Atheist Volunteers

I've partnered with Humanist Global Charity to help vet recipients and have committed to donating $1,000 to help atheists in Africa and India. If you use Facebook, please share the message for me to help increase exposure for this important cause as we aim towards building "The Atheism United Library" in Bihar, India.  - Brian Sapient

Here's the Facebook post that I'm hoping you'll like and share. 

Look for big things from a new partnership in which the largest public Facebook group for atheists will be work together to raise funds for humanists in need in Africa, India, and other areas in need. Working with Humanist Global Charity multiple fundraisers will result from the new partnership discussed here.

Regards,

Brian Sapient

Please donate to help end sexual abuse and assist victims of sexual assault.

1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will become a victim of sexual assault. Recent developments in the 2016 election have rekindled the problem of sexual abuse in a National conversation. We've seen the video of Trump bragging about sexually abusing women, and we've since heard from many of the women he's sexually abused. Donald Trump has referred to his sex crimes as "locker room talk." Sadly this has added insult to injury to men that were already disgusted by Trump.

Trump has now led women to believe that other men actually talk like this in the "locker room." This bothers me and all the good men in America. I've been in locker rooms all my life and I've never heard another man brag about sexually assaulting a woman. I've played well over a thousand rounds of golf, and visited the locker room. I've played basketball and soccer and have been in the locker room another 100 times with athletes playing those sports, and I've never heard a man brag about kissing a woman when he sees her, and not waiting for her consent. I've been in a health club locker room over 300 times and I've never heard a man talk about grabbing a woman in a way that would put him in jail if he was recorded doing what he was saying (grab her by the p***y).

To add insult to injury, there was even an article from another man that claimed "many men talk like Donald Trump in private. And only other men can stop them." There is so much wrong with this statement. Absolutely not! Many men don't talk like Trump. As we've heard from a great many professional athletes this week, none of them relate to the notion that locker rooms sound like this. And let's just get this straight... locker room is code for "men in private." "Many men" don't brag about sexually abusing women in private, locker room or not. The author of this piece believes that only other men can stop "it." And that's just not the case, everyone in society plays a role. In fact, women play just as much of a role if not even more of a role.

I believe the author of the above piece may have unfortunately conflated objectification of women and sexual predation. Objectification of women is rampant, that is certain. However objectification of women is nothing like rape. Both issues should be addressed, but Trump's actions are criminal and objectification of the opposite sex isn't. Yes, we should all work to value people for more than just sex, but that's not anywhere in the realm of using your power to sexually abuse someone else. And let's leave objectifying others there for now.

Back to the issue that Donald Trump brings up (sexual assault and evil towards women). Trump is a misogynist, he calls women names simply because she exposes his disgusting views(Alicia Machado) or his moronic thoughts(Rosie O'Donnell). He thinks he can do whatever he wants to women and get away with it.

Thankfully almost none of you have ever heard a man talk like Donald Trump did on that tape when he admitted to sexual crimes. But we can all do something about this. Let's agree to speak out much like this, let's agree to make statements against his form of megalomaniac abuse. Let's agree that on that first day of your life that you're unlucky enough to be in the presence of an asshole that admits to sexual abuse, you say something to that jackass and make sure he/she knows just how strongly you feel about how small of a person they are.

How else can you send a message? Please donate to help women affected by sexual violence: DONATE TO RAINN.

Now for a moment, let's go back to objectification of the opposing sex. Both women and men are guilty of it, and although I don't have a poll I would assume that men are guilty of it more than women. The article I referenced above incorrectly posited that only men can do something about it. It's important for women to know that while some men play a role in the reduction of objectification, most men learn about the harm of objectifying women from other women. We often learn from hearing other women speak (youtube, tv, radio, etc...) or we learn from them telling us directly. We learn from women that it hurts to be objectified and that they feel gross when we treat them like they are simply sex objects. So women... keep it up. Let men know how it makes you feel, were listening and learning.

"You can not be President if you call someone a piggy." - A 6 year old (as told to us by Michelle Obama)

A long time fan/member of The Rational Response Squad community wrote to me recently to tell me about a particularly fulfilling charitable event that he participates in. Jeffrick (as he goes by on RRS) married Sally 25 years ago. His wife was born and raised in Guyana. After her sister died of a heart attack 7 years ago the 6 remaining sisters set up the Forever 7 Foundation. The charity provides food hampers to needy familys and a full out Christmas party with Santa and presents for their children. The charity even pays the taxi fare for familys to attend to and from the event.

