Social Justice activities are infused throughout the Fellowship. There are a number of ways to become involved: through political action, fundraising/donations, and active participation in social justice work.   

Fellowship Task Forces

Together Colorado through BVCAN:  https://www.togethercolorado.org/

Boulder Valley Community Action Network (BVCAN) is the community organizing group within the Fellowship.  Our goal is to create systemic changes that will make our community a better place to live for everyone. Our recent focus has been on ways of improving access to mental health services. BVCAN is a member of the state organizing group, Together Colorado, a nonpartisan, multi-racial and multi-faith community organization working to place human dignity at the center of public life in Colorado. Together with these faith leaders from across Colorado, we are actively working on immigration, economic justice, affordable housing, access to affordable healthcare, and climate justice issues in our state. Contact: Marc Esenwein

EcoJustice Action Group 

Are you interested in how what we eat impacts the climate? Restorative Justice with indigenous peoples?  Water-wise landscaping after the remodel?  Challenging oil & gas influence in Colorado politics? Got an eco-justice idea? Join us in working on a campaign or leading a new effort at our monthly planning meetings. Contact: EcoJustice@bvuuf.org 

Immigration Justice Task Force 

Work with other organizations and faith groups to support the immigrant community, including involvement with the Boulder Valley Sanctuary Coalition, contacting government officials, and sponsoring educational programs. Contact:  Bob Norris

Welcoming Congregation  

BVUUF earned the designation as a Welcoming Congregation through the UUA in 2000, and is currently engaged in renewing our certification.  We have a covenant group available for members who identify as LGBTQIA2S+, which has openings on an annual basis. Our Welcoming Committee regularly participates in Pride. If you would like to participate in any of these activities, please contact Clara Kelly.  

Collections and Donations

Boulder County CROP Walk 

The CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. The walk is celebrating its 50^th year nationwide and its 34^th year in Boulder County.

The walk supports the grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts of Church World Service and Bread for the World, as well as local programs such as Community Food Share, serving Boulder and Broomfield counties. Contact: Dianne Ladd

Community Food Share

Occasional food and half-plate collections. Contacts: Millie Montgomery  or Paul Brynteson

Dine’ Reservation Collection: 

Warm clothing, blankets, school supplies for Dine’ Reservation.  Contact: Dr. Maria Michael 

Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFFA)  

Our Fellowship has regular collections for half-plate donations, food, supplies, furniture, toiletries, diapers and other requests.  Contact socialjusticecouncil@bvuuf.org 

Share-A-Gift  https://shareagift.org

Collection drive in December for new and gently used gifts to be distributed to families in Boulder. 

Sister Carmen https://sistercarmen.org/

Sister Carmen is a non-religious agency that provides assistance to residents of Lafayette, Louisville, Superior and Erie who are in need without discrimination. Food collection the first Sunday of the month.  Contacts: Millie Montgomery  or Paul Brynteson

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee https://www.uusc.org

Our congregation supports the UUSC with donations, the sale of holiday cards and Equal Exchange products, and participation in the Guest at Your Table donation boxes during the holiday season. Members and friends support the projects of the UUSC through letter writing and signing petitions. Contact: Scott Nelson 

Volunteer Opportunities with our Community Partners

Casa de Paz  https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/

Casa de Paz (House of Peace) offers free lodging and meals to guests visiting their loved ones locked inside the immigrant detention center in Colorado. We also open the doors of our home to people who have been released from detention and need a place to stay as they make plans to get home to their families. Contact: Camille Hook

Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition (CSPC) https://coparentcoalition.org

Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition recently joined with the organization formerly known as ELPASO (Engaged Latino Parents Advancing School Outcome). CSPC is a grassroots movement, empowering a critical mass of well-informed and skilled Latina/o/x parents who ensure that their children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn. CSPC involves parents at the most basic level of child growth and development, before they enter the public education system. Support planning for a Posadas Party for the Latina/o/x community in December. Contact: socialjusticecouncil@bvuuf.org

• Tutoring for Families formerly in ELPASO (now joined with CSPC):  Through this program, many BVUUF members volunteer as tutors of school-age children who live in Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior. These relationships have been rewarding for all involved. Members interested in tutoring should contact Pat Bulthaup to be matched up with a family requesting this type of support.

