For Immediate Release
American Humanist Association Contact:
Merrill Miller, 202-238-9088 ext. 105, merrillmiller@americanhumanist.org
Foundation Beyond Belief Contact:
Conor Robinson, 310-403-8522, hsc@foundationbeyondbelief.org
(Aug. 26, 2016)—The American Humanist Association is a proud 2016-2017 program sponsor of Foundation Beyond Belief’s Humanist Service Corps, a one-of-a-kind initiative that promotes international volunteering guided by humanist principles. Humanist Service Corps volunteers currently support Songtaba, a women’s rights organization in northern Ghana that works to end gender-based discrimination and violence, including the entrenched custom of accusing women of witchcraft and forcibly exiling them into lives of extreme poverty and isolation.
“The American Humanist Association encourages humanist charitable giving and volunteerism through Foundation Beyond Belief as a way to improve our world and dispel the erroneous idea that secular individuals are less generous than their religious counterparts,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “We look forward to promoting the Humanist Service Corps this year to inspire others in the humanist community to live out their humanist values of compassion and kindness through volunteering.”
“Foundation Beyond Belief is grateful to the American Humanist Association for supporting the Humanist Service Corps,” said Noelle George, executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief. “HSC’s culturally responsible support of human rights organizations is an embodiment of humanist principles, which makes it an important opportunity for the individuals represented by the AHA and a visible symbol of the good that can be done without belief in any gods.”
In 2013, Foundation Beyond Belief instituted Pathfinders Project to establish a humanist service corps that would give volunteers the opportunity to put their humanist values into action by working internationally with well-established nonprofit organizations. The American Humanist Association collaborated with Foundation Beyond Belief on this project by advertising a call for volunteers and featuring the project in its Humanist magazine. In 2014, Foundation Beyond Belief created its Humanist Service Corps to collaborate with locally-led partner organizations around the world to alleviate poverty, increase access to healthcare, empower women, promote education, ensure environmental sustainability and advance human rights.
In addition to providing an outlet for charitable giving and volunteering, the Humanist Service Corps also facilitates intercultural exchange, trains humanist leaders, increases engagement in service in the secular community and also improves the global perception of nontheists.
The American Humanist Association is matching up to $10,000 that Foundation Beyond Belief raises for the Humanist Service Corps. As a program sponsor, the American Humanist Association will receive regular volunteer reports and stories from the field to remain updated about the positive impacts the Humanist Service Corps is having on the lives of the people served by the program. The American Humanist Association will publicize this information to its members to encourage them to support the charitable work of Humanist Service Corps and Foundation Beyond Belief.
More information about Humanist Service Corps can be found here.
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Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming philosophy of humanism, which—without beliefs in any gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
Foundation Beyond Belief (FBB) was founded in 2009 in Georgia, USA, by Dale McGowan. FBB unites the humanist community in charitable and volunteer efforts, and advocates for compassionate action throughout the world. It’s up to us to make this world a better place. Foundation Beyond Belief is humanity at work.