The Critical Thinking Project

 Fundraising, People, Philanthropy, Secularism  No Responses »
Jun 012017
 

Last night we had the pleasure of hearing Gail Miller, one of the directors of the Critical Thinking Project, speak to us about the project and what it’s goals are.

The focus is on developing nations, education quality and giving tools to deal with dogma, witchcraft and violence.  The underlying foundation is one of fairness and tolerance, using critical thinking skills to become less discriminatory.  Dr. Christopher DiCarlo started this as a sample program for high school students in Ontario and is now taking the project to developing nations.

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 Posted by at 1:31 PM

Holiday Hamper Program

 Fundraising, Philanthropy  1 Response »
Oct 182016
 

holiday-hamperAt the AGM this year we, as a group, voted to collect items towards holiday hampers through the Junior Chamber Edmonton group.  We have recently been able to officially register for this program, so now we need to start collecting the dry goods at SEA events and all the way through until mid-December. The following list will allow us to complete 2 Extra Large hampers (for 9 people each).  We will also require some cash donations towards the fresh items that can only be bought the week prior. So if you can’t get out to go shopping just donate a few bucks to the cause.  You can do this in person at events via a board member or you can do this on the membership page using the donate button (leave us a note on your donation so we know you want it to be allocated towards the hamper program)

This post will be updated as items are donated, so you know what we still need. You can always comment about what items you are going to donate as well so that others don’t duplicate. If we do end up with any duplications, we will take those to the food bank. **Please ensure the items will be in date into 2017

We’ll need cash donations for the fresh items, that we will pick up the week of delivery.  These items include: 2 x (Cryovac) Ham, 2 x 15lbs Potatoes, 8 x Root Vegetables (Sweet Potato, Yams, Turnip), 48 Mandarin/Festive Oranges, 2 boxes of Christmas Pastry or Desserts, 2 x 750g Christmas chocolates, 2 x 454g tub of Margarine/Butter, 6 loaves of bread, 4 x package of bread rolls

If we have enough cash donations we will also get each of the family members a small personal gift (like toys for the kids, pampering sets for the adults, gift cards for teenagers)

Thanks for helping!!   Click ”READ MORE” for the shopping list

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 Posted by at 9:42 AM

B’s Diner xmas dinner fundraising.

 Fundraising, Other events, Philanthropy  No Responses »
Nov 172015
 

From Global Edmonton, November 15th:

“EDMONTON — A diner in Old Strathcona that provides a hot Christmas meal to those in need every year is in desperate need of help after losing its main sponsor for the annual dinner.

B’s Diner, located at 100 Street and 82 Avenue, is hosting its 13th annual Christmas party on Dec. 15 for those who may not otherwise have a turkey dinner this holiday season. The diner feeds an average of 300 people at the annual event.

“It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year,” said Adelle Toms, sous chef at B’s Diner. “With the economic times right now I’m pretty sure it’s probably going to be closer to 500 people this year.”

“It’s all you can eat. It’s a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, dessert,” said Brenda Der, owner of B’s Diner.

But due to an unforeseen family emergency, the person who regularly sponsors the meal won’t be able to do so this year. The diner usually prepares 18 large turkeys and 12 hams at the dinner, and so far they only have one turkey.

“We’re always in need of turkeys, hams, desserts, non-perishable items like cranberry sauce,” she said. “Then perishable things to make the stuffing, so we need vegetables. We need butter for the rolls, things like that.”

Der hopes the community can rally together to help them out so they can go ahead with the dinner.

“I’ve always been a strong person and I do believe if you continue to do good in this world that something will come back,” she said. “No human deserves to go hungry.”

“You get people from every walk of life that just need that little help, you know, just a little bit of support; a little bit of food,” added Toms.

“The least we can do once a year is feed them.”

B’s Diner also hopes to go beyond its annual Christmas dinner this year. If they get enough donations, staff will also prepare additional meals and deliver them to less fortunate families in Edmonton.

Donations can be dropped off at the diner. For more information on how you can help, visit B’s Diner’s Facebook Page.”

We will be collecting cash donations for B’s Diner at Brunch on the 29th and the round table on the 1st.  This collection will be separate from the toonie tin collection. Anything you can pitch in with will help but I’d suggest five bucks.

Allan Bassil.

five bucks ren & stimpy five bucks spock five bucks five bucks snape

Fundraiser – Silent Auction

 Fundraising  7 Responses »
Nov 162015
 

This upcoming year we have a few things that we are fundraising for, namely a new long banner that we use at the Pride Parade along with a few standing banners for when we have tables/booths at events.  We also want to bring in out of town guest speakers and do some advertising in 2016.

BIDDING IS NOW CLOSED!
THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU WHO PARTICIPATED IN OUR AUCTION,

WE RAISED $840 FOR THE SOCIETY!!! 

Winners will be notified via email.
Bid prices do not include shipping, so if you do not live in the Edmonton area please bear in mind shipping will cost extra (we will discuss shipping options with winners).
Winners can pay via paypal or directly at a SEA event.

