AEU Assembly Zoom Workshop: Showcasing Successful Community-Building Programs

Perry Stein (Bergen), Jim LoPresti (Long Island), Randy Best (NoVES), Janet Rose (NYSEC)
MC: David Bland (Bergen)
Thursday, July 30, 2pm & 8:30pm ET — https://bit.ly/AEUAssembly2020

Speakers each talk about a successful program series at each of their Societies. Attendees will receive an AEU Program Exchange form for each, with full descriptions of the programs so that they can adapt the programs in their own Societies. The Program Exchange forms will be added to the bank of forms already available through the AEU. Links to blank forms will be provided, inviting more Societies to share their successful programs and build this resource for all Societies.

• The Brew (Bergen) Ethical Brew is a live music venue dedicated to serving up a quality blend of live music and social action in an intimate and welcoming environment. Fifty percent of the proceeds from each show are allocated to funding worthy social action projects, charities, organizations and progressive causes selected by the Artist. The remaining 50% helps to fund initiatives of the Ethical Culture Society.
• Ethical Friends of Children (Long Island) This outreach program, begun in 1985, assists more than 2,500 children and their families each year by providing them with clothing and infant furniture at no cost. The store is staffed entirely by volunteers. “‘Customers” are referred to by the area’s social service organizations. Families pick out the things they need. Individuals, families, and community groups donate gently used clothing, furniture, and other things children may require. Volunteers help to sort and organize and pick up and deliver larger items. Cash donations go entirely to purchasing needed items for children, such as diapers and formula. The program is supported by religiously affiliated and private agencies funded by Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
• Philosophy of Mind (NoVES) As part of an outreach program, NoVES partnered with a local coffee shop, Caffe Amouri, which hosts a Penny University in the tradition of educational programs that once took place in London coffee houses and pubs. Most of the offerings relate to cooking, high tech coffee brewing, and outdoor recreation. We added this monthly series close to four years ago. The group discusses such philosophical questions as, “Do We Have Free Will?” and “What Role Does Language Have in Shaping Our Thoughts?”
• Ethical Dilemmas (NYSEC) This program asks: What do you do when there’s no clear ethical road to take? Speakers from a variety of backgrounds–medicine, law, business, science, education, the arts, social work, and more — share their experience navigating those ethical labyrinths.