Social Action - 2011 Wrap Up
- Written by Becky Warren
We have had a busy year in social action at UUFW. The team met a few times in person and a few times online to accomplish great things this year.
January: 2011 began with the Martin Luther King Candle Lighting Celebration at the Waco Suspension Bridge. Several members converged with other members of faith to remember the life of MLK. Waldo’s Coffeehouse gave us the opportunity to donate funds to Planned Parenthood of Central Texas.
February: We have participated in Souper Bowl Sunday previously. The youth skit helped promote this event. This year we decided to have a soup potluck with donations made to the Souper Bowl project. It was very successful! We hope to continue this project in following years.
April: Suzie Seibel and Kris Cervantes initiated the first UU team for the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure.
May: We hosted our third vericomposting workshop. Again, community folks showed up for another sold out event to learn about worm composting! Suzie Seibel and Carla Carr really had a good idea when they first proposed this in 2010.
June: We participated in the Fan Club for Caritas by donating funds to supply needy neighbors with fans to help beat the heat in Waco.
August: Several members took training in July to participate in Planned Parenthood’s annual Nobody’s Fool conference to provide comprehensive, factual, age-appropriate sexuality education information to pre-teen and teens. UUFW has long been a partner with Planned Parenthood in this important community event.
October: We participated in the Crop Walk Against Hunger for the second year. Along with other communities of faith, UUFW members and dogs stepped out for a walk along the beautiful Brazos River while raising funds to help fight hunger locally as well as internationally. We invited Emily Fau of Habitat for Humanity to present information on their Interfaith Build at one Sunday service. We began the Guest At Your Table program to support UU Service Committee programs. Stories of Hope were read each Sunday to support UU “missionaries” working for social justice around the world.
November: Over two weekends, teams of members worked on the Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build in North Waco. Pizza was also provided for the members and other build helpers. Many folks worked behind the scenes to have another successful Community Race Relations Coalition Dance and fundraiser. Guest At Your Table culminated with the annual Thanksgiving Potluck dinner.
December: We closed the year with our annual Angel Tree. We have chosen the children from Talitha Koum Nurture Center for the last several years. This year, we provided a bright Christmas for 29 special angels.
Ongoing activities: Cereal Sunday for Caritas continued this year. Several pounds of cereal are delivered to Caritas each month from our 1st Sunday donations. Cheryl Foster and Rob Cervantes have kept Meals On Wheels running smoothly, delivering meals to shut-in elderly in our neighborhood twice weekly.
Many thanks to all who participated on the social action team this year: Carla Carr, Mary Cunningham, Sarah Connelly, Terri Jo Ryan, Suzie Seibel, Marty Van Wagner and director April Hull. Carla and Sarah moved this year. We will miss their dedication and spirit! And, many thanks to all who participated in any social action event: from donating your time and money, to walking and caulking, to just showing up! We appreciate you and your dedication to “service is our prayer.” The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waco continues to be an active presence for social justice in our community.
Becky Warren, social action team chair 
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