STAFF REPORTS

For HumanistNetworkNews.org
Aug. 19, 2009

Camp Quest Texas will kick-off with the first camp in the state on Sunday, Aug. 30,  in Princeton. The camp, which was created for atheist, agnostic, and other non-religious children and their parents, is organized by Amie Parsons. "It's just a camp, for kids, who want to have a camp experience without having the religious dogma placed upon them," Parsons said. "We really want to encourage students to look around them and their surroundings such as the sky, the clouds, and the sun. We want them to ask why and how."

The camp will feature such programs as learning about different animals and making pottery and will have a strong emphasis on science. 31 kids have signed up so far and the list is growing.

Camp Quest Texas is one of several Camp Quests held throughout the country.

Foundation Beyond Belief, a new charitable and educational foundation, has created a new Facebook group and is calling for donations in order to gear up for the foundation's launch, which will take place in the coming months.

The purpose of Foundation Beyond Belief is to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanistic generosity and to support a nationwide nonreligious parent education program. It will highlight ten charitable organizations per quarter in areas of health, poverty, environment and more, and members of the Foundation will be able to set up personal profiles to indicate areas in which they'd like their contribution distributed. Beneficiaries may be founded on any worldview so long as they do not engage in proselytizing.

The Iowa Atheist and FreeThinkers continue to make headlines with news that a driver of a Des Moines Area Regional Transit (DART) bus is facing disciplinary action for refusing to drive a bus that displayed the slogan "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." The bus ad, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists and FreeThinkers, had in previous weeks made waves by reports that DART pulled the ad after complaints, but then reversed that decision after a meeting with the Iowa group and news that the ACLU was looking into the case.

Newspapers report that there had been passengers on the bus, but that DART officials called in a replacement driver and passengers only had to wait five minutes before they were on their way.