Why Guyana? The sisters are doing it for their hometown, they grew up in a wooden shack, similar to the ones you see in the video below. The cost of this charity is 100% covered by Jeffrick and his wife's family. In fact if you try to donate, Jeffrick will send the check back.

As you'll see in the video below, the atheist Santa is helping to make a small village of Guyanese children very happy. He takes particular pleasure in this moment. The children he gives the gifts to are Hindu and Muslim and they don't regard Christmas as a religious holiday. Jeffrick has particular fun in enjoying "Christmas with all the good stuff and none of the nonsense."

Kudos to you Jeffrick for your kind humanitarian nature. You remind us that atheists do good things directly under religions nose.

Jeffrick posted about his charity at RRS.

Here are the links for fundraisers that will help Oklahoma Tornado victims without religion. Such horrible natural disasters remind us that there is no god that has the power or care to stop and that prayer is a waste of time and energy. We can do something, or we can pray, it's up to us.

Foundation Beyond Belief is fundraising:
http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/crisis

"At 3:01 pm CT on May 20, a massive F-4 tornado decimated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, OK. Scores of severe injuries and deaths have been reported, and intense work is under way to find and rescue those trapped in the rubble.

The Humanist Crisis Response program of Foundation Beyond Belief has opened a donation drive in response to this disaster. Our staff worked through the night to assess the disaster situation and the relief organizations responding. This morning we have selected Operation USA and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to receive our donations. These organizations were chosen for their long records of outstanding work, their high ratings and transparency, and their current direct work in the disaster zone addressing the primary needs of food, shelter, and medical aid."

We are atheism is fundraising:
http://www.weareatheism.com/donate/atheist-giving-aid-oklahoma-tornado-relief

"This one hits close to home. We are headquartered in Shawnee, KS, about 4.5 hours northeast of Moore, OK. We’ve seen tornadoes. We know people that lived through the Joplin, MO tornadoes. We know people whose homes have been devastated by violent storms. What happened outside of Oklahoma City is nothing short of a natural disaster.
People have died, children gone, families ripped apart. At this time, others can pray if they want, but we want to help. These families and the citizens left there with no homes, will need help. We know the Red Cross is on hand. They serve a great purpose. However, a lot of their funds go to pay overhead. With us, your money goes right to those that need help. So, if you want to give money where you know it will go directly to someone in need, and NOT go through a religious source, then consider giving to Atheists Giving Aid. Whatever you can financially spare will allow our organization to get lives back to normal."

The following fundraiser supports humanistic charity: https://www.stayclassy.org/checkout/donation?cid=7162&pid=7899

Welcome to the Year-End Drive for Foundation Beyond Belief, a charitable organization of compassionate humanists working for a better world. We don't eat much -- in fact, we don't eat ANY of the donations that our humanist members designate for our featured charities. That means we have to raise the funds separately to run our charitable giving program, the Volunteers Beyond Belief network, and Humanist Crisis Response. In 2012 alone we raised over $500,000 for charities and disaster relief around the world, and our Volunteers program expanded to 23 teams. Next year we hope to double our membership, launch affiliates in Canada and Australia, and begin building a Humanist Service Corps working in several developing countries. For every $10 you contribute, you will receive an entry in a drawing for one of three signed, personalized copies of Dale McGowan's latest book VOICES OF UNBELIEF -- a hardcover anthology of atheist and agnostic documents that retails for $100. We hope you find our vision of compassionate humanism in action to be worth supporting. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

A number of secular, non-religious aid organizations are active when natural disasters strike in the US. They do not incorporate a religious message in their operations, nor do they proselytize to those in need.

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICES COMMITTEE
AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS (Founded by Deist-Unitarian Clara Barton)
AMERICARES
HANDS ON HUMANITY is a project of the Universist Movement. It is operated by Atheists and other secularists, and is concentrating on the Birmingham, Ala. area. It has applied for non-profit status.
FOUNDATION BEYOND BELIEF
The MASONIC SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA has established a Katrina Hurricane Relief fund and accepts on-line donations.
MERCYCORPS
NETWORK FOR GOOD (has numerous listings for helping groups, both religious and secular)
OXFAM AMERICA
SECOND HARVEST
UNITED WAY OF AMERICA
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES (Our winged and four-legged friends need help, too!)
PETSMART CHARITIES

The atheist community is firmly united in assisting a young girl who was brought up in a religious home that seeks to keep women uneducated and in the kitchen. Despite her parents refusing to help in any way she has dedicated herself to getting an education and saving her siblings from the same fate. Please "vote" for her essay about this to help her get a scholarship. As of my writing of this blog post she has twice as many votes as the second place entry, let's keep it up!

