April Team of Month: Upstate Atheists

Congratulations to Beyond Belief Network’s April Team of the Month: Upstate Atheists! Although Upstate Atheists are a recent addition to Beyond Belief Network, they are one of the first teams to reach Level One in 2014. Upstate Atheists was chosen for this honor because of the variety of their service events and their commitment towards the improvement of their community.

In February, Upstate Atheists met at Greer Soup Kitchen to serve the underprivileged. When they arrived, the prepared meals were still frozen and none of the available staff knew how to cook. Luckily, a member of Upstate Atheists planned a meal and delegated tasks. They made enough food to feed 150 people in under an hour

Upstate Atheists are also environmentally conscious. They’ve hosted two Adopt-a-Highway litter removal events in Greenville, SC. Their designated stretch of road is two miles long. So far, they’ve collected nineteen bags of trash and a twenty dollar bill.

In their most recent service event, two members of Upstate Atheists recently participated in a Q&A at a Methodist Church in Spartanburg, SC. They raised enough money to purchase supplies to make 400 kits for kids at a local children’s hospital. Kits included a teddy bear, coloring book, and crayons.

In one of their ongoing service projects, Upstate Atheists is sponsoring a Be a Loser Competition to help community members get into shape. It’s a four month long weight loss and fitness event with monthly prizes and one final cash prize. We at Beyond Belief Network found this to be an inspiring and fun service event. If your Beyond Belief Network team is interested in hosting a similar event, check out our BBN guide for information and tips.

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.