SOCIAL ACTION VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES
For more information
on any volunteer opportunity, please contact fusssac@fussonline.org
Adopt-a-School
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
weekdays/ reading, tutoring and mentoring children at Lincoln Elementary
School.
Address: 2 Robinson St, Schenectady,
NY Ph: 370-8355
FUSS Contact: Eleanor Linberg
The Whitney Young Adopt-a-School program was
established 12 years ago and is still an ongoing partnership
with Friendship
Baptist Church. In addition to volunteering time with the children,
both congregations contribute $500 each year to
provide
special programs
for
the
children
at Lincoln
Elementary School.
AIDS Walk
http://www.aidswalk-capitalregion.org/
Volunteer Time and Requirements: one Sunday afternoon in the fall/solicit donations and walk 2-3 mile through Washington Park in Albany
Address: Washington Park Lake House, Albany
FUSS Contact:Jill Masterson
The annual Capital Region AIDS Walk raises urgently needed funds for the fight against AIDS. The money raised through this event annually supports the efforts of Capital Region AIDS organizations that provide AIDS prevention, medical care and support services.
A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment (ARISE)
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies; FUSS ARISE Core Team meets on every second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at FUSS.
Address: Schenectady, Albany and Rensselaer counties
FUSS Contact: Paula Simpson
ARISE is a faith-based community organizing project covering Schenectady, Albany, and Rensselaer counties. Its purpose is to bring together congregations and other membership organizations in the Capital Region as a strong coalition able to identify shared community concerns, to define solutions, and to develop an effective voice for positive social, political, and social change. FUSS has been a member since June 2001 and is one of the 38-member organizations. ARISE members participate in taskforces on Civil Rights for Immigrants, Restorative Justice, Voting Machine Integrity, Regional Compacts and Community Benefit Agreements.
Bethesda House
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
weekdays/hospitality, food pick-ups, teaching classes and fundraising. Donations of extra large men’s clothing and underwear, socks, toothpaste and deodorant always are needed.
Address:418
Liberty St., Schenectady, NY Ph: 374-7873
FUSS Contact: Kevin O’Connor
Bethesda House is a hospitality center in downtown Schenectady for the homeless and others seeking a daytime safe haven. Established in 1992, Bethesda House serves coffee and snacks and makes referrals to services in the community. In addition to providing food and shelter for the homeless, they offer programs in life skills and employment, vocational classes, and health clinics.
Children of Our Community with
Opportunities to Achieve(COCOA House)
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
weekdays, providing tutoring and/or mentoring to elementary
and middle
school children from the Schenectady City schools.
Address: corner of Stanley and Steuben Streets, Hamilton Hill area of Schenectady Ph: 374-2683
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
The COCOA House is a tutoring and mentoring program in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill neighborhood. The program provides elementary, middle and high school students with homework help and after school educational enrichment activities such as field trips. Volunteer tutors/mentors are drawn mainly from Union College.
CROP Walk against Hunger
http://cwscrop.org/newyork/
Volunteer Time and Requirements: The third Sunday of May/solicit donations and walk a specified 3-mile route through Schenectady, including part of Central Park.
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
CROP Walk is an annual fund-raising event that fights hunger locally and globally. The Schenectady CROP Walk continues to be the largest in New York State and is in the top 20 in the country.
Damien Center
http://www.damien.org/
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m./provide hospitality to guests in the living room, assist in serving and cleaning for Monday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday dinners; assistance on special occasions
Address: 90 North College Street, Schenectady Ph: 374-0848 (Vjuana Anderson, Program Director)
FUSS Contact: Nikki Singh
Established in 1994, the Damien Center is a drop-in social center for people infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS..
ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse of
Schenectady
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
varies
Address:Aqueduct House, P.O Box 9118, Niskayuna 12309
FUSS Contact: Nancy Peterson
ECOS is a non-political not-for-profit organization
providing environmental information and educational opportunities
throughout the Capital Region in an effor to build a community
that is informed about environmental issues.
(FUFA) First Unitarian Food Action
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
varies
FUSS Contact: Rick Keeler
FUFA takes surplus food that otherwise may go to waste and redistributes it to people in need. Volunteers go to specified donors to receive food items (usually bakery and produce) on a predetermined schedule. Then, at the volunteer’s discretion, a recipient organization is selected to which to deliver these items. Recipients have included SICM, YWCA, and the City Mission.
