Geneva church supports social justice in 2013 with over $32,000

In 2013, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva donated over $32,000 to organizations and activities that address social justice.

Members of the church are bound together by a written covenant which affirms their dedication to "promot(ing) practical goodness in the world."

Many of the organizations that the congregation supports - including Lazarus House, Mutual Ground, Bridge Communities and Northern Illinois Food Bank - operate at the local level. Others, including Faith in Place, Nature Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity and Vietnam Veterans of America, have a national focus

Some of the funds were used to support volunteer opportunities coordinated by the church's Social Justice Team. In 2013, members of the community have assembled care kits for indigent seniors served by the Humanitarian Service Project, celebrated the holidays with boys incarcerated in the Illinois Youth Center who do not receive visitors, and wrapped birthday presents for children in low-income families.

In addition, once a month, members and friends prepare meals for and stay overnight at the Lazarus House homeless shelter in St. Charles. In March, a team sponsored by the church won first place in the annual Fox Valley Literacy Bee. Every July, young people and adults from the church spend a week building a Habitat for Humanity house.

At the international level, funds contributed by the church have helped support a secondary school for indigent girls in rural Kenya. In December, the school purchased 600 tilapia to stock ponds at the school. Students work with their teachers to learn sustainable methods to grow the fish as a source of food for the school and to use water enriched with fish waste to raise hydroponic vegetables.

For information about ways in which members of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva are making a difference, visit their website at www.uusg.org or visit the church at 102-112 S. Second St. in downtown Geneva.

About UUSG

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, established in 1842 and the oldest church in Geneva, is a diverse, welcoming community that endeavors to make its Covenant a living reality. We provide religious education and opportunities for spiritual growth. We encourage individual and mutual responsibility as together we work to be a liberal religious voice in the community and a force for compassionate social justice. For more information, visit www.uusg.org.