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First Unitarian Society of Westchester

Social Action at FUSW

The mission of the Social Action Committee is to provide awareness and opportunity for action to our congregation and the community at large to implement the UU principles through involvement in projects within and outside FUSW that address hunger, poverty, tolerance, equality, freedom and environmental issues.

Our action groups include:
 

Action and Advocacy:  Letter and e-mail writing, petitions, discussions of national, international issues.  CONTACT: JOHN MURRAY, CARTER SMITH.

Clean Out Your Desk:  Our annual school supply program for rural schools in Nicaragua, in association with the Maryland-based group, Quest for Peace. With an average annual income of $400, few Nicaraguan families cannot afford supplies for their children - nor does the government provide them. CONTACT: MARIA HARRIS.

Common Ground Coffeehouse: FUSW’s monthly concert series that brings in-house, local, and nationally-touring folk, pop, jazz and other artists to FUSW and the wider community. All profits support the Common Ground Microcredit Fund, which benefits hurricane victims in Louisiana and fair trade artisans in the developing world. Common Ground also hosts the annual Harvestfest, which includes children’s activities, fair trade craft sales, speakers and films on food justice and poverty, and of course music. CONTACT: MARIA HARRIS OR CARTER SMITH

Fair Trade Coffee Club: FUSW’s Fair Trade Coffee club, through which members and friends of FUSW can purchase organic, shade-grown, fairly traded coffee for home use. CONTACT: JANIN GUNDERMAN

Food Donations to the Sharing Community: Non-perishable goods are collected in the white toychest near the coatracks for the Sharing Community, a Yonkers soup kitchen and social service agency. CONTACT: JOYCE FISH

Hats for Survival: A program in which members and friends of FUSW knit, crochet or sew simple cloth hats to be distributed to homeless men and women on Midnight Runs (see below). . CONTACT: JOYCE FISH 

Help Save Darfur: Letter writing and petition signing, urging the deployment of promised UN forces. Telephone conferences for other actions., contact Stu Caplan.  Also, see SaveDarfur.org.

Holiday toy drives for the Jewish Community Center in Tarrytown. CONTACT: LISA DEMAURO

Kenya Project: A computer hardware and software donation campaign that benefits schools in rural Kenya. CONTACT: MARIA HARRIS

Letter and email writing campaigns on national and international issues. CONTACT: CYNTHIA REYNOLDS, CARTER SMITH, OR LINDA  HAYES.

Midnight Run: A monthly program in which members and friends of FUSW travel into Manhattan to distribute food, coffee, clothing and human connection to homeless men and women. Food and clothing donations, help with packing sandwich bags, and people to go on the Runs are in constant demand. CONTACT: JACE ALEXANDER, STUART CAPLAN, ANNIE PATTON OR JANE LAWRENCE

SAGA, or Straight and Gay Affirmation. Discusses and publicizes gay rights issues and works to promote tolerance toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals in our Society and in society. The committee has been responsible for Gay Pride Sunday services, film screenings and discussion groups. CONTACT: LISA DEMAURO. 

Shared Harvest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Group, which connects small organic farmers to our community as well as to inner-city communities in nearby Yonkers. CONTACT: CYNTHIA REYNOLDS OR JANIN GUNDERMAN

For further information, or to start another group, contact JOYCE FISH.

 
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This page was last updated on  November 28, 2007
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