Search results for: atheist volunteering

By Elizabeth Dorssom

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. In January, BBN is observing National Mentoring Month and encouraging teams to forge mentoring relationships with young adults or other secular humanist groups.

Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry volunteered at the Lowcountry Food Bank, a clearinghouse for donated food items that serves 10 counties in coastal South Carolina. During the three hours they volunteered, team members unpacked seven pallets of mixed food donations and inspected for expiration dates and potential damage to food containers. They also sorted the food into new boxes by category, sealed the boxes, and loaded them onto pallets.

Secular Hub volunteers went door to door with Groundwork Denver on MLK day, changing porch light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. Volunteers also handed out coupons for free trees and free recycling services. They also passed out educational materials about energy usage, making this an event that covered three categories: education, poverty, and the environment! Beyond Belief Network staff are currently exploring ways to expand this program to the rest of our teams.

Flagstaff Freethinkers also celebrated MLK day by putting together a community-wide day of service, which was covered on the FBB blog earlier this week.

Ethics in Action recently held a blood drive for the Red Cross. The Red Cross of America is always in need of blood donations, and 27 people were willing to give. Donors were invited to schedule a time when they could come in during this event, with information given about other ways to help if they were unable to donate at the time. All in all, there were 22 successful donations!

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 show the world that all we really need is charity and goodness to make the world a better place.

By Elizabeth Dorssom

Seráh Blain, member of the Secular Coalition for Arizona and Flagstaff Freethinkers, has taken drastic measures to bring awareness to the problem of chronic homelessness. In a project undertaken in collaboration with Beyond Belief Network team Flagstaff Freethinkers, Blain will live on the streets of Phoenix until she raises $56,310—just $2 for every person who was homeless last year in Phoenix. Blain plans to use the money raised to benefit the Madison Street Veteran’s Association, which is at risk of losing funding for its women’s shelter.

As of August 23, Blain has raised $1,500, and she will not return home until she has raised the full amount of her goal. For more information, or to donate money, click here. You can also follow’s Seráh’s blog about her experiences here.

We will be following Seráh’s progress and sharing updates about her project. If your local humanist group has its own inspiring project, or if you’re new to volunteering and could use some advice and assistance, join FBB’s Beyond Belief Network. BBN staff is available to assist teams in finding volunteer opportunities and in committing to a regular schedule of volunteer events, making hands-on volunteering a major part of their groups’ activity and identity.

The Michigan Secular Student Alliance (SSA) has undergone a major transformation over the last year. Growing from 10 to 15 regular attendees to upwards of 40 at any given meeting, the group has adapted to grow with its members. Though the SSA originated as a tight community engaged in intellectual discussions, the emphasis on big service projects and activism events following its recent growth has made for a challenging balance, yet a sharper focus on their mission.

With the group’s rising popularity on campus, it wanted to become more active in the community. More important, the group saw volunteering as an essential aspect of secular humanism. “We don’t need prayers to change the world because we’re going to do that ourselves,” said Victoria Dykes, the group’s activism chair.

The group has started developing partnerships throughout the community, including with The Greening of Detroit, a project dedicated to improving the neighborhoods of Detroit. This includes strategic landscaping, cleaning up trash, planting gardens in abandoned fields, planting trees, and demolishing houses.

Community Service Chair Cathy Chow recently spoke on the budding partnership: “Detroit can look very crummy … but people can change that with a lot of work and many volunteers.” Victoria continued, “[Greening of Detroit] was all very community driven, and it was great to see the residents coming together and improving their neighborhood—and getting to be a part of that, I really felt like we made a difference.”

This focus on giving back to the community has even led to some interesting and unusual bedfellows. The religious groups on campus have a strong presence, and through volunteer events and public participation and awareness, Michigan SSA is bridging the gap. “They always invite us to their events and they come to ours, which has led to some awesome discussions! We even have a couple theists who are regular members and attend almost all our events,” said Victoria.

From the changing awareness on campus to reaching out to the local community, Michigan SSA is making a difference in their area of influence and beyond. “Being a humanist means working to create a better and more humane society. Volunteering is an easy and fun way to improve the lives of other people around and your community. It can help you build relationships within your group and feel like you’ve accomplished something worthwhile. It also has the added benefit of showing that people can be good without god and helps to dispel the notion many people have about atheists being without values.” Victoria is providing evidence of these beliefs each and every day, as the group continues to strive to leave Michigan better than they found it.

Minnesota Atheists is one of our newest Volunteers Beyond Belief teams. Eric Jayne answered a few questions to introduce us to this active group.

Minnesota Atheists was established in 1991, as a continuation of the Twin Cities Chapter of American Atheists, which was founded in 1984. We are the state’s oldest, largest, and most active atheist organization, and we’re very welcoming with a diverse membership that shares a common bond under our shared atheist identity.

We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit, educational organization that seeks to promote the positive contributions of atheism to society and to maintain separation of state and church. We are an affiliate of the Atheist Alliance International, Council for Secular Humanism, and American Atheists, which holds annual national conventions, including the Reason Rally on March 24, 2012, in Washington, D.C.