A Message from Executive Director Fish Stark

(March 20, 2026) — “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut always seems to have the right words.

The essence of humanism is doing good for its own sake. It’s a simple, beautiful truth that is so tempting to overcomplicate.

But every time we strip it down to the studs and say we’re fighting for a more compassionate world, period, more and more people raise their hands.

Case in point: we thought we’d have to work hard to get 100 applications for the American Empathy Project. But – without breaking a sweat – we got four hundred and thirty-four. Thousands of people signed up for our email list to learn more.

And – because it’s my job to pay attention to this sort of thing! – this February, we saw a 52% increase in new memberships to the AHA compared to last February.

There is a groundswell of Americans who don’t just want to see the kind of basic decency and compassion towards their neighbors Vonnegut talked about – they want to build it. And they are trusting us to help them.

We promised to spend at least $100,000 to fund 100 American Empathy Projects across the country. But I want to see if we can do more. Every single dollar raised through this email will go directly to funding additional service projects, helping neighbors and raising awareness of humanism across the country. Click here to contribute.

If you want your faith in humanity restored, there’s no better way than reading about some of the ways people are planning to help their neighbors.

Dan in Maryland, an AHA member who leads a mutual aid group, is planning to partner with the Anne Arundel County Secular Humanists to run a Diaper Drive for low-income parents impacted by this administration’s cuts to programs that help families afford the basics.

Shane, an AHA member in North Carolina, is setting up an event to connect foster parents and their families to each other – creating support for families, and kids, who need it most and often feel isolated, at a time where they’re more stretched, and getting less support, than ever before.

Erica in Los Angeles is planning to host an event where neighbors fix each other’s broken appliances for free – helping people save money and use their skills to support others.

A group of volunteers in rural Tennessee are planning to set up a food pantry for community members who don’t feel comfortable going to the food banks run by local churches.

Even better – we asked applicants to talk about what humanism means to them. Here’s some of what we heard:

“I didn’t simply drift away from religion — I lost it. Or maybe it lost me. The beliefs I was raised with, especially their stance toward the LGBTQIA community, no longer aligned with the values I hold close. Becoming an atheist didn’t answer everything for me. Instead, it opened up space — space to rebuild what I believed in from the ground up, in my own words, in my own time. And that’s where humanism came in.”

“Humanism, to me, is honoring the magic of being human while owning the power we have to shape our world. It’s dignity, agency, connection, and the quiet belief that intention matters more than fate.”

“Leaving religion did not mean leaving behind a commitment to living a moral, compassionate life. In fact, it strengthened it. As a social worker and someone devoted to caring for my community, the environment, and the well-being of others, I found that my values were rooted not in divine authority but in our shared humanity. For me, humanism means recognizing that meaning, ethics, and responsibility arise from our relationships with one another and the world around us.”

This is our fight. Not against anything so much as for each other. For the fact that in our brief, wonderful moment on this earth, in this one life, we have the obligation and the opportunity to take care of ourselves, each other, and our planet.

That’s where joy lives. That’s where fulfillment lives. That’s where morality lives.

That’s humanism. Not some lines a philosopher wrote during the enlightenment or YouTube video debunking tarot cards. The quiet work of ensuring – and sometimes the loud work of demanding – human dignity.

It is the privilege of a lifetime to be able to help people find a home in humanism – because when they do, this is the kind of thing that results.

More people behaving decently towards each other. For no other reason than the fact that it’s right.

See you on May 2nd at your local American Empathy Project.

For humanity,
Fish