What opportunities do children and youth have to practice social action, to learn about giving to the community and to the world?
Our first and seventh principles, that we affirm and promote “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” and “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” compel us to teach the value of social action. All our curricula support “walking the walk.” To that end, our children give to a monthly, Children’s Chapel offering that has funded bag lunches and toiletry kits for Cleveland’s Homeless Standdown, art supplies for children in Chernobyl hospitals, and care packages for U.S. soldiers stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. In addition, individual classes have made and sold dog biscuits to support a local animal shelter, completed litter drives and collected children’s books for Cleveland-area community clinics and centers. West Shore Church has a long tradition of participation in the UUA Service Committee’s Guest at Your Table, a month-long collection for international, emergency relief, and the Giving Tree, an in-house collection of Christmas presents for w