First Unitarian Society Garden Volunteers
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Nancy Peterson
There is far too much work to be done in our church garden for the custodian to have time to do it all. If you enjoy working outdoors and would like to get to know other FUSS gardeners and share gardening tips, please join us. We can sure use your help!
First Unitarian Society Green Sanctuary Committee
Volunteer Time and Requirements: help at FUSS with recycling, environmental education programs for children and adults, and writing to legislators about environmental issues
FUSS Contact: Nancy Peterson
Our mission is to facilitate and support the work of our congregation toward affirming and promoting “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part” and fulfilling the goal of being recognized as a Green Sanctuary by the UU Ministry for Earth through programs within the congregation and in the larger community.
Food Pantry
Volunteer Time and Requirements:
Monday-Friday Mornings at the food pantry; and monthly collections
at FUSS on the 1stSunday of each month.
Address:corner of Lafayette and Chapel
Streets, In the First United Methodist Church. Schenectady,
NY (foodpantry@sicm.us) Ph: 346-4445
FUSS Contact: Nikki Singh, Crys Hamelink
The SICM food pantry provides emergency food to individuals in need up to four times over a 12-month period. Baby formula, baby cereal, cereal, pasta, rice, peanut butter, jelly or jam, cocoa mix, spaghetti sauce, Jell-O, macaroni and cheese, and crackers frequently are needed.. Monetary gifts help to purchase milk certificates, and items from the Regional Food bank at greatly reduced prices. We also donate calendars and children’s books for distribution at the pantry.
Habitat For Humanity of Schenectady County
http://www.hfhscny.org/
Address: P.O. Box 9043, Schenectady 12309 (habitat@hfhscny.org) Ph: 395-3412
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies/in addition to helping to build, volunteers are needed to help with development, publications, publicity and outreach
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
Habitat is dedicated to providing housing for individuals who could not otherwise afford it. In 2001-2002 we were part of the first interfaith coalition to work on a Habitat project in Schenectady, a very historical event. Subsequently, FUSS volunteers assisted with building two houses on Albany Street in Schenectady and a home entirely built by women: The Women Build Home.
Interfaith Impact
http://www.interfaithimpactnys.org
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Kevin O’Connor
We are the progressive religious community’s united voice for social change in New York, speaking especially for those left behind at society’s margins. We engage in policy primarily through contacts with people of faith statewide, encouraging FUSS to become active in public advocacy. Interfaith Impact addresses emerging public policies and their legislative implications from the shared faith traditions of its constituencies. We engage in policy; we do not engage in politics.
Martin Luther King March
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/mlk.page/
Volunteer Time and Requirements: marching in a parade one afternoon in January.
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
Dr. King described his goals most eloquently in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the historic Civil Rights March on Washington in 1964. He prophetically described a future in which our children are judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” This march is in honor of his work and a reminder that civil rights is still an important goal.
Peace and Justice Award Peace Site
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
The Schenectady Peace Site was created in 1984 as a meeting place for people who have interest in promoting peace domestically and internationally. This work for peace includes; studying, preparing educational materials, writing letters, and preparing speeches. Members of the Peace Site often join in programs and conferences sponsored by the World Federalist Association. Both organizations focus their efforts on strengthening the United Nations and lobbying the United States Congress on peacekeeping and conflict resolution legislation.
Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID)
http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/ridusa/
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies
Address: P.O. Box 520, Schenectady 12301
FUSS Contact: Doris Aiken, President of RID
RID’s mission is to deter impaired driving and teen binge drinking that often leads to intense trauma for all concerned. We are advocates for victims, enablers of tough laws, and watchdogs for law enforcement and adjudication in the courts. We educate the public about the impact of abusive alcohol use on life and health with materials, public awareness campaigns, and intense media interactions.
The Salvation Army Soup Kitchen
http://www.salvationarmy.org
Volunteer Time and Requirements: Tuesdays seven times a year, 10 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.; making soup and sandwiches, filling fruit cups, serving food and beverages and other general lunch preparation and cleanup tasks.
Address: 222 Lafayette Street, Schenectady Ph: 346-0222
FUSS Contact: Nancy Peterson
The Salvation Army Soup Kitchen provides breakfasts and lunches for families and individuals in need who have nowhere else to go for meals. The FUSS Soup Kitchen crew works seven Tuesdays a year to provide lunch for approximately 150 people. FUSS has participated actively in this program since 1983.
