| March, 2023 | International Rescue Committee | Founded at the call of Albert Einstein in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is now at work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas. The IRC immediately responded to the earthquake in Syria by providing immediate cash assistance, as well as critical financial support to 10 of their partner organizations working in northwest Syria and Turkey. Many of the hardest-hit communities are in northwestern Syria, where people who have already been displaced several times by the ongoing conflict are among those whose homes were destroyed in the quakes. They are without adequate shelter, food and basic necessities as temperatures plunge well below freezing. | https://help.rescue.org/ |
| February, 2023 | UU Climate Justice | Averting the climate crisis is critical to the vision and lived expression of Unitarian Universalism.
To this end, the UUCJ launched the Create Climate Justice initiative, with three current priority focus areas:
-- Strengthening communications and mutual support networks for Climate Justice
-- Mobilizing UUs in solidarity with Indigenous front-line communities
-- Supporting the Just Transition to an ecological civilization through partnerships and civic engagement | https://www.uumfe.org/get-involved/create-climate-justice-net/ |
| January, 2023 | Houston Food Bank | Around 1 million people in the 18 southeast Texas counties served by Houston Food Bank are considered food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food to fuel a healthy life. In order to address this issue, the Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of more than 1,600 community partners. Each year, HFB provides access to more than 150 million meals and in 2022, they made 153 million meals possible. | https://www.houstonfoodbank.org/ |
| December, 2022 | Galveston Bay Foundation | "Galveston Bay Foundation is a conservation nonprofit that has served as guardian of Galveston Bay since 1987. Their mission is to preserve and enhance Galveston Bay as a healthy and productive place for generations to come. They work to facilitate a true cross-section of Bay interests through creative, inclusive and forward-thinking solutions to the challenges confronting Galveston Bay.
Through actions and partnerships and a commitment to sound science and research, they have five main program areas in which they work on behalf of the Bay. They are education, habitat restoration, water protection, land conservation, and advocacy. Each program area is broad and deep, offering a range of solutions and opportunities to preserve the Bay for generations to come." | https://galvbay.org/ |
| November, 2022 | NAM Season of Blessings | Northwest Assistance Ministries is a nonprofit, community-based, multi-program social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors. This month, your donations will go toward providing holiday meals for 1400 families in need. | https://www.namonline.org/season_of_blessings |
| October, 2022 | Jewish Family Services | Jewish Family Service is a non-profit human service agency for people of all ages and all walks of life whose goal is to provide light, hope and help to individuals struggling with life challenges. From its founding in 1913, Jewish Family Service has provided assistance and professional resources to members of Houston's Jewish community, and has expanded its programs and staff as the needs of the community have grown. JFS offers mental health and support counseling for individuals and families including a specialized program for individuals who live with persistent and pervasive mental illness. They also provide disability services, senior adult services and case management, employment services, Jewish chaplaincy services at area hospitals, community outreach, financial assistance programs and volunteer opportunities. | http://www.jfshouston.org/ |
| September, 2022 | Southern Poverty Law Center | The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 as an advocacy organization with the goal of ensuring the promise of the civil rights movement would be a reality for all. Over the last 50 years, they have helped to stamp out Jim Crow legislation, represented and protected the rights of children, women, the disabled, immigrants and migrant workers, the LGBTQ community, prisoners, and many others who faced discrimination, abuse or exploitation. Their most prominent service is monitoring and exposing far right hate groups in America, a service that is unfortunately in high demand today. | https://splcenter.org/ |
| August, 2022 | TXUUJM | Guided by Unitarian Universalist principles, TXUUJM educates and organizes member congregations and partners with sympathetic organizations in order to advocate effectively for public policies that:
Uphold the worth and dignity of every person;
Further justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
Ensure the use of the democratic process;
Protect religious freedom; and,
Promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence. | http://txuujm.org/ |
| July, 2022 | Northwest Assistance Ministries | Our share the plate recipient for the month of July is NAM, Northwest Assistance Ministries and will help support their back to school backpack drive. Northwest Assistance Ministries is a nonprofit, community-based, multi-program social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors.
