Kaleidoscope works to build an inter generational space where we can flourish in our QUEER+ TRANS lives, and lead our congregation and the wider community to be more inclusive and expansive.

Kaleidoscope hosts social events and supports social justice actions that impact QUEER+ TRANS lives.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be added to our listserv and learn about upcoming events. You can also join the Kaleidoscope community on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/uuaakaleidoscope .

 

 

UUCivs: UUAA's Civic Engagement Team

Vote Your Values

 

UUCivs aims to inform and inspire UUAA members and friends about civic and political actions we can each take to advocate for all voices to be heard in the democratic process. We believe sustained efforts will result in a more just and equitable society.

 

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WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED—TOGETHER

A record 5.5 million Michiganders voted in the November 3, 2020 election, and despite a significant health crisis, millions of first-time absentee voters, allegations of fraud, fears of voter intimidation, and systemic obstacles to voting, Michigan’s election was safe, fair, successful, and certified! 

Thank you to everyone who donated their time and/or gave financial support to our Get Out The Vote efforts! It all made a difference!

  

Above: Poll workers in Jackson staying safe and voters signing up for absentee ballots.

 

 

Prior to the August primary, UUCivs began networking with other voting advocacy groups to identify where we could be most useful in local GOTV efforts. We decided to prioritize education on absentee voting and created a Voting Kit that included everything needed to vote safely from home— and we focused on under-served communities in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. 

By the time we reached the November election, we were working with over 36 community partners and had distributed over 9600 fliers/postcards and 583 Voting Kits. We had hosted 8 Zoom training sessions and held 42 socially distanced in-person voting events. We also served as the graphic design and copy shop for grass-roots community partners, racing to get them voting materials as they fanned out across their communities. UUCivs volunteers did text & phone banking, helped voters get to the polls, staffed polling places, and worked with Election Defenders, a non-partisan organization, to make sure voting was safe, accessible, and fun!

 

   

Above: Helping Ann Arbor voters get to the polls and Election Defenders in Dearborn.

 

 One particular partnership made a powerful impact: the Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC).  The energy and enthusiasm of the VAAC members helped thousands of currently and formerly incarcerated citizens and people with a felony record get access to voting information for themselves and their families. Hundreds of fliers and posters were handed out and displayed in Detroit and Pontiac neighborhoods, led by local leaders who had a huge impact on encouraging, educating, and energizing eligible voters. VAAC’s important work was even profiled in the Detroit Free Press. We experienced the value and power of working in partnership with other wonderful groups striving to make their communities better.

 

 

 VAAC Team members organizing on a Zoom call and at the Rosa Parks transit center in Detroit.

 

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What’s next for UUCivs?

We’re looking to the next stage: working with our new leaders to build a more just society, holding our elected leaders accountable on that journey, and striving to strengthen civic connection in the midst of ongoing division. 

HISTORY OF UUCIVS’ ACTION

UUCivs grew out of the workshop Justice Day at UUAA  in February, 2017. We called ourselves “UUAA Indivisible” for three years until the Spring of 2020 when the Indivisible movement became more associated with partisan politics as the electoral season ramped up. Throughout our history, our group has mobilized progressive, non-partisan citizen engagement through events such as: 

• Co-hosting a Town Hall at UUAA with US Representative Debbie Dingell and three Michigan State Representatives, and also holding a Meet & Greet with US Senator Debbie Stabenow. Here is independent filmmaker Donald Harrison’s  5-min video on the Town Hall featuring lively exchanges in our full sanctuary and an article about the town hall  in MLive 
• Presenting a “phone activism” workshop on techniques for calling our government representatives.
• Hosting a “Promote the Vote” launch party, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters, where attendees were trained on gathering signatures for a petition to put a proposal on the November 2018 ballot making both voter registration and voting more convenient in our state. 
• Organizing a community screening of the documentary Free Trip to Egypt, a film about the power of bringing people of diverse backgrounds together and the value of deep listening. 
• Co-sponsoring, with UUAA’s Friends of Restorative Justice and the Challenging Racism group, a forum on the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney’s role in providing dignity, healing, and a safe community in our justice system for victims and offenders.

