Faith in Action: Social Justice Work at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist

Though Live Oak UU Fellowship is a young organization, we are already making a difference in our community. Social Justice work is vital to our community. Below are a few examples of actions we have taken so far.

Live Oak is an ongoing partnership with the Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), a supportive housing community that uses all its resources to help families and individuals break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. APC is the largest supportive housing provider for homeless families in Alameda County. Their wide range of services gives residents the tools they need for long-term success. Live Oak worked with APC on their Harvest Festival, on October 20, 2012. Live Oak'ers cooked, set up, staffed carnival games, and promoted this popular event. Enjoy a few photos of Live Oak'ers and others.
Live Oak was again one of the co-sponsors of the Harvey Milk Day Celebration in Alameda. We provided children's activities -- well attended and appreciated -- during the presentations. In addition, we staffed an infomation table and were recognized as one of the inclusive, welcoming congregations in Alameda. And we are looking forward to next year's celebration.
Live Oak adults and youth participated in 350: The International Day of Climate Action on Oct. 24, 2009. See more photos of us in action, part of the human "necklace" encircling the summit of Mt. Diablo. Many thanks to Peter Hand for the photos.
Live Oak UU joined other Alameda religious institutions for the Faith Communities Coming Out, Coming Together Walk & Celebration on Oct. 11, 2009, celebrating the LGBTIQQ individuals and families living in our communities. Thanks to Jim Freschi and Niels Kjellund for the photos. More photos and press coverage .
Several times, members of Live Oak joined other volunteers to help with planting, weeding, and harvesting at the Sunol farm operated by People's Grocery, a community-based organization in West Oakland that develops creative solutions to the health problems in our community that stem from a lack of access to and knowledge about healthy, fresh foods. We have donated our Sunday service plate collection to People's Grocery several times.

Giving Away the Plate: Donations to Community Agencies

At each of our Sunday worship services, we donate ALL the monies collected in the plate to non-profit agencies supporting people in need. From February 2009 through July 2016, our members and friends have donated:

Almost $75,000 to the various charities (listed below).

We regularly support the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Alameda Point Collaborative. In addition, we have donated to all of the non-profits listed below (some of them multiple times):

• A Home Away from Homelessness (respite programs for homeless children)
• A Home Within (providing ongoing mentoring relationships for foster kids)
• ACLU Foundation
• AileyCamp (UC Regents)
• Alameda County Community Food Bank
• Alameda (City) Meals on Wheels
• Alameda County Meals on Wheels
• Alameda Education Fund
• Alameda (City) Food Bank
• Alameda Firefighters Toy Drive
• Alameda Homeless Network (Midway Shelter in Alameda – for women and children affected by domestic violence, and homelessness)
• Alameda Point Collaborative (A supportive housing community helping families and individuals break the cycle of homelessness and poverty)
• American Red Cross (wildfires)
• Americares
• Berkeley Ecology Center
• Berkeley Free Clinic
• Boys & Girls Club of Alameda
• Building Futures (Helping homeless in Alameda)
• Christ Episcopal Church (for their Thanksgiving meal for the needy)
• Doctors Without Borders (aka Medicins Sans Frontieres)
• Equipped for Success -- the annual drive for backpacks & school supplies for homeless, formerly homeless, and low-income children & youth in Alameda (Alameda Education Fund). We have participated (funding and helping pack the backpacks) for a number of years!
• First Place for Youth (supporting foster youth aging out of the program)
• HIAS (protecting/supporting refugees)
• Homeless Prenatal Program (in San Francisco)
• Houston Food Bank
• Incarcerated Student Book Fund -- providing texts for prisoners taking college classes
• Inclusive Community Resources
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)
• It Gets Better campaign to assist LGBTIQ youth
• Jewish Community & Family Services East Bay
• KIND (Kids in Need of Defense)
• La Clinica de La Raza
• Lavender Seniors
• Marine Foundation Toys for Tots (Photo: right)
• Oxfam America
• People's Grocery
• Planned Parenthood
• Planting Justice
• Playworks
• RAICES
• Reading Partners
• Rebuild the Churches Fund (supported six Southern churches destroyed by deliberately-set fires)
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Various disaster funds (fires in North Bay, earthquakes across the world, e.g.)

We also have donated generously to a number of Unitarian Univeralist-related programs:

• Side of Love (immigration reform, racial justice, equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, religious freedom, and more)
• UUA Association Sunday
• UU Justice Ministry of California
• UU Partner Church Council (supporting programs and churches in Eastern Europe).
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (working for human rights in Darfur, Haiti, Mexico, and more; and disaster relief, e.g., in Haiti, Pakistan, and more)
• UU Ministry for the Earth (connecting an active community of UUs for environmental justice)
• UUSF Guardian Group (assisting LGBT refugees and asylees from LGBT-intolerant countries)

© 2023 Live Oak UU Fellowship        info@uulivoak.org         510-295-7832