Community Service Opportunity: Blood Drive

One of the goals of the Humanist Society of Gainesville is to "foster a positive image in the community by participating and/or sponsoring public service events and other outreach activities."  Two major service projects that we have engaged in as a group are our Adopt-A-Highway program and our on-going food drive in support of the Food4Kids Backpack Program. 

In spite of the success that we have had with both of these programs, as Humanists, we think that we can help our community even more.  Our next proposed project is to host a community blood drive.  Gainesville is home to two major hospitals, Shands and the North Florida Regional Medical Center, both of which provide care to patients potentially in need of blood transfusions. 

Teka - 18 year old woman with sickle cell anemia

A recent article in the Gainesville Sun discussed the decrease in blood donations for the city each summer, as students from the University of Florida head home between semesters.  Blood donors are needed year round, and now is the prime time to help meet the needs of our community members.

Hailey - 4 year old leukemia patient

We're looking for individuals interested in serving on our Blood Drive Committee.  Do you have a passion for helping others in your community?  Would you like to help plan, organize, promote, and execute a blood drive this summer?  Contact us at gainesvillehumanists@gmail.com if you would like to be involved in this worthwhile project. 

Stay tuned for updates including the date, time, and location of our upcoming blood drive!

Picnic in the Park

Join us on Sunday, May 20th for our Picnic in the Park!  We'll be meeting at 11:30 at Boulware Springs Park, located at 3300 SE 15th Street. If you can, please consider bringing one of the following items to share:

• Covered dish
• Snacks
• Beverages
• Paper/Plastic ware

From Williston or Waldo Road, head east on SE 11th Avenue, on the south side of Lincoln Middle School.  From there, head south on SE 15th Street, and Boulware Springs will be on your right.

This is a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors and relax a while with fellow humanists!  If you have any questions, please contact gainesvillehumanists@gmail.org for more information.  See you there!

Community Voices

The Humanist Society of Gainesville participated in the Hippodrome’s Community Voices event on April 23.  We had a table at the event and well over 100 people had a chance to see what we are about.  We had a number of people sign up to be on our email list and the poster that Brandi designed for us was impressive.  This event consists of dramatic readings by Hippodrome actors or students followed by everyone gathering for snacks in an area where tables for the participating organizations where set up.

Our poster

This event was our first try at “tabling” and we used this as an opportunity to learn how to be more effective in this type of setting.  Our members who participated directly in this event included Brigitta Cuadros, Brandi P., Ginger Andrews, Pierce Butler, and Jim Sullivan.  

The Hippodrome plans for this to be an annual affair and we look forward to participating again next year.

Grant from the American Humanist Association

By Jim Sullivan

Some time ago our now past president Susan Bergert applied for a grant from the American Humanist Association to allow us to purchase audio visual equipment and some other items.  The request was for $1,850.00.  We were awarded a $1,000.00 grant.

With this grant plus a little from our treasury we have purchased and received the following audio visual equipment.

An Epson Powerlite Presenter Portable Projector/DVD Player Combo (V11H335120)

Photo courtesy of Epson

A Gigant Multi-Purpose Projection Stand

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

An 84 inch Picture King 50 X 67 Matte White 4:3 Video Tripod Screen

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

With this equipment we will be able to play DVD’s, project computer images, and/or make powerpoint presentations at our meetings.

We are very thankful to the American Humanist Association of which we are one chapter for this generous grant and look forward to using this equipment.

Coming Out

Written by Brigitta

Childhood experiences taught me early on that there is no god.  I tested the limits of the Catholic religion that I was born into and as a result grew up fearless of the dark, of things that go bump in the night and of imaginary beings.  Santa Claus was the easiest when I pulled his beard to reveal the face of a neighbor.  I learned catechism and attended church as required. There was no body of Christ and I didn't go to hell after spitting the tasteless wafer into my hand.  There was a simple joy of learning for learning sake.

