Community Outreach
The UU Church of Nashua has community outreach at the center of our core values. We strive to have an active presence in the community and look for areas where we can lend a hand. Our goal is not just to provide financial assistance, but also to encourage congregational participation, and to raise awareness among members of the associated social and economic issues.
We support two types of outreach programs:
Sunday Collections
In September of 2003, we initiated a program of collections during our Sunday services to be devoted entirely to community outreach. Each month we choose an organization to receive funds raised through our outreach collections, and invite a representative to speak at a Sunday service to talk about their organization and describe how the funds will be used. Then each Sunday throughout the month we "pass the basket" during the service to allow all friends and members of the congregation the opportunity to contribute. Through December 2005, we raised over $40,000.
Community organizations that have benefited from our outreach collections include the Greater Nashua Dental Connection, Granite State Organizing Project, Nashua Pastoral Care Center's Prescription Drug Program, Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelters, Donna Purkhiser White Wing Scholarship Fund, Nashua Area Health Center, Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network, Hillsboro County South Child Advocacy Center, the Unitarian Universalist District Youth Council, New Hampshire Faithful Democracy, and the Friendship Club for the Handicapped.
During our "Every Member Canvas" in March 2004, members were asked how they felt about the Sunday Collections Program. The majority response was very positive, with many respondents commenting that the program enriched their church experience by making them very personally aware of and involved in meeting the needs of our greater community.
We invite local non-profit organizations to submit a request for funds using the Sunday Outreach Collections form. The receiving group or project must be working toward some social, economic, educational, or denominational need in our community, be consistent with our UU Principles, have a representative willing to make a presentation during Sunday Service, and use the proceeds for a specified purpose or project, not for general operating funds.
Strategic Outreach
In addition to helping community organizations with our financial contributions, we hold as one of our values the desire to "make a difference" in our community, and along with that, experience the growth, the deepened understanding, and the commitment that comes back to us as a congregation. It is a project of this kind - one that evolves over a longer term, involves more of the congregation, targets a larger financial amount, and serves to teach us and reinforce our values - that we envision as "strategic outreach."
In the church year 2004-5, we adopted the Greater Nashua Dental Connection (GNDC) as our strategic outreach project. The GNDC is a clinic in the French Hill area of Nashua, just a few blocks from our church. They provide dental care for individuals and families who could not otherwise afford it. We learned of their need to hire a dental hygienist at a startup amount of $25,000 (after that, the position would become fully funded through Medicare reimbursements) and that 1200 new children could be serviced during that time. The Executive Board voted to support this effort and to ask the membership to offer their support in all possible ways.
Church members worked on a number of fronts - raising money, identifying volunteer opportunities for the congregation, looking for ways to involve the children, and working on an effort with the Granite State Organizing Project to get French Hill classified as an underserved area and thus eligible for targeted federal programs.
If you have any interest in supporting our outreach projects, please contact the church office.
