BETTER WORLD EVENTS

Welcome to our 7th year of “Better World” Events!

Make the World a Better Place events are monthly (September-June) social justice learning events presented on Zoom by the good folks at Heritage Presbyterian Church. Speakers are people who are actively making social change in their area of expertise. The purpose of these events is to give attendees concrete ideas and hope for making the world a little better.

Better World Organizer: Pat Plan

For more information, please email: betterworldbenicia@gmail.com

Viewpoints expressed in these presentations do not necessarily reflect any position or policy of Heritage Presbyterian Church and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Upcoming event: END LOCAL HUNGER NOW!

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 7:00 pm

featuring:
Hailey Solares, Strategic Partnerships Facilitator, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
and
Heather Pierini, Executive Director, Food is Free Bay Area

To RSVP and receive the Zoom link for this event, email: betterworldbenicia@gmail.com

The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano‘s Mission is “Leading the fight to end hunger in partnership with our community and in service of our neighbors in need.” Everything we do is for our community and to end hunger on a systemic level. We have 7 different food distribution programs in partner with 260 different agency partners to reach the most amount of clients as possible. We currently serve 465,000 clients monthly between both counties. That is 1 in 4 residents! For everyone 1 dollar donated, we are able to provide two meals.

Food is Free Bay Area‘s Mission: We believe that food is a basic human right. Our goal is to create community, foment happiness and feed people. Everyone deserves access to nutritious, culturally relevant food. Food is Free Bay Area (FIFBA) emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mobilizing quickly to address the urgent food needs of Bay Area residents. Established four years ago, FIFBA has rapidly evolved and expanded its services to become a pivotal organization in the fight against food insecurity. The primary purpose of FIFBA is to address emergency food needs, leveraging a hyper-local approach and innovative solutions to distribute fresh produce and shelf-stable items to vulnerable populations. FIFBA operates with a commitment to community engagement, collaboration, and inclusivity.

Recent Event Themes (Each year we explore these and other social-justice topics):

  • Solutions to Homelessness
  • Help End Hunger
  • Recycling
  • Gun Safety
  • Prisons, Prisoners, and the Campaign to End the “Three Strikes” Law
  • Black Lives Matter – Critical Race Theory
  • Peace: Personal, Interpersonal, Neighborhood, Community, World
  • Community Policing
  • Reducing/Eliminating Prejudice
  • Community Gardens
  • Speak Up! How To Be Heard by Elected Officials
  • Immigration and Refugees
  • In this troubled world – Try Kindness

Recordings of recent events:

Some Better World Ideas:

While living our busy lives, it’s natural to focus on our schedule, our problems, our plans, and yet we can miss what’s happening around us. But then something draws your focus to an issue, a mess that needs to be cleaned up, a problem someone is struggling with, the news on TV, even the mood of the people around you. It’s possible to get a grip on life and DO SOMETHING that will improve the common good, however slightly.

Actions that lead to change:

  • Learn: Read, research, observe, analyze, question things in new ways!
  • Talk: Discuss, teach, convince, excite, demonstrate, encourage, ask questions, spread the word!
  • Write: Inform others though writing articles, news releases, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, postcards, poetry, plays, books!
  • Act: Lead, lecture, meet and greet, organize, protest, march!
  • Art: If you can, make posters, cartoons, signs, films, songs!

And finally: Learn all you can about your issues of concern. Read and study. Notice small details. Ask yourself: what is really going on? Ask how might things be done differently?

Follow these three guidelines:

  • Decide to DO something to help. Half the battle is deciding to move forward and act.
  • Try to enlist others to work with you. Social action can be scary and lonely; a group or even one other person gets you more attention than one person alone. The bigger the group – the more attention you can generate!
  • Don’t wait too long; do something soon! The fate of the world (or at least a small part of it) is waiting for YOU to act!

Some good quotes from well known people about a better world:

“Every choice we make can be a celebration of the world we want.”
– Frances Moore Lappe, author

“To do more for the world than the world does for you – that is success.”
– Henry Ford, founder Ford Motor Co.

“In this life we can’t always do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
– Mother Teresa

“You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation. “
– Marian Wright Edelman, Author, Activist

”The measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis.”
– Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court Justice

“But when there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”
– Anne Frank, well-known writer/philosopher

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead, American Anthropologist

“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”
– Cornel West, Author

“Let all that you do be done in love.”
– Corinthians 16:14

“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
– Nelson Mandela, former South African leader