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By Elizabeth Minutello, Beyond Belief Network intern

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. In February, BBN’s community service theme is Social Justice and Race. 

Members of Humanists Doing Good organized to cheer for athletes and teams participating in a Special Olympics basketball tournament in Grand Junction, Colorado. Although previous tournaments had sufficient volunteers, they often lacked crowd support and were previously described as feeling lonely. Members created large signs of support and cheered for underdog teams. They even cheered for athletes and teams during an awards ceremony. Humanists Doing Good considered the event to be a rewarding experience, and members were thanked by several parents and participating volunteers.

Humanists of Houston worked in the carousel room of the Houston Food Bank’s main warehouse. They sorted non-perishable food donations and packed them, by weight, into boxes for distribution in the Emergency Pantry. The total room production for the three-hour shift was 3,096 lbs. or approximately 2,580 meals. By BBN’s approximate calculations, Humanists of Houston have packed more than 10 tons of food in the past year! 

Our newest BBN team, Corpus Christi Atheists is already showing great promise. They unloaded glass from vehicles and sorted them for recycling. 

Austin Atheists Helping the Homeless continues to run their monthly service event. They collected basic living supplies, such as toiletries and clothing, and distributed them to approximately one hundred of Austin’s homeless population. 

Eight adults and ten kids representing Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry folded and sorted donated clothing at the Lowcountry Orphan Relief, a charity that distributes new underwear, socks, and gently used clothing to kids entering foster care. Donated clothing is inspected and sorted by size and gender. 

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.

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By Brittany Shoots-Reinhard

Our Heart of Humanism Award winner for Best Photo and Best Article were both submitted by Missi Adzima from Valley Skeptics in the Park. Her team has decided to award the two $50 grants they won to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in memory of Missi’s grandmother. From her walk page: “Last year I lost my grandmother to Alzheimer’s. She was a special lady and it was awful to watch her go from someone so full of life to someone that didn’t even know who I was. I’m walking and raising money in her memory in hopes that there will be a day that nobody has to go through that.” Valley Skeptics’ grants will be donated to Missi’s walk page. With the FBB grant, she is only $100 away from her goal.

Rookie of the Year team Humanists of Rhode Island is using their $50 grant to help the more than 6 million refugees displaced by civil war in Syria. Not only that, but they’re working to raise additional funds for International Rescue Committee via Foundation Beyond Belief’s Humanist Crisis Response.

Most Valuable Volunteer Josh Nankivel is directing his $100 grant to the National Center for Science Education. NCSE was a Foundation Beyond Belief Humanist Giving Education beneficiary in 2010 and 2011. Josh explains “I’ve been a member of the NCSE and decided to give this grant to them because they do great work defending the integrity of science education. I believe the public understanding of science is the primary way to ensure human flourishing and the long term well-being of our planet. The children are our future, and they NEED a solid foundation in science education to be productive citizens and voters.”

Triangle Freethought Society, winner of the Humanism at Work Award for Most Volunteer Hours, is using their $250 grant for their extraordinarily active community service programs. Fellowship of Freethought Dallas won two awards: Feed the Need Award for Outstanding Food-Related Volunteering and the Eat. Sleep. Volunteer. Repeat. Award for Most Volunteer Events. They are using their $150 for their community outreach programs, which will no doubt include something food-related.

We are overwhelmed with the generosity shown by our Heart of Humanism Award winners.