Empowerment Center of East County https://www.empowermentcentereastcounty.org 

The Empowerment Center of East County cultivates the inherent capacities of young people and their families to create positive social change in themselves and their home communities through the arts, community-based learning, and leadership opportunities. It also works alongside the Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee to host Lafayette’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. March for Peace and Celebration in January and Cesar Chavez Celebration in April. Contact socialjusticecouncil@bvuuf.org

Right Relationship Boulder  https://rightrelationshipboulder.org/

Right Relationship Boulder is an organization of Indigenous and non-Native people working with individuals, local organizations and governments to support Indigenous Peoples’ connection to land, raise Indigenous voices and practice right relationships with the Native peoples who lived in the Boulder Valley historically and those who live here today.  RRB’s Vision is that the people of Boulder Valley are committed to building lasting relationships with Indigenous Peoples based on justice and collaboration.  The RRB Working groups:  Land Group, Visiting Group, Education/Schools, Indigenous Peoples Day, Indigenous Advisory Council.  Contact: Christine Yoshinaga-Itano

Boulder Homeless Shelter  https://bouldershelter.org

Since March 2007, volunteers from the Fellowship have helped prepare and serve dinner at the shelter on the third Wednesday of each month. It’s a direct way to interact with and help people in need. 

Serve 4:30-7:30 p.m. one Monday a month, October to April. 7-8 people cook and serve dinner for 200.  Children 13 and older can help. (Day may change in summer.) Contact: Richard Davis. This opportunity is currently on hold due to the pandemic.

Thorne Nature Experience   https://thornenature.org/

The Thorne Nature Experience is building a center in Lafayette and has partnered with CSPC to provide jobs, before and after school care, and early childhood programs for youth.  Many of our Fellowship youth have participated in Thorne programs.  They have a significant outreach program to the Latina/o/x communities in Lafayette, Boulder, Longmont, Louisville, Superior.  Contact socialjusticecouncil@bvuuf.org

NAACP of Boulder County  https://naacpbouldercounty.org

BVUUF is a Congregational Member of the Boulder chapter of the NAACP. Fellowship members have served on the Religious Action, Education, Civic Engagement and Criminal Justice committees.  Other committees that may be of interest are:  Communications, Economic Opportunity, Environmental & Climate Justice, and the Freedom Fund.

Reading to End Racism (RER)   https://www.ywcaboulder.org/what-were-doing/rer/

This in-school program uses volunteers to read to classes and lead activities. Training is provided.

I Have a Dream (IHAD):  Dreamer Tutors  https://bouldercounty.ihdf.org/get-involved/

Through half-plate offerings, the Fellowship supports the I Have a Dream (IHAD) program, which provides academic aid to students from elementary grades through high school. In addition, individual Fellowship members provide financial support and tutoring in Lafayette schools. Tutoring training is provided. 

Communities that Care (CTC) https://bouldercounty.gov/families/youth/community-that-care/

Fellowship members participated with Communities That Care and its partner organizations to help with vaccination clinics in Lafayette to assure that members of the Hispanic/Latino/a/x communities had opportunities to receive COVID vaccines. 

Intercambio Uniting Communities  https://intercambio.org/

Members of our congregation have volunteered with Intercambio to provide English tutoring for adults from other countries who wish to improve their English skills. 

Interfaith AIDS Coalition (IAC)

We are members of the Interfaith Aids Coalition, a program of the  Boulder County Aids Project (BCAP). We hold annual food drives for BCAP, including an Easter can hunt, and donate through our half-plate offerings.  Several members directly volunteer with BCAP.

Other Ways to Get Involved 

JEDI:  If you identify as a member of an under-represented or historically marginalized populations (e.g. ethnic, racial, language, LGBTQIA++, disability), and wish to know others in the Fellowship with similar identities, please contact jedi@bvuuf.org