On January 15h, 2012, $2194 was raised and given in support of the Southern California Unitarian Universalist Justice Team! This organization brings together Unitarian Universalist vision, resources, and leadership from across southern California for education, witness, and action on the social justice issues of our time. Their current project is to prepare congregations for a strong presence at the upcoming Justice GA, and to create a model for effective social justice work by employing regional community ministers.

$1390 was raised on Sunday the 25^th of December for the December Generosity Sunday. The mission of Homes for Hope (H4H) is to work within the building industry forming partnerships with builders and their trade partners to create H4H income generating projects to provide financial resource to help support HOPE International and like-minded organizations which work to alleviate physical and spiritual poverty in the lives of families and individuals in developing countries throughout the world.

This Generosity Sunday of 27 November raised $970.00 dollars for the Interfaith Shelter Network. The Interfaith Shelter Network is a collaborative effort by local congregations, human services agencies and government entities to provide shelter, services, and resources to homeless San Diegans throughout the region.

They represent the work of more than 100 San Diego County congregations and 3,500+ volunteers who link to offer hands up to people seeking an end to their homelessness. In our El Nido program, virtually all our families leave for their own permanent affordable housing, and the majority of mothers leave with increased income and additional career related skills.

Their Vision is to eliminate homelessness in the urban communities of San Diego County through a cooperative partnership with faith-based communities, related government programs, and social service agencies.

El Nido is where our contribution was sent.

El Nido (“the nest” in Spanish) is our transitional living program for homeless victims of domestic violence and their families.  Located in central San Diego, in a confidential site for safety reasons, the project offers stability in housing while allowing the residents to offer emotional support to each other and less isolation during this stressful time in their lives.  It also is respectful of residents’ autonomy and provides as close to a real-life scenario as possible.

Residents live in an 11-unit apartment complex for up to a year or more and, with the assistance of social workers, obtain the counseling, child care, employment, educational, and transportation services they need to become self-sufficient. Each of the  units was beautifully furnished by a local congregation.

http://www.interfaithshelter.org/el_nido.htm

UUFSD donated $1,215.00. Donations to Association Sunday 2011 will support scholarships, continuing education, and a comprehensive assessment of our ministries and their needs for the future. Grants from Association Sunday 2011 funds will help religious professionals get ongoing training to support thriving congregations. The UUA is grateful to the UUMA, UUMN, and LREDA for their support of Association Sunday. See the following URL: http://www.uua.org/giving/sunday/index.shtml

We donated $1,185.00 to doctors Without Borders. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF also reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. Contact: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Our donation was $457.00. A Reason To Survive (ARTS) is a San Diego based nonprofit organization that believes that the visual, performing, and literary arts can literally transform lives – especially those of kids. We use all art forms as a vehicle to create positive, long-lasting change in children and youth facing major life challenges – giving them not only a reason to survive – but to also thrive. ARTS uses a team of passionate and dedicated staff, volunteers, partners, donors, vendors, and kids.  Contact Kathryn Stephens at kstephens@areasontosurvive.org or 619 297 2787 ext. 2002

Unitarian Universalists throughout the United States contribute to the UUA-UUSC Japan Relief Fund that will support the work that our Japanese partners pursue. Congregations around the country have chosen to take special collections for this Fund and the UUA is grateful for the generous response of $1,219.00 that we have received from UUFSD. Contact at UUA: Stewardship and Development staff at (888) 792-5885.

Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. The $513.80 raised will be used to support the call for respect, inclusion, and compassion in public debates over immigration, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. Contact at UUA: love@uua.org (202) 393-2255

The $456.00 UUFSD raised were used to help match a $100,000.00 donation to support the repair and replacement of aging water pipes and other maintenance at Camp DeBenneville Pines.

Our donation of $326.00 to UURISE (Refugee Immigrant Services Education, Inc.) helps provides affordable, trustworthy legal immigration counseling, representation, and resettlement services to marginalized immigrants and refugees; and provides educational advocacy to the larger community. The vision of UURISE is to create a prominent national Unitarian Universalist leadership in immigration and refugee advocacy and resettlement. UURISE provides services at locations that preserve client safety and confidentiality.  UURISE has a staff office at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship: info@uurise.org Phone: 760-477-7537