Atheists Are Helping with Hurricane Disaster Relief

Atheists Are Helping with Hurricane Disaster Relief
FBBGive: https://fbbgive.org
FFRF Nonbelief Relief: https://ffrf.org/donate
Humanists of Houston: http://humanistsofhouston.org/
Houston Oasis: https://www.houstonoasis.org/
South Texas Atheists for Reason: http://www.southtxatheistsforreason.org/
Beaumont Humanist Society: https://www.gofundme.com/bhs4harvey
Corpus Christi Atheists: https://fundrazr.com/HarveyCCA
Humanist Fire Ants: https://www.gofundme.com/humanistfireants

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A few years ago, tornadoes devastated parts of Oklahoma. I think a lot of atheists remember the aftermath of that disaster in particular because CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed a woman in the middle of the wreckage and asked her if she thanked God that she survived. And she responded, "I'm actually an atheist."

Here's something else that you might not remember: Time magazine ran a cover story about the relief efforts in Oklahoma. And reporter Joe Klein said in his piece that it was “funny how you don’t see organized groups of secular humanists giving out hot meals” at ground zero. The sarcasm wasn’t appreciated since he completely ignored all the volunteer work done and donations made by atheist groups that were helping people in the wake of the disaster.

It's happening all over again in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. I saw a letter to the editor even ask straight-up: How come no atheists are helping out in Houston? We know there are Christian groups doing relief work. Maybe not Joel Osteen's church, but a lot of others! So what about atheists?

There are so many ways to respond to this…

One answer is that you’re not going to see as many atheist groups because we don't pressure members to give us 10% of their income and don’t have the sort of infrastructure that allows us to pool resources quickly for relief efforts. But that's a flimsy excuse. There are plenty of people helping out who don't have lots of money at their disposal.

Another answer is that there ARE a lot of atheists helping out with relief efforts, but they’re doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and don’t feel the need to broadcast their lack of religion in the process. It’s not like every godless volunteer is wearing a shirt that says, “God didn’t cause this hurricane!”

But you know what? There are organized atheist groups collecting money for relief efforts and there are open atheists helping people on the ground. And I know that because I actually looked for them.

Let me give you a brief rundown of what some atheist groups are doing for victims of Hurricane Harvey. And I'm only talking about Harvey because, as I make this video, it's too soon for me to give you details about relief for Irma.

Foundation Beyond Belief has been raising money from atheist donors since the hurricane hit. The first group to receive a check from them is All Hands Volunteers, a non-profit that assists with disaster recovery. At least one more group will be receiving funds as well.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s charity agency, Nonbelief Relief, donated $10,000 to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. They’re also “collecting hygiene and cleaning products and donations” to give to a local Boys and Girls Club working with their national organization to help people in Houston.

The Humanists of Houston are coordinating relief efforts with their members.

Members of Houston Oasis were cleaning strangers’ homes and serving food at shelters. They’re still accepting donations and volunteers for relief efforts.

The South Texas Atheists for Reason have volunteered at a diaper bank and announced that they plan to “adopt” a family, providing them with whatever resources they need to get through this difficult time.
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Hemant Mehta (http://www.friendlyatheist.com, http://www.patreon.com/Hemant , https://www.facebook.com/friendlyatheist)

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