Schenectady Inner City Mission (SICM)
http://www.sicm.us
Volunteer Time and Requirements: varies
Address: 930 Albany Street, Schenectady Ph: 374-2683
FUSS Contact: Nikki Singh, Crys Hamelink
FUSS is a member congregation of SICM, an ecumenical organization that responds to human needs in the community as they arise, developing and nurturing programs to meet those needs. Current SICM programs include the CROP Walk, Food Pantry, and Damien Center, both listed above. The SICM Summer Lunch program provides approximately 25,000 meals to children in low-income families. Other programs include JOBS Etc., the Housing Task Force, the Computers for Kids Program, Appliance Matching, student internships, and forums to address other social justice issues.
Unitarians for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (UFETA)
http://www.uua.org/ufeta/
Volunteer Times and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Dolores Wilson
UFETA is an organization that believes the movement to end animal abuse presents us with one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. Drawing on our UU principles and rich religious and philosophical traditions, we aim to deepen our awareness of this moral issue, reaching out to other religious and ethical individuals to shape a vision of liberation that will include all creation.
Unitarian Universalist Parnership Church Coucil
http://www.uupcc.org
Volunteer Times and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Dan Leonard
FUSS has worked with a partner church in Marosvasarhely, Transylvania (Romania) since May of 2003. Groups from our church visited Transylvania in 2003. The vision of the UU Partner Church Council is that partner relationships between North American congregations and churches around the globe will be forged and sustained wherever they are desired -- and that all of these relationships will be of high quality, firmly based, mutually beneficial, responsibly sustained, and linked by a joint and mutual covenant. The focus this year of the FUSS partnership committee is fundraising and planning future trips.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
http://www.uusc.org/index.shtml
Volunteer Times and Requirements:varies
FUSS Contact: Kevin O’Connor
UUSC is a nonsectarian organization that promotes human rights and social justice worldwide. Pprograms are based on Unitarian Universalist principles that affirm the worth, dignity and human rights of every person. Through a combination of advocacy, education and partnerships with grassroots organizations, UUSC supports programs and policies that empower women, defend the rights of children and support the struggles of indigenous people and oppressed racial and ethnic groups.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Coffee Project (UUSC)
http://www.uusc.org/info/coffeeproject.html
Volunteer Times and Requirements: varies
FUSS Contact: Members of the Social Action Council
The UUSC Coffee Project was launched in 2001, just as world coffee market prices were beginning to collapse. During its first year, Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country increasingly were making a difference in the lives of small coffee farmers. At least 200 UU congregations now participate, purchasing over 10,000 pounds of fairly traded coffee and offering hope to small farmers at a critical time. Fair trade coffee, purchased under the UUSC partnership project with Equal Exchange, a worker-owned fair trade organization founded in 1986, is used at the FUSS coffee hour. Packages of fair trade coffee are also available for purchase at the Social Action Council table in the Great Hall after Sunday services.
Warm Up America! Afghan Project
http://www.warmupamerica.com
Volunteer Times and Requirements: varies/ability to knit or crochet or interest in learning how; ability to sew squares together
FUSS Contact: Pat Lillquist (viperview@verizon.net)
This group creates afghans out of knitted or crocheted squares. Finished afghans have been donated to women in local shelters and to men in residential settings supporting recovery from addiction.
Why New Orleans NOW? (Service opportunities to assist Gulf Coast hurricane survivors)
Volunteer Time and Requirements: (1) spend a week in New Orleans with housing provided, or (2) help with volunteer efforts at home here in Schenectady.
Address: 5212 S Claiborne Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115 http://www.firstuuno.org/
FUSS Contact: Ellie von Wellsheim (gipsywort@aol.com Ph: 372-6825 or Don (don@porter.net) or Lois Porter (lois@porter.net) Ph: 786-1871.
Last year, FUSS member Ellie von Wellsheim spent a week in New Orleans helping people recover from the hurricane disasters. Now a group of FUSS members is planning more aid to the Gulf Coast survivors of Katrina and Rita. Among the activities planned are trips to New Orleans (the first one for the week after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, 2006) to take on some of the many jobs. The needs include cleaning up wrecked homes, helping people with paperwork, transporting possessions recovered from homes, etc. Emily Danielson, who grew up in our church, is working in New Orleans and advising us on needs and housing arrangements for volunteers. For those who are able and willing to volunteer, but need financial assistance, frequent flier miles have been donated to cover the cost of air travel to New Orleans. We are also researching ways we can help even if we cannot travel to New Orleans.
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