Category Archives: Make a Difference

Upcoming Volunteer Events

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Freethought Dayton has several upcoming volunteer opportunities for our members.  Next Saturday (6/21), we have a “Bleed and Feed” where we gather to donate blood at Community Blood Center and follow it with fellowship at a local restaurant.  Next Sunday (6/22) we’ll be cleaning up our section of adopted highway.  And EVERY Friday, members of Freethought Dayton gather at the Foodbank to sort donated food to be distributed to local residents in need.

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To find out more  about these meetups and tons of others, like our Summer Brew Pub tour, Book Club, Trivia nights, and Sunday Brunches, head over to meetup.org/freethoughtdayton.

Week of Action

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You’ve heard of the National Day of Prayer, and the secular community’s response, the National Day of Reason.  This year, there’s a new response we can all get behind: the Week of Action.  A time for those who choose to pray and those who choose not to pray to #choosetoACT.
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The Week of Action is the brainchild of Humanist Rabbi Adam Chalom.  Rabbi Chalom argues that, while reason is certainly a worthy value to celebrate, the secular counterpart to “Prayer” is not “Reason” – it is “Action.”  Now, Foundation Beyond Belief has taken up the banner for a National Week of Action and created this website.  Freethought Dayton already has three charitable events on the calendar during the Week of Action, and a few more possibly on the way.  We hope you can join us at one, two, or all of them.

The events so far:

Friday, April 25: Volunteer at the Foodbank
Saturday, April 26: Bleed and Feed
Sunday, April 27: Adopt-a-Highway cleanup
You can RSVP for any of these events at meetup.com/freethoughtdayton.

Even if you can’t make it to a volunteer meetup, think about what you can do on a personal level during the week of action.  Become a contributing member to FBB.  Donate your spare change when the opportunity arises.  Smile at a stranger.  If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a regular volunteer with one of Dayton’s many fine nonprofits, take the plunge (find ideas at volunteermatch.org.

Also considering joining the Week of Action on facebook and following it on twitter.

Super Typhoon Haiyan – Humanist Response via Foundation Beyond Belief

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Typhoon-ravaged Philippine islands faced an unimaginably huge recovery effort that had barely begun Monday, as bloated bodies lay uncollected and uncounted in the streets and survivors pleaded for food, water and medicine.

The Foundation Beyond Belief  reports “the death toll from Super Typhoon Haiyan could reach 10,000, according to officials in the Philippines. News from the region is filled with heart-wrenching stories of children torn from their parents’ arms, families hopelessly searching for lost loved ones, and bodies piling up as the region struggles to organize a response to the disaster.

The city of Tacloban was one of the hardest-hit places. Essential infrastructure has been destroyed, and crops were ruined. Food, water, and shelter are scarce. The area is in desperate need of medical supplies and electricity. Humanitarian aid cannot come too quickly.

As of Sunday afternoon, Foundation Beyond Belief’s Humanist Crisis Response program has raised more than $10,000 in support of CITIZENS’ DISASTER RESPONSE CENTER, a seasoned and effective community-based relief organization in the Philippines. 100 percent of all donations will be forwarded to CDRC throughout the course of the drive.”

Donations can be made through the Foundation Beyond Belief and other organizations.