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 Posted by at 12:08 PM

Not My Father’s Son

 Fundraising, News, People  No Responses »
Aug 072014
 

Hopefully many of you were aware of the kickstarter fundraiser to help fund a documentary on Nathan Phelps and his story about growing up inside the Westboro Baptist Church, his father, and how he left the church.   The way kickstarter fundraising works is that you have to reach your goal amount to recieve any of the donations, and sadly, they fell short.   The project team: Brad Johnson, Jason Badgett, Terrie Johnson, and Sam Billen,  are now looking for funding directly by donation to Nate’s website.

NotMyFathersSon_ProfilePic

Picture and quote from Nate’s website used with permission

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“Not My Father’s Son” will chronicle Nate’s story from the years of physical, emotional and mental abuse he suffered at the hands of his father from a young age through his journey toward healing to his subsequent and current fight for justice and equality for all people.

Nate’s father Fred was the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, prior to his death in 2014. The church is known worldwide for its stance against homosexuality, and is defined by its trademark slogan, “God Hates Fags.” Nate’s escape from the abusive and hateful environment in which he was raised coupled with his quest to break the cycle of abuse and hate for future generations create a poignant and powerful theme for the film.

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Nathan now lives in Calgary, Alberta and SEA were fortunate to have him come up and march with us in the Pride Parade this past summer.  Let’s help out and see this documentary completed by visiting his website to find out more information, and to donate!

 Posted by at 10:07 AM

Bus Ad update

 Fundraising, News  3 Responses »
Aug 052014
 

So we’re at a bit of a crossroads with the bus ads.  We are still in need of some funds (although I have been promised a substantial donation from a few people we don’t physically have them yet), however we are moving much closer to our goal of $8000.  We also are trying to get Ad Standards Canada to approve our ad, which is what Edmonton Transit and Pattison have asked from us.

btn_donate_LG on our membership and merchandise page. 

The crossroads?

We know what the ad should say, but we need artwork.   We’re looking for some graphic artists or help creating the background image for our ad, do you have a hidden talent and want to help?

The ad should include our message  ”Godless?  Good!”  and a call for action by asking them to ”Join us!”.   Ideally we’ll have our website address and our logo included in the ad as well.  The background image should be catchy, but also tie into our message.   If we garner any media attention from this, we want the media to reuse our actual ad, rather than just describing it, so the graphic is important.   We have discussed a few ideas but aren’t sure these are attention grabbers.

BUS AD IDEA 1 Godless bus ad 2
I’m waiting to hear back from Pattison about the exact dimensions required, we’re waiting to hear from ad standards as well…but for now we can move ahead by finalizing what we want the ad to look like.  If you think you’d like to take a stab at it, you can find our logo HERE to use.  If you use an image you find on the internet please make sure it is copyright free!

Please submit your ideas to our facebook group or page, or in an email to info@edmontonatheists.ca.   Thanks for helping us grow our group and help other atheists out there know they are not alone!

 Posted by at 1:49 PM

Bus Ads!

 Fundraising, News  6 Responses »
May 292014
 

The Society of Edmonton Atheists have some big plans this year and we kicked off our fundraising event last night at the David Silverman event.

Our original goal was to have an ad that said ”Don’t Believe In God? You Are Not Alone” but after some discussions with David there are some valid reasons that isn’t the best message for the price tag involved. We need to have something that is new, something that stands out a bit and will get us some additional media attention.   On top of that it was pointed out that message has been used by relgious people :  ”Don’t believe in God?  You’re not alone…I had doubts once too”

All this being said, there are a few points we need to understand about advertising here in Alberta.  The Pattison group own the rights to the bus ads in Edmonton, and Jim Pattison is a Christian.  They originally classed us in the advocacy category, and then after some questions they changed their mind (but did not tell us why).  If we go with a stronger message we may get pushed back to advocacy, a price tag we can’t afford.   So, we’re awaiting clarification of our quote to see if a wording change will make a difference.

David and I, brainstorming, came up with this bus ad idea  (bear in mind this is an early mock up, fine tuning certainly has not happened, and it’s just an idea):

Godless ad 4

So, we are now awaiting some information from Pattison.  Will the new wording put us back into advocacy and can they explain exactly why?  If so, would changing the word IS to AND be acceptable?  Do the members agree to this ad?  There are all sorts of things that need to be discussed before we can move forward on the actual art work and message….and before any of those details are hashed out we have to raise the money.

We are working with a goal of $8,000 which was our original quote for the first bus ad wording.  If you are interested in helping we’ll be accepting donations at all events (just find a board member) or you can use our donation button  and let us know in the notes section you are donating towards the bus ads specifically.

btn_donate_LG

We appreciate every amount!  Thanks for helping to support SEA and get the message out to other atheists that we’re here and that they aren’t alone!

 Posted by at 8:02 PM