SECULAR Center Volunteers:
Please read this copied e-mail from Planned Parenthood. They really need volunteer escorts in Houston on Saturday to walk with clients who have to walk across the street from the parking lot into the building among the pro-life protesters. If you can help, please contact Anitra at Anitra.Daniel(at)pphset.org.
Please let us know if you volunteer so that we can keep track of all the great things we've done for our community! Also, don't forget that the Houston Church of Freethought picnic is at 1:00 this Saturday at Bear Creek Park, Pavilion #1.
Thanks for your support!
_______________
We are in desperate need of volunteer escorts this Saturday, all day at 3601 Fannin. Several of our “every Saturday” volunteers will be unavailable and that puts us in a vulnerable position. Can you help us fill the schedule?
Last weekend, the opposition was relentless from 7:30am until we closed the doors. They know that their time to directly harass our clients is winding down and they have amped up their efforts and rhetoric. We really need you…so if you can volunteer for a shift, please let me know as soon as possible.
ALSO:
We need one or two volunteers at Prevention Park, our new building located at 4600 Gulf Freeway (Cullen Exit) from 8:30-10:30am. Our board is meeting there for the first time this Saturday and we need someone to sit in the beautiful lobby to observe for opposition, greet latecomers and direct them to the 5th floor.
If you would like to be considered for this job, send me an email for additional details.
Thank you for your continued support!
Anitra
Saturday
April 24, 2010
7:00a-2:00p
TIME SLOTS
700-900
900-1100
1100-100
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Action Alert: Rally to Protest Texas State Board of Education Textbook Changes
SECULAR Center volunteers are helping to plan a rally to protest the proposed changes to Texas textbooks. American Atheists, among others, is sponsoring the event to be held on May 16th at 11:00 am in Austin, TX. To learn more about the changes, please visit these websites:
Texas State Board of Education (TSBE) Website
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=1156
Media Stories about the Textbook Changes
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/texas-textbook-massacre-u_n_498003.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031700560.html
The most important way that you can help right now is to help us find speakers who are teachers, have kids in Texas schools, or are directly affected by the changes in some way (ie textbook writers, etc.). We are looking for most of the speakers to live in Texas. The speakers will each have about 15 minutes.
The SECULAR Center is organizing carpools/buses/shuttles from Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. If you're interested in participating, please e-mail us! Think about how fun it would be to get hyped up for the rally on a bus with your fellow protesters!
We are also looking for a great, catchy name for the rally! To participate in the discussion, please twitter us @secularcenter or send us an e-mail.
If you're interested in helping to plan in this important event, please contact us!
Texas State Board of Education (TSBE) Website
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=1156
Media Stories about the Textbook Changes
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/texas-textbook-massacre-u_n_498003.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031700560.html
The most important way that you can help right now is to help us find speakers who are teachers, have kids in Texas schools, or are directly affected by the changes in some way (ie textbook writers, etc.). We are looking for most of the speakers to live in Texas. The speakers will each have about 15 minutes.
The SECULAR Center is organizing carpools/buses/shuttles from Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. If you're interested in participating, please e-mail us! Think about how fun it would be to get hyped up for the rally on a bus with your fellow protesters!
We are also looking for a great, catchy name for the rally! To participate in the discussion, please twitter us @secularcenter or send us an e-mail.
If you're interested in helping to plan in this important event, please contact us!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Godless Group Kicks Off Campaign to Save the Sick
Our latest press release!
April 6th, 2010 (Houston, TX; Newark, NJ): ’Godless for Good’ is our motto.
SECULAR Center, a godless organization devoted to mobilizing atheists through community service, launched their latest nationwide charitable campaign this past weekend. Over the next five weeks, they will partner with “Be The Match Registry®” to save the lives of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases. The campaign kicked off April 2nd at the American Atheist Convention in Newark, New Jersey and will end on May 6th with the National Day of Reason in Houston, TX.
“Because this life on earth is the only one that we have, life-saving causes are especially important to us” says Noelle George, President of the SECULAR Center. “The SECULAR Center was formed to make a positive difference both in local communities and worldwide. ‘Godless for Good’ is our motto – because we believe that without being good to each other, human beings will not survive and thrive.”
Seventy percent of patients who require bone marrow or cord blood do not have a match in their family. A transplant is often the last option available to save their lives. They depend on the Be The Match Registry® to find a suitable donor as well as raise the funds to help make their transplant possible. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a project of Be the Match FoundationSM , tests volunteers DNA and tries to match them with patients in need.
“The Be the Match® program embodies secular values such as compassion, science, and community” says George. “This partnership will allow us to work together to make a greater difference for this important cause. We are very excited about this campaign and look forward to the widespread participation of the non-theist community”
The SECULAR Center is reaching out to non-theist groups nationwide to unite by participating in this program. To get your area involved in the SECULAR Center’s Be the Match campaign, please contact the SECULAR Center at secularcenterusa@gmail.com. You could Be the Match that will save someone’s life!
April 6th, 2010 (Houston, TX; Newark, NJ): ’Godless for Good’ is our motto.
SECULAR Center, a godless organization devoted to mobilizing atheists through community service, launched their latest nationwide charitable campaign this past weekend. Over the next five weeks, they will partner with “Be The Match Registry®” to save the lives of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases. The campaign kicked off April 2nd at the American Atheist Convention in Newark, New Jersey and will end on May 6th with the National Day of Reason in Houston, TX.
