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

LightHawk was our Natural World beneficiary for the first quarter of 2013. Director of Giving Laura Armstrong shared this report about how LightHawk will use the grant they received from FBB. FBB members donated $7,760 to LightHawk last quarter.

LightHawk is grateful for Foundation Beyond Belief’s generous support in the first quarter of 2013. Member donations are supporting flights that achieve environmental protection through scientific research, monitoring, aerial photography, and educational tours. The following are a handful of the more than sixty projects that LightHawk’s staff and volunteer pilots are working on this spring to protect land, water, and wildlife across North and Central America:

LightHawk flies with biologists from Panthera to study the jaguar migration corridor that stretches the length of Central America from Guatemala to Panama. As shown in this photograph from Guatemala, the aerial view reveals deforestation that is nearly impossible to discover from the ground. (Image: Roberto Solom/Panthera/LightHawk)
At Wisconsin’s Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, LightHawk’s volunteer pilots are flying with scientists from International Crane Foundation to monitor the whooping crane nesting season. The marshy habitat is unreachable from the ground without disturbing the birds, so flights are the only way to track nesting success. (Image: Eva Szyszkoski/ICF/LightHawk)
In June 2012, lightning ignited a wildfire in the foothills west of Fort Collins, Colorado, that burned 87,000 acres of the Poudre River watershed and threatened Northern Colorado’s water supply. Runoff from the steep hillsides during summer downpours caused the river to run black with char. LightHawk is part of the High Park Fire Coalition, more than a dozen organizations and agencies working to restore the watershed. The aerial view shows the patchiness of the fire and helps identify the damaged areas most likely to impact the river. (Image: Michael Menefee/Colorado Natural Heritage Program/LightHawk)
The Colorado River tops this year’s list of endangered rivers according to American Rivers. LightHawk works with local, regional, and national partner groups to protect the Colorado River, from Wyoming to Mexico. (Image of Colorado River Delta at the Sea of Cortez by Tom McMurray/LightHawk)

Across North and Central America, from Alaska to Panama, LightHawk is flying to make a difference for conservation by providing the incomparable perspective of the aerial view. Thank you for making these flights for conservation possible!

Laura Armstrong
Director of Giving, LightHawk

At 3:01 pm CT on May 20, a massive F-4 tornado decimated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, OK. Scores of severe injuries and deaths have been reported, and intense work is under way to find and rescue those trapped in the rubble.

The Humanist Crisis Response program of Foundation Beyond Belief has opened a donation drive in response to this disaster. Our staff worked through the night to assess the disaster situation and the relief organizations responding. This morning we have selected Operation USA and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to receive our donations. These organizations were chosen for their long records of outstanding work, their high ratings and transparency, and their current direct work in the disaster zone addressing the primary needs of food, shelter, and medical aid.

Donations will be forwarded continuously during the emergency period. FBB retains no portion of donations. All donations to and through Foundation Beyond Belief are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

The staff and board of Foundation Beyond Belief would like to express our deep condolences to the victims of this terrible tragedy and their families and to encourage humanists in this country and around the world to do anything they can to help them put their homes, businesses, and lives back together.

Dale McGowan

Executive Director, Foundation Beyond Belief