Sunday, September 28 – Sunday, October 26 2025
Find actions that you (and your friends and family)* are able to participate in, listed below. Make sure to keep track of your hours, and take photos of yourself, your loved ones, and your environment at each action you attend! Photos submitted using the tracking form might make a special appearance on the big screen during Sunday services throughout the weeks of the Challenge.
*Families with younger children are encouraged to participate in actions with blue titles.
*Families with teens are encouraged to participate in actions with red titles.
Actions are further classified by the following categories:
Direct Service
Informational
Policy & Systems
Anytime Activities
Watch this webinar! Housing Costs & Jeffco’s Workforce: Challenges and Solutions
All ages | Anytime
Hear Jeffco business and community leaders discuss the impacts of rising housing costs on our local workforce, economy, and community vitality. Webinar presented by Bell Policy Center, Golden United, and Jeffco Community Network. Watch this hour-long recorded webinar at your own time, pace, and place, and learn how you can be part of the solution.
Visit a Local Business with Know Your Rights (KYR) information
Adults | Orientation on Sunday, October 12 (sign up for alternate dates)
Visit a local business with information explaining how to protect their business and employees in the event of an ICE raid. Sign up to receive a 15 minute orientation and materials in order to visit a local business of your choosing. There will be an orientation on Sunday, October 12 and at other times, depending on the needs of those who sign up. Sign up below, or contact Gretchen May for more information.
Help sell pumpkins at the Habitat for Humanity Pumpkin Patches
All ages | Friday, October 3 – Sunday, October 31
Turn pumpkins into houses! Help us unload pumpkins on October 3 or October 10 (Fridays), and sell pumpkins from October 4 through Halloween (October 31) to raise funds for our 2025 Habitat for Humanity Home. This is a fun opportunity for kids who want to help out. They make the best salespeople! Costumes are encouraged! Shifts are 4 hours (10AM – 2PM and 2PM – 6PM), but can be split if needed.
Abundant Harvest Table Support
Teen+ | Sundays, September 28 – October 19 | 12 pm
Help staff the Abundant Harvest Table after the second service and help clean up until done.
Postcarding for Justice!
All ages | Anytime
Join our UU the vote team in writing postcards to encourage voters in important elections! Please contact Ken Andrus for more information.
Food Bags for Unsheltered Neighbors
All ages | Anytime
Donate toward food bags given to unsheltered families and individuals during severe weather. There are NO severe weather shelters open in Jefferson County in 2025-26. This year, our unsheltered neighbors will go to a motel room without any source of food. Our food bags will contain ample nutrition for evening and morning and only require a microwave. Please contribute what you can at our table in the Commons during the Social Justice Challenge, or use the button below to donate. Our youth will put the bags together from food purchased with your donations.
Events
Jefferson County School Board Candidate Forum
Teen+ | Monday, September 29 | 6 – 8 pm
Sponsored by the Jeffco League of Women Voters, Jeffco PTA, Engage Jeffco and JUC, all seven candidates for the Jefferson County school board will participate in this forum and be available to answer questions about their vision for the school board, if elected.
Queer Social Justice Group: First Meeting
Teen+ | Monday, September 29 | 7 – 8:30 pm
Come to our very FIRST LGBTQIA+ justice group meeting! Help create queer justice at JUC!
Science Alone Can’t Beat Epidemics
Teen+ | Thursday, October 2 | 7 – 9 pm
Ever wondered why smallpox no longer ravages the world? After viewing a short documentary (Neil Halloran’s The Plea), we’ll engage in a discussion with JUC members Dan Matlock, MD, and epidemiologist Marci Sontag, PhD, regarding how and why vaccinations work, and why it takes broad participation to keep all of us safe.
Stamped from the Beginning Viewing and Talk Back
Teen+ | Saturday, October 4 | 2 – 4 pm
View the Netflix documentary “Stamped from the Beginning” based on Ibram X. Kendi’s book of the same name, exploring the history of racist ideas in America. The film traces the development and impact of anti-Black racist ideas throughout American history and gives insight into the perpetuation of racist tropes and imagery. The film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Katie Bradford – an educator with over 20 years experience, the Chair of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) and the Dean of the Arts and Media Department at Denver Academy. Katie is committed to making the community a safe and inclusive space for all, and is a longtime member of JUC.
The State of Homelessness in Jefferson County
Teen+ | Sunday, October 12 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Luke Campbell, Homeless Response Coordinator for Jefferson County and Kory Kolar, Homeless Navigator, will offer an update on the unhoused population in Jefferson County, along with the planned response for severe weather sheltering this winter and volunteer opportunities.
Vigil to Support Detainees’ Release
All ages* | Monday, October 13 | 5:15 – 8:30 pm | GEO Detention Center, 3130 Oakland St, Aurora
Join JUC’s Immigrant Support Team in attending a vigil at ICE’s GEO Detention Center in Aurora. Vigils are held weekly to support detainees and demand their release. Joining the vigil is a moving experience that will include speaking, chanting, singing, and some communication from detainees or their families. Meet at JUC between 5pm and 5:15pm to carpool to Aurora (about a 40 minute drive). The Vigil begins at 6pm and can go as long as 8pm, although it could finish earlier.
*Vigils can be very heavy and sad, but are not prohibitive for a family who has talked with their children. Please note that this is not the place to engage high-energy children. Contact Gretchen May if you’d like to know more.
Gender Workshop
Adults* | Wednesday, October 15 | 6 – 7:30 pm
Our new Queer Social Justice Group will be providing a time to talk about gender. We’ll introduce how pronouns can be used by gender diverse people and provide examples of the transgender experience. Questions are welcome. Celebrate gender diversity with us and gain some insight into becoming an ally to transgender people.
*Teens may also attend with parent/guardian permission
Volunteer at Guatemala Fiesta
All ages | Sunday, October 26 | 12:30 – 2 pm
Lend your time to help out with the annual Guatemala Fiesta, which has been celebrating the generous donors and student recipients of the Guatemala Scholarship program, established in 2013. Possible volunteer tasks include:
- Set up-moving tables and chairs
- Kitchen prep
- Serving food
- Clean-up (this includes replacing tables and chairs to original positions)