Local Service Project
Each year, the General Assembly Planning Committee works with the Local Volunteer Committee to select and support a local service project. In this way, General Assembly and the thousands of Unitarian Universalists it brings to our host city can have a positive impact on the local community.
This year, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees will convene a Justice GA Design Meeting, September 12-14 in Boston. Representatives from Puente Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), Somos America, the General Assembly Planning Committee (GAPC), Arizona Immigration Ministry (AZIM), General Assembly 2012 Accountability Group, and UUA Administration and staff will participate. Representatives from this broad coalition of organizations will continue to work together to define the criteria and timetable for GA 2012 programming, public witness, worship and plenary.
There will be hands-on projects working directly with Arizona partner organizations. We expect work to be in areas of voter registration as well as in direct human services.
Past Service Projects
The 2011 Service Project was In Our Own Back Yards youth summer camp. Over $32,000 was raised in donations.
In Our Own Back Yards is an interfaith, service-based summer camp experience designed to open the eyes of campers to the harsh reality of poverty in the Charlotte Mecklenburg community.
In Our Own Back Yards is a program of Mecklenburg Ministries, which promotes interfaith relationships, fosters racial and ethnic understanding, and inspires collaboration to address social issues. Founded in 1987, this non-profit organization envisions a community that lives by the highest values and core virtues of its rich faith traditions and respects the dignity of every person. Over ninety faith groups participate, including Baha’I, Center for Positive Living, Christian, Friends, Hindu, Jewish, Latter Day Saints, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Our 2010 Service Project with nearby Hope Community offered opportunities for hands-on service as well as donations.
General Assembly attendees participated in a wide range of tasks including gardening, landscaping and painting. In addition, over $40,000 was raised in donations.
Hope Community has created and implemented a vision for a neighborhood where most had little hope. One building at a time, abandoned spaces have turned into homes for families. But buildings alone do not make community. People must build a community, and that understanding is at the core of Hope Community’s approach to neighborhood revitalization. Hope Community is a catalyst for change, growth and safety. Hope is building a sustainable neighborhood model through community organization, active education, leadership and affordable housing development.
The 2009 service project raised $30,000 for the Utah Pride Center. The Utah Pride Center provides support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, adults, and families through a variety of programs. With the money raised from Unitarian Universalists at General Assembly, the Utah Pride Center will expand their services for LGBT youth.
Hispanic Unity was selected as the 2008 service project; $23,000 was raised. The purpose of Hispanic Unity of Florida is to serve immigrants and their families from varying ethnicities, by empowering them to be successful in the United States.
In 2007, General Assembly raised $42,000 for Village Gardens, a sustainable urban agriculture program in Portland, OR.
For more information contact generalassembly@uua.org.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors. Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Monday, August 8, 2011.
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