backpacks for Daily Bread Soup Kitchen

We collected 75 full backpacks to give to the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.  Wow!  What an outpouring of generosity.  Thanks to all who donated backpacks and who helped with this Hunger Initiative event in other ways. This photo shows the huge pile of backpacks in the church lobby and some of the folks who helped move them to the car for transportation to the soup kitchen!

Ally training on LGBTQ language sensitivity

Rachel Storm and Maggie Thomas led a workshop on language sensitivity on December 2 at the church.  They discussed common terms and their definitions that apply to the LGBTQ community.  Interested in learning more?  A summary of these definitions are on the information table in Fellowship Hall.  Look for the next workshop after the holidays.

Rice repack for the Wesley Food pantry

Over 50 UU volunteers of all ages helped repack 1850 lbs of rice for the Wesley Food pantry.  An accompanying bake sale also raised cash for this charity.  Check out the photos from the event...

Lynn Wiley explains the task and need...note the bulk rice sacks in the background.

The training begins!  All sterile and carefully done.The second crew took over at 11:15 after the first crew had processed about 1200 lbs of rice.  Don't you love those hairnets?

UU volunteer group for Habitat on 8.11.12

On August 11, UU volunteers helped build a home for Carmitta Sayles and her family as well as finish up some work on the home of Elizabeth Williams.  Here are a few pictures from the work day.

UU Farmer's Market booth

Did you see the UU church booth at the Urbana Farmer's Market in late June and again late July?  Here are a couple of photos from both dates.  We are staffing this booth for one Saturday in August, September, and October.  Contact Sandy Hannum (hannum1@illinois.edu) if you are interested in joining us!

UU crew for Habitat build on July 21, 2012

We started the day with a dry, dusty front yard and by the end of the day had completely landscaped the home!  In between, we painted, caulked, installed doors, worked on a handicap ramp, and many other tasks.  Here is Elizabeth Williams, the new owner of the home, at the end of our work:

Habitat for Humanity build on June 9, 2012

Over 25 UU volunteers participated in the June 9 work crew for a Habitat for Humanity home in north Champaign.  We worked alongside Elizabeth Walters, who will soon be the homeowner.  Our next work crew is on July 21.  Join us if you want to contribute!

CROP walk 2012

29 UU's (adults and children) came together with dozens of other churches to walk in the Champaign-Urbana CROP Walk. This community wide walk raises money to fight hunger. The money goes to Church World Service and 3 local hunger-fighting agencies:  Eastern IL Foodbank, TIMES Center, and Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.  The UU Walkers raised a phenomenal amount of money :  $2600!!!   Congratulations to the team, and to the whole UU Congregation for your generosity! 

Social Action Coffeehouse March 3 2012

Top: the CrUUners performing at the coffeehouse. Middle: Rachel Storm (flower in her hair) and other members of the Social Action Committee with the picture board honoring UU community volunteers. This picture board was enveiled at the Social Action Coffeehouse on March 3, 2012. Lower: Herzog family band at the coffeehouse.

MLK celebration

“It starts with me…it starts here…it starts now.” This is the potent challenge by the keynote speaker, Dr. Christopher Benson, at the MLK community ceremony on January 15. A number of UUs attended this event in support of the continuing efforts to develop a more just society. The take home message is that equality and fairness don’t just happen; we each have a responsibility to help make a difference.