My attempt at learning about other religions was misconstrued as a search for god.  It was important to understand what religion is and how it works. Once understood, it loses it’s effectiveness.  My intent was to deal with the unrelenting religious propaganda and faith based, circular and irrational arguments that would label me an outcast.  My lack of faith turned into it’s own irrational belief that threatened to cost social ability, connection and autonomy.  Observation taught me that my atheism would cost me my career.   When I questioned my ‘born again’ brother about his beliefs he chose to end our relationship.  Another desperate family member lectured me about god, trying to save me from the pain of eternal hell fire.  In my growing circle of atheist friends, none dared to express their views on religion openly.  All marked their religion ‘box’ as ‘other’. 

In my opinion, the faithful and atheists have one thing in common.  We are all held down by the relentless propaganda system of organized religion and their constant re-enforcement to prevent us from pursuing our own interests instead of the self serving illusion of the church.  The religious must be told every day what the story is – the value of religion or they will turn to seeking an alternative to becoming more human, compassionate and connected to a concern for others and the planet.  Religion is based on a belief that we are relatively powerless. Churches freely exploit the freedom of speech for their own ends and very consciously and professionally manipulate people away from critical  thinking by controlling the perception of reality.

Like the comfort of returning to a prison cell, some return to the old time fables when facing their mortality because stepping into the beautiful light of reality is in conflict of deep, unresolved childhood fears of the boogie man, that were put in place to serve as the scaffolding for believing the unbelievable. It takes courage to step into the light.  But the rich reward of freedom, knowledge and fearlessness may be similar to being born again.  This time, without original sin. 

You are not alone.  We are leaving a light on for you.

Survey Results

If you're on our email list, you should remember recently receiving an invitation to participate in our survey.  Our group has grown significantly over the course of the past two years, and we wanted to take the opportunity to find out what sort of things our members and supporters need and want from this organization.

The results are in, and in case you missed our last meeting, we're posting them here for you to check out:

Demographics

55% of respondents were female, 40% were male, and 5% did not identify as male or female.

 

Eight of our respondents were less than 50 years old, and 15 were over 50.

 

Participation

 

 79% of respondents read articles posted on our website at least some of the time.

  

69% of respondents participate in our general monthly meetings at least some of the time.

 

57% of respondents participate in social events at least some of the time.

  

Preferences and Insights

Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday are preferred meeting and activity days.

 Community service was the top priority for group activities, followed by guest speakers and discussion groups. 

Group Activities Rankings
1	Community Service
2	Guest Speakers
3	Discussion Groups
4	Educational Field Trips
5	Dinner & a Movie
6	Nature Hikes/Kayaking/Outdoor Adventures/Recreational Activities
7	Game Nights

Additional suggestions for group activities were as follows:

Book/News Article Reviews	3
Women’s Activities	1
Fundraising	1
Political Campaigns (school vouchers, creationism, homophobia, etc.)	1
Raising Awareness (tabling)	1
Attending Leisure Activities (sports, movies, theater)	1
Support Groups/Discussions about members' history &thoughts on humanism	1

 Community Service Suggestions:

Food Drives	6
Road Clean-Up	5
Secular Support Groups/Promotion of Humanism	4
Environmental Causes	3
Open to all Possibilities	3
Book Drive for Children	1
Clothing Drive	1
Outreach to African American & Hispanic Groups	1
Community vegetable garden in low-income area	1
Weekly volunteer efforts	1
Large scale projects (donating property for park/community center)	1

 Other suggestions for the Humanist Society of Gainesville:

Outreach to UF students	2
More group discussions at meetings	2
More community service	1
Improve public perception	1
More emphasis on humanism, less on atheism	1
More potlucks	1
Meeting more than once a month	1

Thank you to all of those who participated!  Your feedback is important, and gives our group ideas for future meetings, projects, and ultimately will better help the Humanist Society of Gainesville to serve its members and supporters.

Didn't have the opportunity to participate in the survey?  Weigh in below with your thoughts!