charities.

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 show the world that all we really need is charity and goodness to make the world a better place.

By Brittany Shoots-Reinhard

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network is a network of secular humanist groups interested in volunteering (Volunteers Beyond Belief) and raising money for FBB and our beneficiaries (Foundation Partners Program).

Quite a few teams were busy in October with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night walks and fundraisers. With three months left in the 2013 walk season, we’re halfway to our goal of $500,000. With the help of several hundred walkers on teams all across the United States and Canada, we’ve raised $250,000 to help patients.

University of North Georgia Humanist Student Union held a Hug an Atheist event to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and wrote a wonderful post about their experience for the FBB blog.

FreeOK also held an LTN fundraiser: They set up a Hug an Atheist booth at Dove Science Academy’s Elementary Fall Festival. There were hugs of all shapes and sizes and some that looked an awful lot like secret handshakes.

The Humanist Community at Harvard recently participated in Boston’s annual Light The Night Walk. More than 50 people helped raise $2,631.91, and nine people participated in the walk at the Boston Common. The event was successful due in part to collaboration with a Humanistic Judaism congregation, Kahal B’raira, which donated through the Humanist Community at Harvard team and sent a representative to walk with HCH. HCH is also embarking on a new interfaith service initiative called Values in Action in partnership with Foundation Beyond Belief.

Fellowship of Freethought Dallas held a bake sale at their weekly gathering to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They sold regular and gluten-free cupcakes and brownies. They also designed t-shirts to sell and wear at events. This event raised more than $350! Fellowship of Freethought Dallas also prepared a delicious meal of grilled hamburgers and tater tots for Youth First Texas. Youth First Texas provides a safe haven for LGBT youth with nowhere else to go.

Humanists of Houston had their Light The Night walk in October. They also sorted medical supplies for Project C.U.R.E. Project C.U.R.E. accepts donations from individuals, hospitals, and clinics and relies on volunteers to sort and inventory medical supplies such as IV tubing, bandages, drapes, and syringes. The supplies they sorted and packed will be shipped to clinics in developing nations.
 
The Metropolitan Chicago Chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation joined the Friendly Atheist Virtual team for the Light The Night Walk. A total of $1,595 was raised by chapter members for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. FFRFMCC also held a social meet-up where attendees brought in nonperishable food items for donation to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. A total of 50 pounds of food products were donated.

Although most of the walks have already ended, we will be fundraising until the end of January. Until then, Todd Stiefel and his family are offering a matching grant so every dollar donated results in two dollars going to LLS. You can donate or learn more at www.FBBLLS.org.

If you’re a walker or a team captain, we have one more Incentives Week for 2013. Keep an eye on your inbox to find out how you can earn a $10 gift card to Starbucks! You could also win a Kindle Fire, Amazon gift card, or AmEx gift card!

In November, Beyond Belief Network will observe Hunger Awareness Month by encouraging BBN teams to help local food banks and soup kitchens. 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 show the world that all we really need is charity and goodness to make the world a better place.

By Elizabeth Dorssom

Throughout December Beyond Belief Network will observe National Safe Toys and Gifts Month. National Safe Toys and Gifts Month is a project led by Prevent Blindness America to educate parents and other gift shoppers about safe toy options through awareness efforts during the holiday season. Many local groups participate in toy drives for needy children, and families should keep safe toy guidelines in mind when purchasing and accepting toys.

When buying toys, look for labels indicating safety inspections, like those performed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Be sure that any art supplies, as well as paint and other finishes, are non-toxic. For other safety tips, event ideas, and secular-friendly charities operating toy drives, check out our December Event Guide.

Beyond Belief Network team FreeOK will be hosting a Giving Drive as part of their Holiday Humanist Adoption program. The Giving Drive is aimed at providing holiday gift relief to families housing foster children and those in need of assistance for other reasons. The children’s wish lists will be posted online, and sponsors will be able to make their adoption selections. Some of the specific items requested on wish lists will be added to the HHA Gifting Amazon Wish list so that sponsors who live outside of the OKC area can purchase items from the wish list to be mailed to FreeOK for delivery.

If you’re holding a toy drive or any other service event in your community or if you’d like to start volunteering, you should join Beyond Belief Network, a group of more than 80 local humanist groups putting their compassionate humanism to work in more than 35 states. Joining BBN will get your team access to members-only tips and event-planning assistance. Teams that submit minimum numbers of event reports get additional perks, such as t-shirts, awards, and grants. Let us help you show your community that atheists are good without gods.

