Social Justice Team

Meets: see church calendar for dates and times.
Status: open to church members & friends
Team Leader: Laz Escalona & Sherry Wilson
Contact: Email office@uusg.org.

The Social Justice Team coordinates many different activities to help our church members in their quest to "promote practical goodness." Church members and active friends are encouraged to be active in any (or all!) of the activities listed below. New team members are welcome, too!

Social Justice Calendar October and November 2025

Please check out this list of Social Justice Activities scheduled for the months of October and November. If you would like to help or need more information, please contact: Sherry Wilson or Laz Escalona at socialjusticeleader@uusg.org.

EVENTS

Oct 18 No Kings Rally – This Nationwide Rally will be held near the corner of Randall Road and Gleneagle Dr in Geneva, from 11:30 to 1:00. We will meet in front of Ross at 11:30. Bring a hat, sunscreen, a water bottle and your signs and American flags (optional.) We hope to see you there!

Friday Feature Presentation: Immigrant Detentions and Deportations, the Trust Act, and First Amendment Rights, Friday, Oct 24, 2025, 7:00 pm, UUSG Sanctuary

Nearly every day we hear of houses, apartment buildings, and businesses being raided, and people being taken outside of courthouses or when they drop their kids off at school, by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).  Immigrant detentions and deportations, without the benefit of the due process of law, have become the norm in the Chicago area and around the country.  This has caused many to question these practices and a lot of confusion exists regarding immigrant’s rights and the role of law enforcement.

To address some of these questions and clear up some of the confusion, please join us as we present Rebecca Glenberg, Chief Supervising Litigation Council: First Amendment at the ACLU of Illinois, who will explain what immigrants are up against concerning federal vs local laws, the Illinois TRUST Act, what rights immigrants possess under the law, and the First Amendment Rights that apply.

This presentation is a community effort and is being co-sponsored by the UUSG Social Justice Team, St Charles Episcopal Church’s Racial Justice Committee, and the Congregational Church of Batavia.

One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism

Developed by Indivisible and endorsed by the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI), One Million Rising is a training session about authoritarian regimes and how we can resist.  If you’re concerned about the rise of authoritarianism and dictatorship in the US, and want to discuss ways of fighting back, please join us for this one-hour+ session. Two sessions are being offered: Tues, Oct 21 at 10:00 am, and Sun, Nov 9 at 12:30 pm in the Common Room. Please sign up here.

Friday Feature November 14: “Electric Vehicles 101” will be presented at UUSG at 7 p.m. by Tracey and Kathy McFadden. Tracey is President of the Fox Valley Electric Auto Assoc. Bring all your questions and learn more about the advantages and misconceptions regarding electric vehicles. This event will be open to the public; friends and neighbors are welcome. If you would like more information or would like to help out, please contact Tracey McFadden.

Northern Illinois Food Bank is a food repository located in Geneva which provides food to over 900 food pantries, mobile food truck markets and soup kitchens.  On the second Saturday of each month (Oct 11, Nov 8), from 9am-noon, UUSG provides a team of 15 or more volunteers to assist with sorting and repackaging food. Volunteers must be able to stand for the three-hour shift. Volunteers between the ages of 8 and 16 are welcome and must be accompanied by an adult. Please sign up here.

Collections in October & November

Christmas Gifts for Immigrant Children supported by Centro de Información
If you would like to adopt a child’s gift tag, and agree to purchase Christmas gifts for that child, please sign up here. Please do not purchase any gifts yet! This sign up is simply to determine how many gift tags UUSG will sponsor.  In early November we will receive the gift tags from Centro and they will be available for “adoption” on a giving tree. Each name tag will include a child’s name, age, gender, and a list of two or three items they want for Christmas. The spending limit is $75 per gift tag. Gifts will be collected in the common room throughout November and delivered to Centro in early December.

New Children’s Book Drive for Humanitarian Services Project (HSP)
Throughout October, we will be collecting new children’s books for children aged 3-12. The books will be given as birthday and Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in Kane and DuPage Counties. Each year, HSP gifts almost 7,000 books. Harvey’s Tales Book Store will have discounted books on sale (less than $10) for this purpose from Oct 20 – Nov 21. Please leave your donations in the common room by the end of November.

“Party in a Bag” for Humanitarian Services Project (HSP)
Because every child deserves to be celebrated, HSP provides a Party-in-a-Bag in every one of the 950+ birthday boxes they provide each year for children’s 3rd-12th birthdays.

A complete Party-in-a-Bag is a 10”-12” gift bag containing:

• 1 box of cake mix (expiration date at least 6 months from now)

• 1 can of frosting (expiration date at least 6 months from now)

• 1 pkg of at least 8 paper plates

• 1 pkg of paper napkins

• 1 pkg of at least 12 candles

• 1-2 rolls of streamers

• 6-12 balloons

All items must be new and unopened. Please coordinate items so that each bag has a theme and/or all items match a color scheme. Please do not include favors or candy. Please leave your donations in the common room by the end of October.

Centro de Información Children’s Winter Gear Project
Centro de Información Children’s Winter Gear Project will provide gently used children’s boots, coats and other gear to immigrant children. Please note, we are not asking you to purchase items, but to share items that your child has outgrown! Items may be dropped off at UUSG by the end of October.

Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans Collection
Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans Collection of personal care and household items will be held in November. Please check the Pioneer or Mini-Pioneer in November for a list of items that are needed. Donations can be left at UUSG during November. For more information on this project, or on the UUSG Veteran’s Group, please contact Aaron Fogleman.

"Beyond Our Walls" Collections
We collect fund that support the local organizations that we work with: Aurora Pride Parade, Center for Information for Immigrants, Habitat for Humanity, Humanitarian Service Project, Lazarus House, Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, the Northern IL Food Bank, and the Trinity Soup Kitchen. All contributions marked BOW will go into the Social Justice Restricted General Fund, which will then be used to fund activities for our list of BOW recipients and for other social justice work. Any donation marked for a specific organization or purpose, e.g. NIFB or soup kitchen, will go into a restricted account for that organization. 

Commit to Knit
More than 50 peace shawls have been created by members of the congregation for Women 4 Women Knitting 4 Peace. In addition, we have knit chemo caps for Halos for Hope and winter hats for boys at the Illinois Youth Center St. Charles.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We work together to prevail over prejudice in all its forms by finding creative ways to bring the UU vision of diversity/equity/inclusion to our congregation so that our church is a place where people from different backgrounds feel they belong.

Lazarus House: Hope for the Homeless
Along with a number of other churches, our congregation supports Lazarus House, which is the only homeless shelter in the tri-cities area, located in St. Charles. One Saturday a month, UUSG members are responsible for providing meals, overnight supervision, and laundry services. Click here for more info.

Friday Features
On the 4th Friday of every month (except December), we offer a free showing of a movie about an important topic, or host a local speaker which is followed by discussion.

Trinity Soup Kitchen
UUSG works with other area churches to supply lunches to those in need at the Trinity Soup Kitchen.