Challenge the Gap (Q1 2012)

Featured beneficiary in the CHALLENGE THE GAP category for first quarter 2012:

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SERVICE COMMITTEE

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonsectarian organization that advances human rights and social justice in the United States and around the world. We envision a world free from oppression and injustice, where all can realize their full human rights.

Through a combination of advocacy, education, and partnerships with grassroots organizations, UUSC promotes economic rights, advances environmental justice, defends civil liberties, and preserves the rights of people in times of humanitarian crisis.

We also engage local communities through our service-learning program, JustWorks, which introduces participants to the work of our domestic and overseas partners — who are often on the front lines of addressing social justice issues.

Our work is built on the conviction that all people are entitled to basic human rights, which transcend divisions of class, race, nationality, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, and gender.

UUSC works in four focus areas:

Civil Liberties

UUSC strengthens individual liberties and democratic processes eroded by overreaching security measures adopted after 9/11.

Economic Justice

UUSC advances workers' rights and supports living wage campaigns, addressing the impacts of globalization and privatization.

Environmental Justice

UUSC promotes and defends the human right to water, particularly in communities facing water-service privatization and resource depletion.

Rights in Humanitarian Crises

UUSC responds strategically to disasters, whether natural or man-made, defending the rights of marginalized and oppressed populations who are often left out of recovery efforts.

In each area, UUSC applies an analysis of race, class, and gender, recognizing the role of systemic discrimination in perpetuating injustice and human-rights violations.

FBB welcomes UUSC as the fifth beneficiary in our Challenge the Gap program.

Why is a humanist foundation supporting a religious organization?