The Mary-Ella Holst Fund for Global and UN Advocacy
Honoring the leadership and contributions of Mary-Ella Holst, longtime member of All Souls New York City
The Mary-Ella Holst Fund for Global and UN Advocacy honors Mary-Ella Holst, 62-year member and Director of Religious Education emeritus of All Souls New York City, for her many lasting contributions to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), our Unitarian Universalist denomination, and our broader world.
“We’re going to be here defending human rights, and nothing can stop us.”
“It is the structural changes, the advocacy that will bring people one by one into a freer life, a more secure life, a life in which there is food and sustenance and basic necessities.”
– Mary-Ella Holst, interview with UUSC, May 5, 2000
At UUSC, Mary-Ella’s leadership included volunteer coordinator, Board Member, presidential search committee chair, and fierce ambassador for UUSC, including traveling to other congregations to speak about human rights. During UUSC’s 50th anniversary, Mary-Ella worked closely with Martha Sharp, one of UUSC’s founders, to identify and reunite Martha with some of the children the Sharps helped rescue from the Nazis during World War II. This reunion was the source of the “living testimony” required for the posthumous recognition of the Sharps as “Righteous Among Nations” at the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel, in June 2006. Mary-Ella was interviewed for the Ken Burns PBS documentary Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War.
Recognizing Mary-Ella’s passion for religious education as well as advocacy, particularly at the United Nations, the Mary-Ella Holst Fund for Global and UN Advocacy supports UUSC advocacy and youth programming that further the policy and human rights goals of UUSC international grassroots partners.
A special first project supported by the Fund will be UUSC’s Spring Seminar, which will bring together 20 youth in grades 10-12 for a spiritually grounded activism program in April 2026 in New York City. In addition to the youth seminar, the Fund will support critical policy and advocacy work led by UUSC grassroots partners to advance gender justice, climate justice, international justice and accountability, and more, such as:
- Sponsoring UUSC partner participation at UN and global decision-making forums such as the UN Climate Change Conference and UN Human Rights Council.
- Supporting the next steps in the groundbreaking campaign for an Advisory Opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice, led by UUSC partner Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change.
- Supporting UUSC partners seeking restitution from regional and international mechanisms, such as efforts for justice and accountability for the Rohingya Muslim minority of Burma following the genocide that began in August 2017.
How To Support The Fund
To make a gift to the Mary-Ella Holst Fund for Global and UN Advocacy, please visit the secure donation page below or follow the instructions for sending a check by mail.
To support the Fund by mail, we invite you to send a check with “Mary-Ella Holst Fund” in the memo line to:
UUSC
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808
Please contact development@uusc.org with any questions. Thank you for your support!
