BBN teams gear up for summer with service

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.

Tri-State Freethinkers are not only a Level 3 team, they’re also our May Team of the Month! This team has participated in a number of recent service events. They helped with yard work for Hosea House which provides food for needy adults and children in Northern Kentucky. They also sorted through over 10,000lbs of donations for the Freestore Foodbank and donated six pints of blood at Hoxworth in Cincinnati. Tri-State Freethinkers even volunteered at Tender Mercies, which transforms the lives of homeless adults with mental illnesses. The team planned a day of games, crafts, and snacks for their residents.

Humanist Alliance Philippines, International (HAPI) are a Level Two team and have been honored as May's Picture of the Month! HAPI staged a jam-packed event involving an interactive discussion on religion and critical thinking at the iChill Theater Café, a secular coffee shop based in a nearby Catholic University, the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Called “HAPI Triple Event,” it involved a lecture about Egyptology, a debate between an atheist and a theist and the launch of the HAPI Library.The HAPI library books are housed inside the Café.

A sixteen-member delegation of HAPI also attended this year's LGBT Community Tour, a joint project of Gender Proud and Association of Transgenders in the Philippines (ATP). Dubbed "Community Tour," the event aimed to give LGBT the opportunity to articulate their issues through seminars focused on the community including, but not limited to, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE). At the end of the event, participants celebrated the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) through a silent protest.

Different branches of HAPI including HAPI-Bacolod, HAPI-Cebu, HAPI-Leyte (HAPI-Visayas) also attended this year's AIDS Candlelight Memorial events in Bacolod City and Cebu on two different dates. The Memorial aims to help people with HIV in their demand for a more sustainable HIV/AIDS response.

Springfield Skeptics in Springfield, MO reached Level 1. They're currently helping to set up a brand new woodland trail garden at one of the parks in their city. They're hoping to be able to donate enough time to have it considered "their" garden gift to the city and have a concrete bench dedicated to the group in the garden. Springfield Skeptics also cleaned the Missouri Hotel, a four-story hotel that once housed women and families going through rehabilitative programs to enable them to stop being homeless. It also provided emergency housing for the homeless.

Six Central Ohio United Non-Theists (COUNT) volunteers worked as servers in May 2015 at the Community Shelter Board (CSB) facility in Columbus, Ohio. CSB provides housing and meals to homeless families and individual men and women in Central Ohio. Some volunteers served dinners while others washed dishes, mopped floors and cleaned tables. Six COUNT volunteers also worked as Housewarmers in April 2015 at the Columbus Ohio Ronald McDonald House (RMH). RMH provides housing and meals to families with children being treated at Nationwide Childrens Hospital and other area hospitals. This is a regular service event for the team and their ten Housewarmers have contributed 541.5 hours to date.

Austin Atheists Helping the Homeless (ATXAHH) in Austin, TX had another successful donation drive and giveaway. From April 20 to May 17, ATXAHH volunteers collected 674 basic living items from the Austin community to distribute to the homeless population. Girl Scout Troop 116 also made and donated 25 first aid kits. Six ATXAHH Gettin' Knotty members gave washcloths to the cause. On May 17th, ATXAHH volunteers braved thunderstorms to serve 51 people. In addition to their regular items and the homemade first aid kits from Girl Scout Troop 116, volunteers gave out over 200 snacks from a volunteer with Trinity United Methodist Church. ATXAHH welcomed volunteer allies from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church & the Seekers of Good.

Though it may be small, South Jersey Humanists (SJH) in Galloway, New Jersey made their first produce delivery of the season from their community garden to the local Food Bank. The first batch of radishes weighed in at 1.2 lbs, and there’ll be more in the future. Nine members of SJH also helped sort incoming donations for the US Postal Service's food drive at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey's Southern Branch.

Members of South Jersey Humanists even supported the South Jersey AIDS Alliance, raising funds and participating in the 2015 AIDS Walk on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Team members raised over $600 and marched with a team from Camden County Humanists, who raised over $160. South Jersey Humanists currently stand as a Level 1 team.

Fifteen volunteers from Seattle Atheists repackaged 10,160 pounds of donated purple potatoes donated to Food Lifeline into family-size portions. These portions were later distributed to food banks. According to Food Lifeline's calculations, that's equivalent to providing 8,467 meals to hungry people in Western Washington. In a separate event, five teams members donated blood. Seattle Atheists are a Level 1 team.

Not to be outdone, Fellowship of Freethought Dallas (FoFD) reached Level 2. Members of FoFD participated in Humanism at Work – Crafting Edition. This was a combination social event for crafters and/or people wanting to learn to craft with the intent of producing some items to be donated to Homeless Nexus or another charity group. FoFD members also prepared their monthly meal for the Supper Club program of AIDS Services of Dallas. AIDS Services of Dallas is a 501(c)3 organization that provides medically supportive housing to low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS. For this meal, they grilled burgers and hot dogs. They even hosted a fundraiser to support two camperships for Camp Quest Texas. There were at least two handmade items from FoFD membership to raffle–including a Hand knit DNA blanket and a Dr. Who bag. The event was hosted by FoFD's main amateur astronomer. Everyone had a great view of the stars including two planets, Saturn and Jupiter!

As with last year's Week of Action, Lehigh Valley Humanists of Bethlehem, PA participated in the Great Allentown Cleanup. They concentrated their efforts in the area around their monthly meeting place, covering over 10 city blocks. Eighteen of their members participated wearing their LVH and FBB t-shirts and they received great exposure in the most bustling part of the city.

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.