 

 

KEY UUCIVS COALITION PARTNERS -- ELECTION 2020

-- MUUSJN (Michigan UU Social Justice Network)

-- Voting Access for All (VAAC)

            -- “Use Your Voice” video

-- Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice (ICPJ)

-- League of Women Voters of Ann Arbor Area

-- UU the Vote

 

UUCIVS Information

Stay tuned for future actions!

Questions or to get on the UUCivs Email List: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

 

Families belong together.   No human being is illegal. All people have human rights. "Never again" is now.

In June, Immigrant Heritage Month, the Immigration Action Coalition celebrates our heritage as an immigrant nation by featuring, and reviving, the Butterfly Project in which we participated at the beginning of 2020. This page shows the tiles UUAA congregants have created and where they have been placed in Washtenaw County.

The Ann Arbor Jewish Sanctuary and Immigration Network uses butterflies as a symbol of both migration and beauty to emblematize the notions that migration is beautiful and universal, that no human being is illegal, that child detention is a travesty. Most of all, “Never Again is Now.”. Through public art, the project intends to raise awareness of the on-going violations of basic human rights occurring in this country. The Butterfly Project is inspired by the stolpersteine stumbling stones embedded in the sidewalks of German cities. These small plaques serve to commemorate victims of the Holocaust who were forced into detention centers, or forced to emigrate to escape persecution.

The project adopts the butterfly, a symbol of the immigration rights movement. Butterflies migrate across borders to survive. Similarly, people migrate to survive, to reunite with family, to live in safety and without fear.

This is a "distributed" art project. Individuals across the community were asked to decorate the tiles and flyers provided with the symbolic butterfly and messages that address the humanitarian crisis at our borders.

TO PARTICIPATE: email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Download a map of the tile locations

 

Butterfly tiles created by UUAA congregants

 

Look for UUAA butterfly tiles around town!

If you would like to find our congregation's Migration is Beautiful butterfly tiles around town, you can download a map that gives a tour of the tiles, or read on to find out where each tile is located.

 

The Hair Station 48 E Cross St Ypsilanti

 

Silver Lake Recreation Area Pinckney

 

Sidetrack Bar and Grill

 

 

Cultivate Coffee Taproom

 

Creature Conservancy

 

Cafe Racer Antique Motorcycles

1200 Block of Wines Drive

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Saline

 

Saline Jazzercise

 

Morris Lawrence Building WCC

 

McPherson Local Saline

 

Maureen's Designs Saline

 

Jerusalem Garden A2

 

Carrigan Cafe Saline

 Ann Arbor Main Library Friends of the Library Bookshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann Arbor YMCA Learning Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graffiti Alley Ann Arbor (E. Liberty Street)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jefferson Market (Jefferson St)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wurster Park- Near 3rd St Entrance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saline Inn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saline Senior Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matty J Bakery and Cafe, Saline

 Cranbrook Park in Ann Arbor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridge on Maiden Lane, Ann Arbor

302 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor

Whole Foods Market, Eisenhower Pkwy, Ann Arbor

Reichert Health Bldg, St Josephs Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor

In 2018, UUAA began working with the Community Action Network (CAN), a nonprofit organization that partners with families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for the families and to improve the communities in which they live. We participate in CAN's program that provides gifts for children attending local schools.

Please consider volunteering to help support homeless families in our community by providing or preparing food, or supervising kids activities  as an Alpha House volunteer. This is a great opportunity to join together to help others.
You can also help by contributing items that help Alpha House support families during the year. Alpha House Current Wish List.

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Cold/ Flu/ COVID-19 Update, November 2020

So far, Alpha House has not seen any cases of COVID-19. Alpha House is implementing preparedness measures in case a coronavirus illness occurs in the shelter. All volunteers are asked to wash hands when arriving and before leaving the shelter. Families are being educated about prevention methods. If there is an illness, sick children will be kept out of activity time and sick families will be served meals in their rooms.

Volunteers: Volunteers can opt to provide contact-free help by dropping off food to Alpha House staff curbside or by donating money to pay for groceries. Your day host will coordinate by phone if last-minute changes are needed. If you or your family is sick, contact your coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let her know you will be staying home.

Food donors: You can drive up outside and call 734.822.0220 for Alpha House staff to come out and receive your dish.

