September BBN Round-up
By AdministratorBeyond Belief Network teams organized more than 30 events and contributed over 3,000 hours of volunteer service in September! We picked the Humanist Community of the Space Coast (featured image, above) as our September Team of the Month for getting a great turnout at some unique and multifaceted events, and chose a photo from the Camden County Humanists for September Picture of the Month. Read the announcement here.
Sunday Assembly San Diego
Three SASD Assemblers joined other volunteers at the San Diego Food Bank to sort apples and plums into bags for distribution via the Food Bank's more than 300 nonprofit community partners. The 18-person volunteering group sorted more than 4,500 lbs of fruit! SASD volunteers also helped clean a section of Balboa Park in conjunction with a number of other local groups participating in California Coastal Cleanup day. Volunteers used the Clean Swell app to track the items they collected. In total, Sunday Assembly SD volunteers picked up more than 150 lbs of trash, including more than 1,000 cigarette butts!
Pikes Peak Atheists/Pikes Peak Atheist Families
Pikes Peak Atheists and Pikes Peak Atheist Families turned out for the Crohn’s and Colitis Walk on September 18th, 2016 to support one of the group's organizers who has Crohn's disease. 20 members participated and raised $825.
South Texas Atheists for Reason
STAR continued its successful collaboration with the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers at Lackland Air Force Base. On September 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th, STAR and MAAF provided humanist chaplains to facilitate two discussions with trainees. Average attendance was 700. STAR volunteers also helped prepare garden plots at the San Antonio Food Bank and assisted with trail maintenance as part of the San Antonio River Authority's Watershed Wise Warriors volunteering program.
Corpus Christi Atheists
In coordination with the national Taco or Beer Challenge, Corpus Christi Atheists held a fundraiser for Lilith Fund and collected $325. Lilith Fund assists Texans in exercising their fundamental right to abortion by removing barriers to access. Nine Corpus Christi Atheists also cleaned up the group's adopted mile of beach in September.
Fellowship of Freethought – Dallas
Volunteers assembled to collect trash along FoF's two-mile stretch of highway in Dallas.
Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago
Ethical Humanist Society members and supporters gathered for an evening of great storytelling, music, and beer at the Lagunitas TapRoom. All proceeds, including net beer proceeds and ticket sales, went to the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago!
Springfield Skeptics
Six Springfield Skeptics cleaned up a section of the group's two mile stretch of adopted highway, right outside the area's largest megachurch. In an hour and a half, the group collected 12 bags of trash along with pieces of tires and random car parts.
Austin Humanists at Work
Three members of ATXHAW's "Gettin' Knotty" group met in the cafe of a local bookstore to knit & crochet 15 cotton washcloths for the monthly giveaway.
Members are also beginning to make cold weather accessories, such as hats & scarves, that will be handed out when it begins to get chilly. For the giveaway, 32 ATXHAW volunteers gathered under a bridge in downtown Austin to hand out community donations to 168 Austin residents in need.
Minnesota Atheists
Minnesota Atheists had one of its largest groups ever at The Food Group! 11 volunteers repacked 7,750 meat packs which is enough to feed 6,500 individuals. Nine Minnesota Atheist volunteers also participated in the monthly dinner preparation at The Family Place, purchasing and preparing a healthy and delicious pasta dinner for 22 homeless children and adults.
Sunday Assembly Los Angeles
Once a month, Sunday Assembly Los Angeles members volunteer at the LA Kitchen. Volunteers chop, peel and zest alongside a team of LA Kitchen chefs to help turn reclaimed fruits and vegetables into nutritious meals and snacks for charitable partners that serve Los Angeles’ aging, low-income, and homeless populations.
BE Orlando
Nine BE Orlando volunteers invested 2 hours each (18 hrs of service plus about 6 hours of admin time) and provided more than $200 in food contributions to provide the group's monthly meal at SafeHouse of Seminole. This was also BE Orlando's 9/11 service project in response to the Serve.gov call to action (registered with All For Good) and to honor the original intent of Meetup.com – a response to 9/11 that uses an online platform to bring people together offline to build and strengthen community. Volunteers received Corporation for National and Community Service pins.
Central Ohio United Non-Theists and Humanist Community of Central Ohio kept their collaboration going strong in September. Nine volunteers worked as servers a total of 22.5 hours at the Community Shelter Board facility. The Community Shelter Board provides housing and meals to homeless families and individual men and women in Central Ohio. Some volunteers serve dinners while others wash dishes, mop floors, file forms and clean tables. 61 Columbus Coalition of Reason volunteers have worked 463.5 hours in 21 events with the Community Shelter Board to date.
Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry
Volunteers picked up trash along the group's usual stretch of Harbor View Road, starting at the intersection with Darwin Street!
Rochester Area Free Thinkers (RAFT)
Six volunteers cleaned up a one mile stretch of 1-90 east of Rochester, MN.
Humanist Alliance Philippines, International (HAPI)
In September, HAPI organized its second annual nationwide tree-planting event. 21 HAPI chapters took part all around the Philippines, with over 3,000 members joining the event! HAPI members planted more that 50,000 fruit-bearing seedlings and indigenous trees to save our environment.