UUCT has established itself as a supporter of our community by helping those among us who promote justice, equity, and compassion. We now welcome twelve local organizations to this coming fiscal year’s Share the Plate program. They all epitomize what ordinary people can do to improve our world.
- Big Bend After ReEntry Coalition: This is a group of leaders from community, social service, government, education and faith-based organizations who advocate for currently and formerly incarcerated people. The organization aims to reduce recidivism by assisting returning offenders with information and connections. They present classes in anger management, employment and financial services, and assist with accessing identification documents, housing, education, employment, and substance abuse intervention, and mental health services. https://bigbendreentry.org/
- Grace Mission: This is an outreach mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida that supplies a safe place of support for the homeless and disadvantaged in Frenchtown and downtown Tallahassee. Grace Mission provides hot meals, bagged lunches, clothing, laundry facilities, showers, hygiene bags, vaccinations, health testing, mental and emotional support. The mission also serves as a Health Department vaccination site, offers HIV testing, and health campaigns. They partner with other churches, area schools and colleges, local businesses and agencies to improve lives. http://www.gracemission.net/
- Humanists of Tallahassee: This group of volunteers serves the basic practical needs of the marginalized in this community. They collaborate with Food Not Bombs to distribute vegan and vegetarian meals, provide hygiene products and bus passes. They maintain a free food pantry for the children at Sabal Palm elementary School, collect period products for Leon County schoolgirls, and partner with Trinity Methodist Church to provide snack packs and hygiene products to the homeless. They also help fund the local branch of the International Rescue committee, aiding asylum seekers settling in Tallahassee. https://www.humaniststlh.com/
- Manna on Meridian: This is a food distribution center that was created by several nearby churches, including UUCT, to provide for locals who are food insecure. They are dedicated to fighting hunger and nourishing our community through food assistance. Bags of groceries, and gently used clothing, are distributed monthly; no one is turned away without a bag. Many say they would not have enough food to get through the month without us. Food is supplied by Second Harvest of Big Bend, local grocery stores, donations, and the Manna garden. An impressive number of UUCT members volunteer monthly with Manna. https://www.mannaonmeridian.org/
- Rethink Energy Florida: Educates, engages, and empowers Floridians to achieve a just transition to clean energy for a healthier, more sustainable environment. They educate youth in practical environmental and energy issues, offer internships for future leaders, and hold an energy camp for grade 3 to 6 schoolchildren. They partner with groups across Florida to address climate change, ban fracking, aid local governments in grant writing and research assistance, and work to and help lower income residents reduce their energy burdens and prepare for Solar Energy Equity Deployment through their SEED project. https://www.rethinkenergyflorida.org/
- Tallahassee Food Network: Brings together volunteers in all areas, from food pantry workers to chefs to area college faculty to grow community-based food systems that provide healthy, affordable food for all. Their Dent Street garden, which feeds many local families, educates youth and community members in plant growth and storage. They train college students to grow food systems, develop leadership and prepare them for travel to Senegal for the iGrow Senegal project. They train community members to navigate government systems, provide necessities for immigrant families, and distribute school backpacks. They also train youth in preventing childhood obesity. https://www.tallahasseefoodnetwork.com/
- Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC): The group serves the Big Bend area by addressing various social justice issues and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. TCAC promotes community-based safety initiatives including holding law enforcement accountable. They conduct educational and outreach programs to raise awareness of social justice issues and empower community members to act. They have advocated on behalf of police crime victims, stopping the $60 million police station, and instituted a LGBTQ conversion therapy ban. https://www.tallycac.com/
- Little Sunshine Pantries: Creates unconditional access to food and advocates for the betterment of those experiencing poverty. Tallahassee is home to the 32304-zip code which is the poorest in the entire state of Florida. LSP rescues and distributes healthy food and household staples to 20 households every week and provides bus passes. They are developing Tallahassee’s first free, choice-based grocery store where low-income individuals can have the same shopping experience as more affluent shoppers. https://www.littlesunshinepantries.com/
- Second Harvest of The Big Bend: Their mission is to advance change by feeding the hungry and educating and engaging the community in the fight to end hunger. They provide groceries to many thousands of local seniors and schoolchildren, and numerous local food pantries. They serve a 16-county region through the distribution of nutritious food and essential supplies in partnership with a network of schools, faith-based groups, and nonprofit agencies. By working collaboratively with local and regional partners, Second Harvest strives to ensure that individuals and families facing food insecurity have consistent access to the resources they need to live healthy lives.” https://fightinghunger.org/
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace: Provides beds for children who are sleeping on the floor. Child bedlessness is a national problem, and SHP provides the solution. They host bed-building events, accept donations of new twin size sheets, pillows, and bedding items at five local donation sites and distribute beds and bedding to those who need it. https://www.shpbeds.org
- Family Promise of the Big Bend: Their mission is to end homelessness in the Big Bend through leadership, education, advocacy, and the provision of quality services. They provide: emergency shelter, meals, after school programming and counseling for families during brief periods of homelessness; 3 affordable housing complexes that serve veterans, formerly homeless families and persons with disabilities; rehousing and support services for veterans and persons who are homeless. They are the single largest nonprofit in our area offering affordable housing to veterans that were formerly homeless. https://familypromisebigbend.org
- Oasis Center for Women and Girls: A community resource center for women and girls to come together to dream, achieve and thrive. They provide individual counseling, “Girls Can Do Anything” summer camp, K-12 empowerment support groups, single moms’ support groups, with dinner and childcare, and the Trailblazers Awards, honoring local female leaders annually. Oasis is a leader on issues affecting women and girls in our community. https://theoasiscenter.net