Background checks: We ask everyone 18+ who signs up to volunteer with residents (activity time and dinner/brunch servers) to provide full legal name and any former name(s) including maiden name because the Alpha House staff does a simple security check. We need to ask this every time, as the checks are made before each host week.

This host week we need $540 in donations. For nights when volunteers are not bringing dishes for the meals, we will purchase prepared foods from Food Gatherers to serve for dinners. On the signup, you will see opportunities to sponsor a dinner ($20) or sponsor a specific supply for our supply run ($1-$20). Donations may be made by credit card using this link to the UUAA credit card payment page.  THANK YOU!

Questions? Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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Non-virus season information for volunteers

Children: 1 or 2 children attending a volunteer slot with an adult are welcome! Alpha House kids especially love meeting other kids during Activity Time. We no longer need to know the children's names or ages. If you plan to volunteer with a lot of kids, please let us know.

Background Checks: When you sign up, there will be a question asking for any adult's full name and/or former name. This applies to everyone who interacts with residents (dinner/brunch servers, activity time). For these slots we must provide our full legal names including any former legal names (such as a maiden name or birth name). When arriving for your slot (everyone except cooks), check in at the front desk where the staff will confirm you have had a background check, or they will complete it on the spot.

Dinner Schedules: Sometimes Alpha House parents work late, so you might not see as many people at dinnertime (or have as many kids at weeknight activity time). Our food is needed because residents are reheating the food from the dining room refrigerator later that night.

Cooks/Dinner: You can find the number of adults and kids, any food allergies, and a list of favorite meals here: (https://tinyurl.com/AHResidents). You can see the meals served recently here: ( https://tinyurl.com/AHPastMeals). Questions? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Background

 

Homelessness is a profound and growing problem for our nation. Today, America is confronted with a homeless population whose magnitude could once have been caused only by a major economic depression. Hundreds of thousands of Americans – children and adults – have no place to call home.

Today’s homeless population is very diverse and goes beyond the stereotypes of the past. A large segment of this growth in homelessness includes families. Over half of the homeless are women and children.

More than any another group, a family’s life is turned upside down and can be virtually destroyed if the family stays homeless very long. Victims of eviction, urban renewal, unemployment or family breakup, members of this vulnerable group have suffered most from a lack of decent affordable housing.

UUAA Outreach to Area Homeless Families

We participate as one of the network congregations that provides meals and other support for three to five families (up to approximately 16 people) for one week on a rotating schedule. We have been hosting IHN 3 - 4 times a year. The families stay at Alpha House, located at 4290 Jackson Rd., near the intersection of Jackson and Wagner. The phone number for Alpha House is 734-822-0220.

We usually obtain over one hundred volunteers from our congregation through the year.

We have an IHN committee that works behind the scenes to coordinate all of the volunteers and other miscellaneous tasks that must be completed in order to make this happen.

How You Can Help

The three Sundays before our hosting week we have a table set up in the Social Hall after church for volunteers (that's you) to sign up to help!

You can:

• Bring in food/dry goods items. Ex. Milk, cereal, paper napkins, etc.
• Bring in specific dinner items. Ex. Salad, meat dish, dessert, etc.
• Help set up dinner.
• Eat dinner with the families.
• Help transport food and supplies.
• Volunteer to sleep overnight.
• Host on Saturday/Sunday for 2-3 hour shifts
  
  

IHN Is Structured to serve families. It provides:

Humane Shelter

Overnight lodging and meals in private, safe, healthy, "home-like" accommodations.

Short Lead Time

Use of existing facilities eliminates time spent buying and renovating a building; it takes only a few months to put together a Network program.

Cost Efficiency

Operating cost reduced by using existing community resources.

Support Services

Direct involvement often motivates volunteers to play an important role in providing additional support services for families.

Provisional Shelter

Network program does not institutionalize shelter as a permanent solution. It is not a substitute for affordable housing initiatives.

Catalyst for Change

Network volunteers and congregations are motivated to develop more permanent solutions for homelessness.

Social Concern Ministry

Churches and synagogues experience ownership of the program as their outreach ministry to the homeless.

Think globally and act locally. It feels good and you can have fun too!

Read more about efforts to fight homelessness in our community at the web site for the  Shelter Association of Washtenaw County.