By Daniel Hay

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network is a network of secular humanist groups interested in volunteering (Volunteers Beyond Belief) and raising money for FBB and our beneficiaries (FBB Partners Program). July has come and gone, and with it we saw a wonderful showcase of what humanist groups can do for the community.

The Central Savannah River Area Non-Theist Group (CSRA) assisted in the cleaning of litter around Augusta Riverwalk, where a fireworks display had been presented days earlier. Cleaning up the Riverwalk benefits the entire community because it is a beautiful attraction for their city.

The organizers of FreeOK have been continuing to help with tornado relief, assisting with the tent city that has sprouted up since May. The team organized overflow donations, which could not be held in the limited warehouse space, to be distributed to local women’s and children’s shelters, as well as to the local Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The Humanists of Rhode Island have been again showing the benefits of regularly scheduled volunteer work by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. They mixed cement, built stairs and laid down flooring on a hot summer day.

Ethics in Action volunteered with the LGBT Center of St. Louis, particularly working with their library containing many books on LGBT history, law, theory, self-improvement, and fiction. Ethics in Action volunteers spent the morning labeling books with their call numbers on the spine, as well as looking up hard-to-find books in the Library of Congress catalog. Some members even baked cookies in the kitchen, which the children who attended enjoyed very much!

The Pennsylvania Nonbelievers have been a great help to The United Way, assembling 500+ pledge packets of literature to be given to the top donors of the United Way of the Capital Region (Harrisburg, PA).

The Humanists of Houston worked as part of a team of about 50 community volunteers to sort and box food donations. These food boxes are ultimately distributed through the emergency pantry (one of multiple distribution modes at the Houston Food Bank).

Finally, the North Florida Atheists helped their community by volunteering with Dignity U Wear. Dignity U Wear is a local charity created to help those in need of new clothes for children and adults, including new school clothes and interview clothes. The NFA came in and helped sort by size, folded the clothes, and organized them to be easily accessible to those in need.

Member of a secular humanist group? Want to help your community, raise awareness of nonbelievers doing good, and connect with other service-oriented groups? Ask your team to join Beyond Belief Network! BBN staff can help you achieve your service goals and, as you submit event reports, your team will qualify for free t-shirts and the opportunity to apply for grants!

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network is a network of secular humanist groups interested in volunteering (Volunteers Beyond Belief) and raising money for FBB and our beneficiaries (Foundation Partners Program). BBN teams were busy this June, putting their compassionate humanism to work and showing how good we can be without god.

The New Orleans Secular Humanist Association had two very successful events in June, first assisting with a historic preservation project called Save Our Cemeteries, which preserves and protects the historic cemeteries of New Orleans, and fosters a public appreciation for their historical, cultural, and architectural value. NOSHA volunteers cut back palm trees, removed invasive ferns from fragile tombs, and cleared broken marble fragments from the Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery.

In addition, NOSHA held a food drive at their annual Summer Solstice Picnic. By the end of the day more than 85 pounds of food had been donated to the local food bank!

Following the tragedies of the tornados in May that ravaged Moore, OK, and many surrounding areas, humanists across the country are still showing their drive to give back and help those in need. The organizers of FreeOK, an annual freethought convention held in Oklahoma City, decided to hold a literacy drive to collect books for the affected schools. They gathered 318 books! In addition, the Coweta County Atheists were busy collecting donations of items needed in the devastated areas.

The members of Siouxland Freethinkers have spent the past 2-1/2 months raising funds for Autism Speaks. They cumulatively raised $6,000 for autism research and advocacy. For their efforts, they were awarded by Autism Speaks in two categories: for being South Dakota’s top fundraising team this year, AND for having the top fundraising individual in the state. Congratulations to the Siouxland Freethinkers for their efforts! Siouxland FreeThinkers also took part in their bi-annual highway cleanup, helping to keep a stretch of highway pristine.

The Humanists of Rhode Island continued their tradition of supporting LGBTQ rights by hosting a table at RI Pride, an illuminated nighttime parade, at which they distributed freethought literature from AHA, SSA, and FFRF. They also distributed condoms provided by Planned Parenthood.