“Because this life on earth is the only one that we have, life-saving causes are especially important to us” says Noelle George, President of the SECULAR Center. “The SECULAR Center was formed to make a positive difference both in local communities and worldwide. ‘Godless for Good’ is our motto – because we believe that without being good to each other, human beings will not survive and thrive.”
Seventy percent of patients who require bone marrow or cord blood do not have a match in their family. A transplant is often the last option available to save their lives. They depend on the Be The Match Registry® to find a suitable donor as well as raise the funds to help make their transplant possible. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a project of Be the Match FoundationSM , tests volunteers DNA and tries to match them with patients in need.
“The Be the Match® program embodies secular values such as compassion, science, and community” says George. “This partnership will allow us to work together to make a greater difference for this important cause. We are very excited about this campaign and look forward to the widespread participation of the non-theist community”
The SECULAR Center is reaching out to non-theist groups nationwide to unite by participating in this program. To get your area involved in the SECULAR Center’s Be the Match campaign, please contact the SECULAR Center at secularcenterusa@gmail.com. You could Be the Match that will save someone’s life!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
SECULAR Center in the News!
Last night, I was interviewed by a Fox News reporter about the Texas Constitution, the misconception that atheists are not good people, and the SECULAR Center. The clip ended up cutting out most of what we talked about, of course, but I wanted to share it anyway.
Hopefully next time I'll have more air time to talk about the SECULAR Center's great activities. In the meantime, look for an update soon about our gathering with Kate last night!
Noelle
Hopefully next time I'll have more air time to talk about the SECULAR Center's great activities. In the meantime, look for an update soon about our gathering with Kate last night!
Noelle
Friday, February 5, 2010
Get Involved! The SECULAR Center’s Response to “Pro-Life”Protests at Planned Parenthood
Last fall, as in previous years, a local “pro-life” group organized a 40-day protest at Planned Parenthood facilities around Houston. Protesters got on their knees and prayed, carried pro-life signs, wore t-shirts with biblical phrases on them, and formed lines along the sidewalks leading to the entrances of the Planned Parenthood centers. These actions made it very difficult for potential clients, who in many cases had to walk through these protesters to enter the building due to the location of parking lots across three streets. These protests can intimidate clients who may or may not be receiving controversial treatments such as abortions and may even result in some clients not receiving the reproductive health care that they can’t get anywhere else.
Abortions are only a small part of the services that Planned Parenthood provides. They also perform wellness checkups, sexually-transmitted disease (STD) tests, free birth control (to those who qualify based on income level), sexual education, vasectomies, and many other much-needed services. Planned Parenthood “seeks a world in which all children are wanted and cared for, all women and men have equal rights and dignity, sexuality is expressed with honesty, equality, and responsibility, and the decision to bear children is private and voluntary.” The mission of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas is to “ensure the right and ability of all individuals to manage their sexual and reproductive health by providing health services, education, and advocacy.”
From February 17th to March 28th 2010, the same local pro-life group is organizing another 40-day protest to coincide with Lent. In order to support their clients who have to endure this emotional harassment, Planned Parenthood has organized a program in which volunteers escort the clients from parking lots to the entrances of their building. The volunteers do not interact with the protesters; they simply provide a reassuring presence to Planned Parenthood’s clients as they walk to and enter the building.
The SECULAR Center has decided to get involved with the escort program and show that our community supports Planned Parenthood. We are organizing volunteers to be trained to, and escort clients together in groups of three or four, starting on February 20th and continuing on every Saturday and select weekdays throughout the 40-day protest period. If you’d like to get involved, please e-mail us at secularcenterusa@gmail.com. Additional dates will be announced soon through our e-mailing list. If you haven’t signed up for our e-mailing list, please go to www.secularcenterusa.org and enter your information in the form on the home page.
The Planned Parenthood escort program is an important way that our community can show its support for reproductive freedom that is unencumbered by religious ideology and dogma. Please consider joining us in our campaign to assist Planned Parenthood during the Lent “Pro-Life“ demonstrations.
Abortions are only a small part of the services that Planned Parenthood provides. They also perform wellness checkups, sexually-transmitted disease (STD) tests, free birth control (to those who qualify based on income level), sexual education, vasectomies, and many other much-needed services. Planned Parenthood “seeks a world in which all children are wanted and cared for, all women and men have equal rights and dignity, sexuality is expressed with honesty, equality, and responsibility, and the decision to bear children is private and voluntary.” The mission of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas is to “ensure the right and ability of all individuals to manage their sexual and reproductive health by providing health services, education, and advocacy.”
From February 17th to March 28th 2010, the same local pro-life group is organizing another 40-day protest to coincide with Lent. In order to support their clients who have to endure this emotional harassment, Planned Parenthood has organized a program in which volunteers escort the clients from parking lots to the entrances of their building. The volunteers do not interact with the protesters; they simply provide a reassuring presence to Planned Parenthood’s clients as they walk to and enter the building.
The SECULAR Center has decided to get involved with the escort program and show that our community supports Planned Parenthood. We are organizing volunteers to be trained to, and escort clients together in groups of three or four, starting on February 20th and continuing on every Saturday and select weekdays throughout the 40-day protest period. If you’d like to get involved, please e-mail us at secularcenterusa@gmail.com. Additional dates will be announced soon through our e-mailing list. If you haven’t signed up for our e-mailing list, please go to www.secularcenterusa.org and enter your information in the form on the home page.
The Planned Parenthood escort program is an important way that our community can show its support for reproductive freedom that is unencumbered by religious ideology and dogma. Please consider joining us in our campaign to assist Planned Parenthood during the Lent “Pro-Life“ demonstrations.
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