A second large flaw is this odd expectation for local atheist groups to have money to donate to various causes. The entire purpose of churches is to collect money, yes money, not souls!!!! And when churches do charity it’s advertising, not selfless “charity”. Churches are sitting on huge amounts of money, and they spend it to sell their message… in order to acquire more money. So how on earth should little non local atheist groups compete with that, it’s nonsense. A vast majority of local atheist groups do not require money from their membership, and operate with very small budgets. To expect us to make financial contributions to various causes is simply not rational.
Instead, let’s talk about volunteering time, that’s where atheist organisations can make our mark.

Second question: Is there anything inherent to being an atheist that stops one from being a caring person and decent human being? Many religious people would assert this, and most atheists would object.

I do agree that being an atheist doesn’t entail any equivalent of religious obligation. But religious people do their best to demonize us and claim that the world would fall apart but for all the good works being done by religions. And I think that being a human being entails a sense of responsibility to help out other human beings – no edicts from God required. Beyond that, atheists perhaps should feel a greater sense of urgency to put things right in the material world since there’s no heaven, hell, or eternal karma to fix things up.

As for atheism, there are significant challenges facing us. There is plenty of work to be done, to support ourselves, each other, to promote unbelief (those of us who think that’s a good idea), to protect our right to blaspheme, and to get our governments here and around the world to treat us with the respect we’re due as citizens and humans. We’re really still finding each other, so it’s early.

But regardless of all that I just wrote, I do agree with LaFleche and Veronica that it is in atheist groups’ interest to be seen doing helpful things in the community, explicitly in the name of atheism (or atheist humanism, if you prefer). It’s not that “the time has come”. It was appropriate yesterday, and it will still be there tomorrow if we don’t do it today. It’s just that there are significant benefits to this, both to vulnerable populations and to ourselves. And I disagree with Joe. Perhaps where he lives, there’s luxury of choice. Where I live, depending on what a person needs, they have no choice but to go to a religious charity. There is certainly value in freeing vulnerable populations from religious charities. If someone in your family was harmed by such charity, you know.

In Austin and Dallas-Ft.Worth, Atheists Helping the Homeless make an impact by providing toiletries to homeless people. This might be the sort of activity which could be duplicated in Canada. Rather than latching on to someone else’s thing, they have filled a need that wasn’t being adequately addressed.

No.

That is completely anecdotal. This has been something I’ve run into quite a lot, and it is annoying. I’m not part of an atheist church, so other atheists don’t get to tell me what should be important to me.

We don’t need a bragging atheist banner that says we care. If some people want to do that… for causes they care about, that is up to them. Enjoy.

But don’t tell me what I should be doing with my time, or how I should be supporting causes. I see no value in reinventing every charity wheel with an atheist angle. There are plenty of nominally secular organizations that do good work, that I am happy to support, even without the atheist label. And there are plenty of good causes, I just don’t have time for, or others I prefer to focus my attention on.

I’m all for encouraging people… believers and otherwise… to help out in their community, but I’m not interested in any loyalty or morality tests. Atheism is enough for me, sometimes my other interests intersect with atheism, sometimes not.