Search results for: Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry

By Kelley Freeman

Martin Luther King Jr. is an inspiring figure to many Americans, even more than forty years after his death. It is in his name that there are so many service events on Martin Luther King Jr. Day every year—which is a great way to kick off the new year! Some universities plan events all over their local communities for students to participate in, and many off-campus groups set aside time to volunteer that day as well, including some of our fantastic Volunteers Beyond Belief affiliates.

Humanity on Call in San Diego, CA, had their fifth-annual MLK Day Interfaith Service event, where they worked side-by-side with people from diverse religious and cultural group by helping clean up, clearing and hauling brush, mulching, and planting in a local park. What is especially great is how many kids and their parents came out for this fantastic and successful event. They even had a picnic after their service work was done for the day.

The Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry in Charleston, SC, had an event the weekend of MLK Day where they planted bulbs in Corrine Jones Park with the Charleston Parks Conservancy. What a great way to start the new year off by pruning back some of the tendrils that winter (and 2012) had left behind.

Prescott Freethinkers in Prescott, AZ, paired up with Yavapai Community College Secular Student Alliance for their MLK Day Service event. Like many colleges, Yavapai has a service organization, called Serve Yavapai, that plans huge service events that offer students and other community members a chance to get involved. This year, their service events focused on supporting the local schools in Prescott Unified School District and Humboldt Unified School District.

Isn’t it inspiring to see so many of our friends and affiliates out there doing work for their local communities? It means so much to the people who live there and shows how much we care about our neighbors, not only on Martin Luther King Jr. Day but all year long. It does the heart good to see people doing good!

We’ll leave you with this quote from Martin Luther King Jr. about the importance of doing service and caring for your fellow humans: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

By Andrew Geary

The holidays provide some time to reconnect with friends and family, reflect on the year behind, set plans for the year ahead, and for our Volunteers Beyond Belief teams to find creative ways to give back to their community.

One of our newest teams, the Siouxland Freethinkers, served up some help for two local nonprofits. Fifteen members helped a local nonprofit dedicated to providing children and families in need with the help that they deserve. The group raised money for Project Joy while gift-wrapping and sharing the humanist cheer with all who came their way. In addition, the group hosted a toy drive benefitting the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, which serves more than 2,000 children each year, primarily ages 4 to 13. The majority of these children are victims of severe abuse or neglect. The Siouxland Freethinkers collected seven bags of new toys, clothes, and books.

The University of Michigan’s Secular Student Alliance held a book drive for the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Store, which gives money to the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Volunteers from the group dropped off and sorted through the books, donating nearly 100 books to the thrift store.

The Humanists of Houston dedicated their holiday cheer to the Houston Area Women’s Center Holiday Store. For two weeks every holiday, the Center transforms their offices into a store where the women and families they serve can shop for holiday gifts. Read more about it our blog, where it was a featured story.

Two of our groups pitched in to help the stretch of highway they have adopted stay clean and free of any holiday clutter—the Fayette Freethought Society and Fellowship of Freethought in Dallas. In addition, the Fellowship of Freethought Dallas held a gift drive for Jonathan’s Place, a local organization that provides safe, loving homes and specialized services for children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected.

The Minnesota Atheists’ “War on Christmas” brought together 20 volunteers from the group. Each group member brought gifts as requested by the children’s hospital. After enjoying a festive feast, they wrapped the gifts, put a nice bow on each one, and dropped off the gifts at the hospital. In total, the group donated $600 worth of gifts.

The Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry volunteered at the Lowcountry Food Bank, an organization that helps ensure that affordable food gets to those who need it. The group helped sort and box hundreds of pounds of donations from retailers. Additionally, through the months of November and December they raised $1,092 for Begin with Books. This will help provide books for more than 30 kids.

Some of our other groups kept busy with their regularly scheduled events, including the Humanists of Rhode Island’s monthly efforts with Habitat for Humanity and the Humanist Community of Central Ohio’s blood drive, Bleed & Feed.

All of our VBB teams’ efforts during the holidays are just a snapshot of the great work they do all year long. To learn more about this program and to check out the application to join, click here.

With the end of FBB’s 2012 campaign to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society almost upon us, there are still a few more hours for groups and individuals to scramble to the top of our pile and claim one of our fabulous prizes! As of our last report from LLS, our current leaders are as follows:

Overall Fundraising:

1.     Triangle Freethought Society ($8,770.81)
2.     Center for Inquiry – LA ($7,756.25)
3.     CFI Portland ($6,031.23)*
4.     Hitchen’s Hikers ($5,053.00)
5.     Sacramento Coalition of Reason ($4,807.90)
6.     Harvard Humanist-Boston ($4,528.00)

Average per member (minimum team size of 10):

1.     Center for Inquiry – LA ($408.22)
2.     SSA at Presbyterian College ($324.24)
3.     Hitchen’s Hikers ($315.81)
4.     Freethought Dayton ($294.54)
5.     BC Humanists ($277.71)
6.     Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry and Camp Quest South Carolina ($265.39)

Overall Fundraising Student Team:

1.     Harvard Humanist-Boston ($4,528.00)
2.     SSA at Presbyterian College ($3,242.35)
3.     UGA Secular Student Alliance ($1,755.00)

Average Fundraising Student Team:

1.     SSA at Presbyterian College ($324.24)
2.     Harvard Humanists Boston ($251.56)
3.     UGA Secular Student Alliance ($103.24)

Overall Individual Fundraiser:

1.     Robert Taylor ($9,500.00)
2.     Stewart Chisam ($3,900.00)
3.     James Underdown ($3311.14)

Whether you’re in contention or not, please consider contributing to our campaign to support LLS. This time of year, many of us are fortunate enough to spend time at home with our families. Children with blood cancer are often stuck spending the holidays in a hospital bed, and with your help we can take steps to give them the patient care and steps toward a cure that they deserve.