| https://www.namonline.org |
| June, 2022 | Black and Pink | Black & Pink National is a prison abolitionist organization dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and liberating LGBTQIA2S+ people and people living with HIV/AIDS who are affected by that system through advocacy, support, and organizing. Programs they spearhead for this effort include: R.E.A.P. (Restore, Embolden, Amplify, Power), which seeks to prevent reentry into the criminal legal system by providing access to safe housing, medical care, employment, and self-development; Lydon House, which offers housing and wrap around support services to LGBTQIA2S+ people who are impacted by incarceration; and the Opportunity Campus, an ongoing capital campaign for a central location in Omaha, Nebraska offering housing and program space for system-impacted trans and queer young people. | https://www.blackandpink.org/ |
| May 2022 | Trees for Houston | This month’s share-the-plate offering is going to Trees for Houston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting, protecting and promoting trees in the greater Houston area since 1983. Now celebrating their 36th anniversary with over half a million trees planted, they grow, plant and maintain over 20,000 trees each year for a multitude of projects across the greater Houston region. They take requests from the public to plant trees wherever they may benefit the public, and will plant a tree to honor someone's memory or other special occasion. They maintain the trees for 2 years after planting them. Trees reduce air pollution, provide oxygen, reduce urban heat and home cooling bills by shading buildings and concrete. Trees provide food and habitat for wildlife. Trees reduce storm water runoff and slow erosion. Not least of all trees reduce stress and beautify our surroundings. Your donation allows Trees For Houston to plant and maintain vibrant, healthy neighborhoods throughout the Houston region. | https://www.treesforhouston.org/ |
| April 2022 | Montrose Center Hatch Youth | Hatch Youth is Houston’s oldest, currently active, social group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth. They are dedicated to empowering LGBTQ adolescents, ages 13-20, to become responsible citizens and positive contributors to society; additionally, Hatch Jr. serves youth ages 7-12. As well as serving as a community space for these youth, it also provides education and affirmation programs. | https://www.montrosecenter.org/hatch-youth/ |
| March, 2022 | Donate to Ukraine-Doctors Without Borders | In light of the war in Ukraine, our Share the Plate recipient this month will be Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. Doctors Without Borders is an independent, global movement providing medical aid wherever it is needed most. As the conflict in Ukraine escalates, Doctors Without Borders is stepping up its medical humanitarian response to the deepening humanitarian crisis, both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, where more than one million people have fled. Their teams are witnessing the impact of the conflict on civilians but determining the true extent of medical needs within the country remains challenging. They are preparing for a range of scenarios, reinforcing capacity for surgical care, emergency medicine, and mental health support for displaced people. | https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine |
| February, 2022 | UUA Climate Justice Ministry | The UUA Climate Justice Ministry acts in the knowledge that all life is interconnected. Creating a sustainable way of life is central to our view of a just and compassionate world. The UUA has committed to a number of programs in pursuit of this goal, including: the Green Sanctuary Program, which focuses on dedication to environmental principles and collaboration between congregations for achieving climate justice; the Create Climate Justice Net, a community organizing hub for UU climate activists; dedication to Ethical Eating in recognition of the moral consequences of our food choices; Divestment and Socially Responsible Investment, a business resolution seeking to extricate finances from fossil fuel corporations; and dedication to the UN Climate Justice Initiative, which builds the UU climate change movement through education, advocacy, and collaboration with other climate change voices at the United Nations in order to promote a viable world with mitigated climate change. | https://www.uua.org/environment |
| January, 2022 | Lilith Fund | The Lilith Fund provides financial assistance and emotional support while building community spaces for people who need abortions in Texas—unapologetically, with compassion and conviction. The organization operates according to the values of compassion, intersectionality, anti-racism, client-centeredness, inclusivity, and collaboration in order to build a reality where everyone has the agency, power, and resources to thrive in their communities. | https://www.lilithfund.org/ |