Phoenix Foundation

The Phoenix Foundation is a charity initiative of The Church of Humanity, Repentant established in Autumn 3200, in cooperation with Lyran nobility and representatives from associations of Lyran serfs. It aims to provide serfs on Orpheus (especially through any of their cooperative associations) funds to enable the restoration of communities and infrastructure, and to ensure their increased security and opportunities in the future.

The CHR considered the Phoenix Foundation part of their Repentance for their support of, and involvement in, the genocide committed against the people of Orpheus during the Conflict of 3200.

Following the dissolution of the Church of Humanity, Repentant, the particular Repentant sects associated with the Phoenix Foundation's creation worked to continue providing support and funding to the initiative. The Phoenix Foundation later accepted an invitation from SERAPH to join under its charitable banner.

Establishment

The initiative was sponsored by funds from the CHR Department of Charity (headed by the Balance subfaction), and supplemented by funding drives from the Concord of Peace. Particular CHR sects closely involved were the Devotees of the Good Work, the Infinite Chant of the Soul Indivisible, the Students of God’s Empire, and the Gardens of the Repented.

In consultation with Lyran nobility and representatives from associations of Lyran serfs, the CHR groups worked to understand the needs and concerns of Lyran serfs, and what particular kinds of support would be most appropriate and valuable to them, in helping them gain greater security and opportunity in their lives.

Initiatives

• Investment in infrastructure related to food security.
• Creation of centres for serf self-improvement, self-expression, and legal aid
• Orpheus/City of Djebashi declared a Pilgrimage site for CHR faithful.

Djebashi Offices

Main Office

The central Djebashi office began as a converted warehouse on Tier 6, the lowest tier of the city and home to the majority its serfs. The architecture of the tier is in general very grey, uniform, and utilitarian, able to be easily rebuilt, and serving as foundational infrastructure that supports Djebashi’s upper tiers.

The Phoenix Foundation’s main office stands in sharp contrast to these surroundings, largely due to its bright coat of paint. Two of its walls are murals, repainted on a regular basis. To its right side is an outdoor community theatre space, with a regular and posted schedule of performances, and with intricate sets and props from ongoing productions.

Inside, the warehouse-turned-office is divided into several areas across two floors. These include a legal aid office, a library and multiple classrooms for education and vocational training, and a sizable number quiet areas with supplies for writing, painting, sculpture, and other forms of artistic expression. A large downstairs section of the warehouse is devoted to individuals specializing in decentralized energy infrastructure and home gardening infrastructure. On any given day this last section is a loud and busy thoroughfare of activity, with on-site construction and workshops, and numerous individuals on call to visit locations in the city to help with home installation and integration into the wider energy grid. Finally, the warehouse has a food bank and a soup kitchen with a regular schedule of meals.  

Satellite Offices

As the Phoenix Foundation acquired more resources, funding, and volunteers, it spread from its initial central office to several additional, smaller rented locations throughout Tier 6. These mainly serve as food banks and soup kitchens, but several have staffed areas, echoing the main office, that provide resources for education, self-expression, and legal advice.

Housing

In line with its sponsorship by Repentant sects, and in line with its mission of helping to establish Djebashi as a site of pilgrimage and repentant deeds for those of the faith, the layout of the main office includes an upstairs communal housing area for Repentant pilgrims, volunteers, and several full-time staff. It includes beds, a living area, plus a downstairs communal kitchen (doubling as soup kitchen preparation) for both permanent residents and visitors. For individuals less invested in communal life, various houses and apartments nearby are also rented by the Phoenix Foundation for staff and volunteers.

Liaison Office

Many new hires and visiting volunteers first complain about the hot and air and stifling atmosphere of Tier 6, due to the tier’s closeness to the planet’s volcanic core. Such complaints are often met with stern reminders that it is of utmost importance for help and relief personal to live near the people they are helping, in order to fully understand their situation. Responses pointing to the fact that the air quality is not “Hong Lu Bad,” and that any complaining individuals simply need to learn to adapt, are also common.

However, for certain projects, the Phoenix Foundation utilizes a satellite office on the cleaner and more cosmopolitan Tier 4.

This office serves two purposes. First, it serves as a vocational training and sponsorship site for serfs living on the fourth tier, particularly those working in the service industries of the tier’s hotels and tourism sites. Secondly, it serves as a liaison office to Lyran nobility, sparing numerous individuals the inconvenience of a visit to the stifling Tier 6. Individuals in this office coordinate updates to Lyran sponsors on the progress of various initiatives, consult with city officials about cave farms and insect production, develop the Foundation’s rolodex of nobles sympathetic to serf concerns, handle import of materials and export of serf art, and address any other technicalities of pressing noble or corporate concern.

This office is located near the Lotus Pond Spa, ostensibly positioning itself as an alternative to serfs considering the allures of criminal life. Any rumored interest of the Phoenix Foundation itself in certain smuggling and money laundering concerns is entirely coincidental.

SERAPH Sponsorship

With the collapse of the CHR, the Phoenix Foundation sought to align with SERAPH sponsorship to cover funding gaps and loss of institutional expertise. However, there were worries that such an arrangement might be controversial, given that SERAPH is officially a secular and non-denominational organization. While nearly all of the Phoenix Foundation’s infrastructure development goals and serf-support activities slotted easily into SERAPH affiliation, some individuals considered the Phoenix Foundation’s support and integration of “Repentant pilgrimages and volunteers” a possible issue in aligning under the SERAPH umbrella.

The Phoenix Foundation initially considered a removal of this religious aspect of its purpose from various official documents. However, the Orphean genocide remains an inescapable part of the founding of the organization, and neither the Lyran founders nor Repentant sects desired to erase this aspect of the organization’s purpose and history. The tentative compromise with concerned parties involved a compartmentalization of funding and some bureaucratic workarounds. The Foundation’s ongoing direct funding from Repentant sects covers the transportation and immigration paperwork of volunteers on pilgrimages, as well as rent and maintenance of certain types of housing. SERAPH's sponsorship extends to areas including administrative work, legal support, salaries of permanent staff, and any “infrastructural, charitable, and cultural initiatives” that direct sect funding cannot be further stretched to cover. This does not always provide the cleanest arrangement, but on the whole it proves satisfactory enough to any concerned individuals inspecting SERAPH paperwork, and both the Phoenix Foundation and SERAPH work to make sure any overly disruptive volunteers are quickly shipped off-planet.  

Off the clock (and sometimes more quietly on the clock), one may also find any number of SERAPH and Phoenix Foundation employees joining with Repentant pilgrims and curious Orpheans in various religious discussions and activities. Many of these full-time and temporary employees, while hired for their expertise in areas of administration or art or infrastructure, are themselves members of Repentant sects, often on their own Vigils of Repentance with a lengthy planned Djebashi stays.

Documents

Announcement and Details, Autumn 3200