Unitarian Universalist Church of Cambria

Social and Environmental Justice highlights From 2021

 

• Our congregants and friends continue to donate warm jackets, socks, and blankets for us to distribute locally to the unhoused. We also funded 20 bags with socks, power bars, toiletries, flashlights, large bags and other items which have been given to ten men, three women and five transients this fall. Both of these projects are successful due to Catherine Lekich.

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• Ted Key and Rebecca Hendricks lead our Adopt-a-Highway program, which keeps two miles of Highway 46 clean of debris on a bi-monthly basis. Members of UUCC also participated in the annual ‘clean up the beach’ event; both projects contribute to the health and beauty of our local environment.

 

• The SLO Food Bank and the UUCC, in partnership with Cambria’s anonymous Neighbors, have been working together since 2016  to ensure that food insecure households in San Simeon have access to fresh, nutritious groceries. Janet Cooper with the UUCC, , with a grant from CAN provides dairy products and popular produce items not included in the SLO Glean bags. The most popular items offered by the UUCC are fresh milk, eggs, tomatoes, onions, tortillas and cheese. The UUCC budget also included an apple pie for every family at Christmas time this year. Janet Cooper is our UUCC lead and we appreciate her commitment to this important project.

 

Since 2016, the number of families and individual households has increased from 12-15 to

35-50 households. We are fortunate to have the regular help of Sandra, who keeps her neighbors informed up monthly distributions and helps at the distribution site by logging in the participants and directing traffic, not to mention using her fluency in Spanish to communicate with the families. Thanks to UUCC members and friends who support this effort, and to the volunteers who have assisted at donation sites.

 

• We are grateful for our liaison with Danilda Reyes at the Link Family Resource Center in our sixth annual Thanksgiving food drive. Catherine Lekich and Rebecca Hendricks shopped for and gathered hundreds of pounds of ‘everything but the turkeys,’ so we could create not only thirty overflowing baskets, but carts of extra food and vegetables, including fresh produce from Tally Farms and Teresa Lees from Global Family Farm. It was great fun to join Danilda and high school volunteers at the Grammar School to fill baskets going to deserving families in our community.

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• Volunteers also assist the Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion by baking and adding goodies to their yearly bags for local veterans and shut-ins during December holidays. We also assist the American Legion in the annual Toys for Tots program.

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• Every 4th Sunday the UUCC accepts extra donations to assist the non profits in our area.

• In 2021, they were, Cambria Annynomous Neighbors, Heart Animal Rescue, Greenspace,and The SLO Food Bank

• Many thanks to our congregants who donate and involve themselves so that all of our efforts can continue.

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