Atheist Volunteers

Hemant Mehta has started a college fund donation drive for Jessica Ahlquist. Kudos to Hemant!

Here is what Hemant had to say about Jessica:

And if you saw Jessica’s speech at the 2011 Secular Student Alliance conference like I did, you’d understand why we need more student activists just like her. Once again, I’m asking for your support. I think we owe it to Jessica to make sure she can go to a wonderful college — one that respects her in a way that many of the people in her high school don’t — without having to worry about tuition.

I spoke with Roy Speckhardt at the American Humanist Association to see if they would consider holding onto the money in a trust fund (as part of the Humanist Foundation of the AHA) and he gave me an enthusiastic “Yes.”

Let’s show Jessica that we appreciate what she’s done and let’s encourage other students to do the same thing

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Jessica Ahlquist won her lawsuit against the Cranston school district in Rhode Island.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The high school student who sought the removal of a prayer mural from the auditorium at Cranston High School West has won her suit in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux, in a 40-page ruling issued Wednesday on the lawsuit filed by Jessica Ahlquist's father, Mark Ahlquist, has ordered the "immediate" removal of the prayer mural, although he has given Cranston school officials 10 days to respond.

Throughout the lawsuit Jessica has had to deal with the effects of a community that fought back against her.

For me, the insults and feeling of ostracism began at the very beginning, when I attended my first subcommittee meeting back in November of 2010. One event that stands out in my mind was this one day at school when Mayor Fung came in to give a talk about minorities for “Diversity Week.” At the end of his talk, there was a Q & A in which a student asked for his opinion on the school prayer. He pointed to the prayer and declared in front of hundreds of students that he wanted to see the prayer stay where it was and that it was perfectly legal. Almost everyone in the auditorium stood and applauded him, cheering him on. This was hurtful and extremely upsetting, especially after the mayor had just given a speech about how important acceptance of minorities is. - Jessica Ahlquist interview at a Bright Blog

She has had quite a few physical threats sent her way, people have made sure she knows they want to hurt her.

Throughout all of it she has maintained a strong attitude, and a strong will to get through it because she knows what is right. She has a very sound philosophical footing. She is on the path to greatness, and the online community has gotten together to show her just how awesome we think she is.

The Reddit atheism community has become quite a force over the last few years. They've recently added an atheist faq, and they always have great atheist content to peruse, make sure to check them out.

REDDIT ATHEISTS DONATE OVER $60,383 TO DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

The atheists on Reddit have managed to hit their goal and raise over $60,000 for Doctors Without Borders! They have moved their goal because giving is so much fun, why stop? The new goal is $75,000!

It's nice to see the folks at reddit.com/r/atheism do this in a way where their goodness can be seen by theists. Atheists are often questioned as to whether they are capable of being good people without religion. The charitable and kind atheists of one community have banded together and decided to show just how good atheists are. Not only will we have the benefits of countless people in need being helped, but we are helping to change a stereotype. Some theists have been told so adamantly that atheists can do no good, that it's important for us to show what atheists already know about each other. Atheists know that it's important for us to do good because we would want people to do good for us. We know that we are responsible for our own actions. We know there is no other force that can power goodness in the world other than our own desire to be good.

Doctors without Borders is a charity that Atheist Volunteers has previously supported.

Doctors Without Borders Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries. A private, nonprofit organization, Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971 as the first non-governmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of people it assists. They do not require you to convert to Christianity (or any other religion) in order to receive medical care! A secular charity worthy of our support and we have the fine folks of Reddit

UPDATE: This article was published this morning and donations were around $53,000. At the time of this update reddit atheists managed to surpass their goal and raise $60,383. By my count they raised about $7,000 in 10 hours.

UPDATE 2: Denny-Crane on reddit atheism said "it stood at around $49,600 at 9am EST and is around $60,300 around 9:40pm EST"

Michael Park is an atheist who wanted to make a difference. What started as a thing of fantasy became reality for Michael as he raised $1,000 for the Special Olympics and had a great time doing it.

On October 1st he posted the following on on his facebook profile

We've all seen the classic Superman rescue, whether in the movies, cartoons, or comic books. He leaps out of a window, swoops down to catch a person, and gently touches down on the pavement below. I never thought that was that big a deal. He flies - it's what he does. To me, the really cool characters were the ones like Daredevil or Batman & Robin - launching off of rooftops relying only on their skills and a little bit of rope.

So when my employer offered the opportunity to support Special Olympics by rappelling down a 30 story building, there was no way I could say no. I get to swing down the side of a building AND help people?!? This is about as close to being Batman as I'm ever going to get. If I can meet my fundraising goal of $1000 before October 20th, I will get to rappel down the Mohegan Sun Casino Hotel.

So whether you want to support a great cause that helps thousands of kids, help me fulfill a childhood fantasy, or just like the idea of me being pushed off a really tall building, please donate whatever you can spare. Every little bit helps. And even if you can't donate today, please pass this along to as many friends as you can. - Michael Park

Today the world is gripped by the tragedy in Haiti. Atheists around the planet are saddened by the damage and pain caused by the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday afternoon. The death toll could reach over 100,000. The loss of life will depend partially on how fast we are able to mobilize assistance on the ground.

We would like to encourage you to make a donation to Doctors without Borders. Doctors without Borders had all three of it's hospitals destroyed or rendered useless due to building stability. Doctors without Borders "work is based on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. The organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation."

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The American Humanist Association is raising money for Haiti relief as well:

"Humanist Charities of the American Humanist Association (AHA) expresses its deep sorrow for the people affected by the massive devastation caused by the earthquake. To ensure rapid and effective response to this tragedy, Humanist Charities has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to support the relief efforts going on right now. Donate now .

Humanist Charities is working with Sebastian Velez, evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and director of the Children of the Border project, which works to protect the rights and expand access to medical care and education for Haitian immigrants. Humanist Charities has previously supported Mr. Velez and the Children of the Border project when AHA members helped raise thousands of dollars to expand emergency medical service for expectant mothers living in the Haitian border region of the Dominican Republic in 2008.

Mr. Velez is currently in Haiti assessing the situation and will report back to us a humanist or secular organization that can receive funds directly to help with relief efforts. If none is found, Humanist Charities will make a donation to the American Red Cross' International Response Fund on your behalf."

Donate to the AHA Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

If you would like to log your good deeds, in addition to responding to this post with a comment, you can log them here....

The Atheist Good Deed Recorder