In her essay she states:

Then, I would love to create a safe-house where children of religious homeschooling families can come to improve their lives and future and have hope.
From struggling with poverty, to being unable to get a job without a resume or employment history, and often a substandard education; the children of the Quiverfull movement have extreme challenges to overcome. A home like this would be a safe platform for them to transition into the world without being abandoned to struggle. Many of their parents wish this difficulty for their children, saying it will cause them to return and be content with the party line. I want to create a buffer for the pain parents cause when they shun and disinherit their children for religious reasons.
Because there are more of us every day, and so much pain and heartache.

Repost from Brian Sapient

The Freethought Society, a group of freethinkers founded by Margaret Downey near Philadelphia, Pa has started an effort to provide relief to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

If you need assistance because you were impacted by Hurricane Sandy, you can request help with the Freehtought Society here.

If you would like to contribute to help Sandy victims, click here.

What’s going on?

Hurricane Sandy has wreaked havoc from the Caribbean to Canada. Many people are in urgent need of aid. The Freethought Society is partnering with the Texas Freethought Convention, the United Coalition of Reason and Volunteers Beyond Belief to collect and distribute money to help where needed. These groups each have representatives on the Hurricane Sandy Emergency Relief Fund Committee, who are all working as volunteers to get financial assistance to victims as quickly as possible.

The legal info:

The Freethought Society (FS) is a registered charitable organization, legally authorized to collect and distribute funds for charity. All contributions to specific charity funds are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by the law. View our Certificate here: RegisteredCharityPA

For updates on the fund please visit the fund’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HurricaneSandyEmergencyReliefFund

Please visit the website for more information, and to donate! http://www.ftsociety.org/2012/10/30/hurricane-sandy-emergency-relief-fund/

Hemant Mehta has started a college fund donation drive for Jessica Ahlquist. Kudos to Hemant!

Here is what Hemant had to say about Jessica:

And if you saw Jessica’s speech at the 2011 Secular Student Alliance conference like I did, you’d understand why we need more student activists just like her. Once again, I’m asking for your support. I think we owe it to Jessica to make sure she can go to a wonderful college — one that respects her in a way that many of the people in her high school don’t — without having to worry about tuition.

I spoke with Roy Speckhardt at the American Humanist Association to see if they would consider holding onto the money in a trust fund (as part of the Humanist Foundation of the AHA) and he gave me an enthusiastic “Yes.”

Let’s show Jessica that we appreciate what she’s done and let’s encourage other students to do the same thing

_____________

Jessica Ahlquist won her lawsuit against the Cranston school district in Rhode Island.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The high school student who sought the removal of a prayer mural from the auditorium at Cranston High School West has won her suit in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, in a 40-page ruling issued Wednesday on the lawsuit filed by Jessica Ahlquist's father, Mark Ahlquist, has ordered the "immediate" removal of the prayer mural, although he has given Cranston school officials 10 days to respond.

Throughout the lawsuit Jessica has had to deal with the effects of a community that fought back against her.

For me, the insults and feeling of ostracism began at the very beginning, when I attended my first subcommittee meeting back in November of 2010. One event that stands out in my mind was this one day at school when Mayor Fung came in to give a talk about minorities for “Diversity Week.” At the end of his talk, there was a Q & A in which a student asked for his opinion on the school prayer. He pointed to the prayer and declared in front of hundreds of students that he wanted to see the prayer stay where it was and that it was perfectly legal. Almost everyone in the auditorium stood and applauded him, cheering him on. This was hurtful and extremely upsetting, especially after the mayor had just given a speech about how important acceptance of minorities is. - Jessica Ahlquist interview at a Bright Blog

She has had quite a few physical threats sent her way, people have made sure she knows they want to hurt her.

Throughout all of it she has maintained a strong attitude, and a strong will to get through it because she knows what is right. She has a very sound philosophical footing. She is on the path to greatness, and the online community has gotten together to show her just how awesome we think she is.