The Humanists of Houston also took part in a walk and prayer vigil following a tragic murder in Providence, RI. They attended in solidarity with those who wish to take a stand against senseless violence in our communities—as nonbelievers, but part of the community.

Member of a secular humanist group? Want to help your community, raise awareness of nonbelievers doing good, and connect with other service-oriented groups? Ask your team to join Beyond Belief Network! BBN staff can help you achieve your service goals and, as you submit event reports, your team will qualify for free t-shirts and the opportunity to apply for grants!

Foundation Beyond Belief Executive Director Dale McGowan has a response in the Washington Post to the TIME cover story in which Joe Klein claims it’s “funny how you don’t see organized groups of secular humanists giving out hot meals” after a disaster:

The response to the tornadoes from the secular humanist and atheist community was organized and overwhelming. The members and supporters of Foundation Beyond Belief, the secular humanist charitable organization I direct, provided 100,000 meals to victims in the wake of the Oklahoma tornadoes through the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and raised an additional $22,000 for Operation USA. Perhaps the greatest irony of the Klein piece is that Team Rubicon, the outstanding organization he praises in the same sentence that bashes humanists, was the primary beneficiary of Foundation Beyond Belief’s fund drive after Superstorm Sandy.

In addition to FBB, groups including Atheists Giving Aid, Oklahoma Atheists, the Atheist Community of Tulsa, the Lawton Area Secular Society, the Norman Naturalism Group, FreeOK, and the Oklahoma State Secular Organization lent their considerable energies to the effort in Oklahoma. Some raised funds—nearly a quarter million dollars in 10 days—while others gave untold time and energy on the ground. They organized volunteers, resources, and blood drives, teamed with local businesses to feed relief volunteers, and drove bulk donations around the city to distribution centers. They helped clear the rubble of homes, comforted survivors, took people into their own homes, fed them, and clothed them.

Click here to read the full response.

By Brittany Shoots-Reinhard

In tough times, people rely on communities to come to their aid, but many nonbelievers may find themselves unwelcome or unwilling to seek help from a religious community. Take the most recent crisis in Oklahoma: Many churches are drop-off points for supplies, shelters, and rallying points for fundraising efforts. But as a now famous video shows, atheists like Rebecca Vitsmun were affected, too. FBB was blown away by the huge number of people who have donated and reached out to us about how to help. Equally amazing is the huge outpouring of support for Rebecca, which is a powerful real-life example of the power of an identifiable victim.

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Helping Hands is meant for individuals needing help in tough times. Our vision for Helping Hands is that secular humanists, atheists, and freethinkers will have a centralized method of reaching out to the movement for help. Natural disasters and crises are obvious reasons to need aid, but not the only reasons. People who have suffered a serious illness or injury, loss of residence, unemployment, and other negative life events might also need a helping hand. People may nominate themselves or others for aid from Foundation Beyond Belief’s Beyond Belief Network and Humanist Giving members. FBB will promote the specific needs of worthy applicants. We will also attempt to put recipients in contact with local freethought or charitable organizations in their area that can help further. In most cases, FBB will not provide direct monetary assistance to individuals, but we can encourage our Beyond Belief Network affiliates and Humanist Giving members to do so.

Don’t know someone who needs aid, but want to help tornado victims? You can still donate to help victims of any belief or lack thereof via FBB’s Humanist Crisis Response, or check the FreeOK website for volunteer opportunities. If you’re a member of a local freethought group, encourage your team to join the Beyond Belief Network.

Looking for ways to help Oklahoma tornado relief? We can help with that! In addition to donating through our Humanist Crisis Response program, there are several ways you can get involved.

If you’re looking for ways to donate supplies, FreeOK has posted a comprehensive list of supplies needed and locations accepting them. Beyond Belief Network team Coweta County Atheists is holding a supply drive; see their Facebook event for inspiration.

FreeOK also has a list of volunteer opportunities. They are emphasizing outlying areas getting less attention than Moore; see their Facebook event for information on what they’re doing to help and what you can do.

Join the Beyond Belief Network Facebook group for updates about what your local freethought group can do to help. You can also find networking opportunities, updates and news about BBN and FBB, and access to event-planning and idea guides.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us!

Kelley Freeman, Beyond Belief Network Intern

Brittany Shoots-Reinhard, Beyond Belief Network Coordinator