TRISH COWAN: Why Foundation Beyond Belief Matters to Me

by Trish Cowan
Sunday School director, Ethical Society of St. Louis
Board member, Foundation Beyond Belief

Watching the development of FBB has been a really exciting process for me. Within any Ethical Society, the common bond between members is the desire to make the world a better place. Our members have varying beliefs, but we can all come together in the name of service and commit to improving the lives of others.

In addition to hands-on service projects, we have small scale monetary collections in our Societies and our Sunday Schools – and those are really important for our members and kids to feel like they can make a difference in our world. But FBB gives us the opportunity to pool our donations and have a greater impact on several outstanding organizations at once.

Still, what I love about FBB isn’t just the impact we make when we financially support worthwhile organizations. I also really love the opportunity to take a stand for humanism and show how caring and giving humanists are. When you get right down to it, no matter what faith tradition one follows, we are ALL humanists; all religions teach about the importance of treating people with love and respect. Speaking out and giving through FBB gives humanists the chance to reach others – including those who subscribe to other religions – and walk the walk, while making a name for ourselves as kind and generous citizens of the world.