Helen Fogg Outreach Committee

A Force for Social Justice

Financial Assistance Application

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee is composed of interested volunteers of the congregation and elects its own coordinator/chair. It is supported by funding from the annual church budget and, additionally, oversees Outreach Sunday collections to benefit worthy charities and causes. The committee meets as necessary – sometimes via Zoom, and sometimes in person. A representative of the committee meets with the Parish Committee once per year and attends Church Council and budget setting meetings.  The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee works closely with the Director of Community Engagement throughout the year.

Our Mission

In the spirit of the words of our covenant - “to minister to each other's needs and to those of humanity” – the Helen Fogg Outreach Committee empowers the ministry of social justice and outreach at First Parish by serving as a conduit for outreach to the wider community locally, nationally and internationally.

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee frequently coordinates efforts to reach our goals by working with and contributing to already existing social justice and outreach efforts.  Four areas of focus help to organize our work: Neighbor to Neighbor, Sustainable Development, Education and Human Rights.

Goals:

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee reflects the values of the church in pursuing outreach to the larger community. Our goals are to include:

  1. Contribute assistance to local, national and international causes and crisis including social injustice and natural disasters through volunteer action

  2. Ministering to each other’s needs publicly and privately

  3. Promote volunteerism within the congregation by providing related social justice action opportunities

  4. Raise awareness about worthy causes during Outreach Sundays and on other Sundays if urgent needs arise

  5. Support the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

In serving as a conduit to and from the parish on issues worthy of our response, we:

  1. Focus on hands-on projects involving the parish through our Action Teams

  2. At the suggestion of the minister, authorize Outreach Sunday collections where the loose offering and designated checks are used for outreach to a project or organization the minister and the committee, on behalf of the congregation, deem worthy of our attention

  3. Communicate to the parish through articles in the Spire, Parish Hall visibility, and presence within the worship service to enable people to see their role in service and help them take action

  4. Communicate UUSC issues to the congregation

Action Teams

The Fogg Outreach Committee oversees, coordinates and supports several Action Teams that focus on taking substantive actions that meet the goals of the Committee and the congregation.  As of early 2026, these Action Teams currently include:

1.     Climate Justice Action Team

2.     Food Justice Action Team

3.     Foster Children Support Action Team

4.     LGBTQ+ Action Team

5.     Mental Health/Health and Wellness Action Team

6.     Racial Justice Action Team

The activities of the Action Teams, and in fact the Action Teams themselves, come and go as determined by the members of an Action Team.  This flexibility allows the congregation to respond to urgent needs as necessary, as well as to discontinue a response if no one from the congregation is able or willing to take on a role within the committee and/or if the need has been met.

 

Interested in attending a social justice action team event?  Interested in a social justice topic and want to lend your time or talent?  See a social justice need somewhere not mentioned here and want to start a new Action Team?  The FY’26 Fogg Outreach coordinator and the FY’26 Action Team leaders are as follows:

·       Fogg Outreach Committee Coordinator – Jack Wallace

·       Climate Justice Action Team – Bernie Gardner and Crista Trapp

·       Food Justice Action Team

·       Foster Children Support Action Team – Rachel Hughes and Julia Traggorth

·       LGBTA+ Action Team – Les Taylor and Jeannette Mitchell

·       Mental Health/Health and Wellness Action Team – Cathy Harder-Bernier

·       Racial Justice Action Team – Sallie Dunner

Contact information for all of the volunteers listed here is available in the church’s directory, found here (link).  Or, alternately, reach out to Amanda Adams, Director of Community Engagement at community@firstparishnorwell.org or Amanda Buron, Operations Coordinator, at office@firstparishnorwell.org .

 

Neighbor To Neighbor

First Parish of Norwell works with the following organizations to support needs at the local level.