Social Action Committee
Mission Statement
The Social Action Committee is committed to developing opportunities for our Fellowship to live out our Unitarian Universalist principles in the broader community by:
Increasing awareness and sensitivity to social justice issues; andPromoting personal responsibility to become the change we want to see in the world.
We strive to do these things in a way that is mindful and respectful of our diverse Fellowship community.
Ongoing Direct Action Projects
SAC Community Outreach Project Leaders 2009
Food Program
The Fellowship participates with other congregations through the Peekskill Area Pastors’ Association (PAPA) to provide a hot meal for the Lunch Program served at the Salvation Army Community Center in Peekskill. We take responsibility for the third Tuesday of each month and ask our Fellowship committees and community circle groups to take a turn cooking and delivering the meal. This program serves approximately 60 — 80 people each day. The contact for this project is Susan Peters.
Second Collections
Each month SAC coordinates a second collection to benefit a nonprofit organization. The contact for this project is Bearni Croft.
LGBTQ Youth Support
We are a UUA Welcoming Congregation and work to make our community safe for and supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. The contact for this project is Tracy Breneman-Pennas.
Book & Magazine Donations
Michael Schwartz collects books and magazines for the female inmates at Bedford Hills Correctional. Please remove name and address labels. Drop them off at the Fellowship in cardboard boxes.
Food Bank
Please support the Cortlandt-Croton Food Bank with a weekly donation.
Donating and Volunteering around Croton and Cortlandt
Multi-need Donations (food, clothes, bedding, etc.)
- Jan Peek Homeless Shelter in Peekskill: 736-2636
- Croton Caring Committee: 38 Penfield Ave. Croton, 271-4979
- Interfaith Council for Action Spring Street Exchange: 138 Spring Street in Ossining, 941- 5252 (gently used clothing, bedding, jewelry, belts, pocketbooks, kitchen dish sets, food goods, etc.)
- Westchester County Food Banks: check the website for various locations
- Most needed food drive items (.pdf file)
- Salvation Army: 117 Nelson Avenue in Peekskill, 737-0280
- NY Cares: December coat drive
Donating Women’s Clothes
- Local women’s shelter: call Barbara to inquire about current needs, 747-0828
- Career Closet - providing wardrobes and accessories for women moving from welfare back to work, located in the Briarcliff Congregational Church on South State Road in Briarcliff Manor, 944-1472, open Saturdays 9am - 11:30am
- The Women’s Alliance
- Bottomless Closet providing wardrobes and training for women moving from welfare back to work: 545 8th Avenue in Manhattan, 212-563-2499, open M-Th 9:30am - 5pm and some Saturdays
- Dress for Success
- Charity Guide’s list for Women’s Clothing
Donating Men’s Clothes
- Midnight Run: located in Dobbs Ferry
Volunteer and Social Action Opportunities
- Kids Next Door: ideas for helping children get involved in supporting their communities
- Westchester County Food Banks
- NY Cares
- Charity Guide
- Idealist.org
- USA Today article with links and ideas for kids’ volunteer opportunities
- Kids Care Clubs (www.kidscare.org)
- Do Something (www.dosomething.org)
- Points of Light Foundation’s FamilyCares project (www.pointsoflight.org/ forvolunteer/ family.cfm)
- “20 Ways for Teenagers to Help Other People by Volunteering” (www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/volunteer.htm)
- Volunteer Match (www.volunteermatch.org)
Resources
- “Teaching Tolerance” is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. November 2008 Teaching Tolerance magazine was a special edition focused on youth engagement.
- Barbara A. Lewis, The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 service ideas for young people who want to make a difference, 1995
- Barbara A. Lewis, The Kid’s Guide to Social Action: How to solve the social problems you choose - and turn creative thinking into positive action, 1991
- Learning to Give: K-12 curriculum, stories and other resources
- Edid Ablowitz, Teaching Children to Give, 2005. An excerpt:
Children learn what they are taught. They mimic what they see. Transfer your values to the next generation. Actively engage them in thinking about what it means to be concerned about the common good. Teach them that there are many ways to be philanthropic, but that it is important for each of us to find the way that suits us best. Some will give time, some will give talent, some will give treasure. Each will learn to give based on their personal experiences; those with more experience are likely to better understand the joy of giving, be wise and effective givers, and inspire others to give.
UUA Resources
-
“Peacemaking”: Congregational Study/Action Issue 2006-2010
-
“Peacemaking” Resource Guide
-
-
Ethical Eating: Congregational Study/Action Issue 2008-2012
-
UU District of Metro NY Anti-Racism & Diversity Committee
-
UUA: Social Justice
-
Justice Action News Archives
Westchester County, NY Social Justice / Community Action Organizations
- Peekskill Area Pastors’ Association (PAPA)
- Croton Interfaith Council
- WESPAC Foundation
Past Direct Action Projects
Community Dialogue - Safe Neighborhoods, Strong Communities
On March 27, 2008 we held a community dialogue about safe neighborhoods and strong communities. This was in response to concerns over the abduction of a woman from our local grocery store and subsequent sexual assault. We invited residents and businesspersons from our surrounding community. Over 70 attended the event.
Our speakers included:
- Supervisor Linda Puglisi, Cortlandt Town Board
- Sergeant James Kranik, Station Commander, New York State Police - Cortlandt Barracks
- Investigator Steve Listner, New York State Police - Cortlandt Barracks
- Detective Sergeant John Nikitopoulos, Croton Police
- Sergeant Scott Sullivan, Westchester County Police, Department of Public Safety
- Detective Simone Guiseppi, Westchester County Police, Department of Public Safety
- Mr. Patel, Owner of the Watergate Motel
- Ms. Tina Volz Bongar, Westside Peekskill Neighborhood Association
- Lieutenant Catherine Johansen, Peekskill Police Department
Also in attendance were:
- Reverend Jim Covington of our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
- the Mayor of Croton, Gregory Schmidt
- Councilman Frank Farrell, Cortlandt Town Board
- Councilman John Sloan, Cortlandt Town Board
- Ed Vergano, Director of Technical Services for the Town of Cortlandt
- James Flandreau, Deputy Director of Code Enforcement for the Town of Cortlandt
- Joe, the Manager of our A&P, along with their District Manager and Vice President(The A&P also donated cookies for the event. Thank you!)
Ongoing activities include the dissemination of important and accurate information through a community contact list, and discussion of the formation of a neighborhood watch program. You can read a summary of the event here. The contact person for this program is Tracy Breneman-Pennas.
The Middle East Education Initiative
The contact person for this program is Lucinda Manning.
SAC Meeting Minutes:
November 15, 2009 Meeting Agenda
Contacts
Committee Chairs: Lucinda Manning and Loraine Keegan
Liaison to the Board of Trustees: Teri Lukin
A Listserv has been created for the Social Action Committee to facilitate regular communication among interested parties. Please contact the administrator if you are interested in joining.