75 Pageviews Read Stories
- EIN 52-1570992
- 10162 Topsail Ave Englewood FL 34224-8428 USA
- http://www.FloridaHumanist.org
- Add to Favorites
Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Citizen Participation, Civil Rights
Mission: The Humanists of Florida Association works to promote Humanism and the use of reason and compassion in solving human problems. Stated purpose from its bylaws: HFA shall support the purposes and policies of the American Humanist Association. It shall plan, organize and administer an association of Humanist groups in Florida. It shall form working alliances with other Freethought groups in Florida. It shall support existing Humanist Chapters within the state of Florida and encourage the formation of new chapters. It shall promote the ideas and values of Humanism and their application in both private and public affairs. It shall encourage free inquiry, teaching of the scientific method, rational problem solving and democratic principles. It shall defend and preserve the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and the Florida Constitution. Vision statement: Three cogent, interrelated activities that are paramount to achieving Humanism are 1) strengthening democratic practices and institutions, 2) promoting secular education and free inquiry as tools for a naturalistic/scientific understanding of the universe through observation, experimentation and analysis, and 3) recognizing the importance of altruism and the need to think and act beyond ourselves, community, and nation, thus improving the quality of life and the environmental capacity to promote life for generations to come.
Programs: Grassroots Activism: We are one of the only Humanist groups in the country actively dedicated to working with the local humanist groups in a spirit of cooperation. We assist groups in Florida find interesting speakers, provide training in membership recruitment, help organize outreach events for the community, and of course, assist with the start up of new groups. Progressive Social Activism: Our philosophy is that Humanism should not be an arm chair sport. We are engaged within our communities and actively work to create postive social change in the following areas: Human and Civil Rights, Environmental protection, Education reform, Health Care Access, and Separation of Church and State. We have developed and spearheaded the creation of a Statewide Florida Progressive Information Network and are dedicated to working in collaboration with others to acheive our goals. Over the course of the last few years, we have become a central figure in Florida Progressive Organizing. Center for Humanism - Miami: We have developed a Center for Humanism in Miami, staffed by Torben Riise, PhD. The objective of the center is to bring educational opportunities to the community that are geared at improving the efforts of progressive activists. Additionally, we are in discussions with a local university of site a Center for Humanism on their campus in conjunction with the medical, business and ethics departments. Carl Sagan Academy: We have been approved to open a middle school charter in Hillsborough County. The school, which will service at risk middle school students, will open in the fall of 2005, and will be located in the USF catchment area of Tampa. Public Outreach: A major priority for us this year is to conduct public outreach on issues important to Florida Humanists. Our first event was a press conference in Feb 2005 in which we spoke out against the fear mongering and declaration of war made by Rev Kennedy of the Coral Ridge Ministries. Training and Development: We provide grassroots activist training to any group that needs it. The most popular programs that we provide involve Writing Letters to the Editor that actually get printed. How to get Publicity for Free, Strategic Planning progressive change, and how to mobilize and activate your group. We provide this training to any progressive organization who requests it.