Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"My students have shown me so many times that it's not always about being the perfect person in the perfect position - it's about showing up when you're needed." 
-Frist Lady Dr. Jill Biden

     This week's calendar packed with events, meetings, book clubs, conversations, and celebrations, dear readers. We urge you to take a moment and pencil one of the events listed below into your busy schedule. We promise that your presence is more than welcome---it is necessary!

• Please be aware that the WeCAN team will be taking a brief break over the Christmastime holiday. There will NOT be a Weekly Email Update on December 26th, 2022. In addition, we may adjust the day we send out the Weekly Email Update the following week, due to the New Year holiday. Thank you and Happy Holidays! 
• NOTE: A reminder to our WeCAN Group Leaders and Admins: Please continue to send in your events to [email protected] on a rolling basis, in addition to posting them in the Facebook group. We are now accepting and encouraging events through Spring 2023. Thank you! Have a great week!

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From Lean Left VT: 

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY DECEMBER 12th, 2022-SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18th, 2022

Our Future Putney
Monday, December 12th, 2022 at Putney Central School (182 Westminster Road, Putney, VT). 6:30pm-9pm.
Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 at utney Central School (182 Westminster Road, Putney, VT). 6:30pm-9pm.
Free dinner with live music at the Putney Central School from 6pm-7pm!
Can’t join in person? At 7pm, there will be a separate online Zoom forum to discuss the future of Putney. Use this LINK to learn more!
Childcare provided. Are are welcome! Masks will be optional, but encouraged for this event.
For more information, contact Hannah at the Vermont Council on Rural Development at [email protected] or at 802-223-6091.
You’re Invited! Do you have ideas for the future of the community - about community events, housing, land-use, business, infrastructure, and more? Come together for a community event to discuss opportunities, challenges, and ideas for the future of Putney! Join us for a community dinner with live music, forums for discussion, and connections with neighbors.
Our Future Putney is a 3-month process (started in November) to engage everyone in town in brainstorming ideas and identifying important priorities for the future.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development, a neutral facilitator invited to the community by the Putney Selectboard, will facilitate the process to hear your ideas and then help connect to resources and technical assistance that can help move them forward.
Attend the sessions most important to you:
4:30pm - 6pm: Youth, Families, and Aging or Housing
7pm-8:30pm: Community Connection or Economic Development & Business Vitality

“If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces."
from Blueprint for a Breakthrough (2013) by Shane Koyczan
a Canadian poet writer known for writing about issues like bullying, cancer, death, and eating disorders

     We at WeCAN were devastated to hear of the heartbreaking fire at McNeil's Pub in Brattleboro that happened on Friday and the demolition that occurred on Saturday. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to all that are affected by this tragedy and loss. Beyond existing as just "a pub", McNeil's was a place where ideas and conversation flowed and our community gathered in good times and bad. Such places truly feel alive themselves, and the absence of this former firehouse will surely be felt for a long time by so many of our friends and neighbors. We will be sure to pass on any updates or donation requests we receive. 
     If you or someone you know is struggling due to this loss (or for any other reason), please know that you can text VT to 741741 to be put in touch with a crisis counselor immediately. 

• Please be aware that the WeCAN team will be taking a brief break over the Christmastime holiday. There will NOT be a Weekly Email Update on December 26th, 2022. In addition, we may adjust the day we send out the Weekly Email Update the following week, due to the New Year holiday. Thank you and Happy Holidays! 
• NOTE: A reminder to our WeCAN Group Leaders and Admins: Please continue to send in your events to [email protected] on a rolling basis, in addition to posting them in the Facebook group. We are now accepting and encouraging events through Spring 2023. Thank you! Have a great week!

______

From Lean Left VT: 

In the coming weeks, all eyes will be on Georgia! That means tens of thousands of volunteers will be calling, texting, and canvassing voters. Be strategic about where you put your money and your time. Join Lean Left as we reach out to specific populations of voters with two proven and well-run organizations.

Over the next 15 days, Georgia needs tens of thousands of volunteers to call, text, and canvass voters. Be strategic about where you put your money and your time. Join Lean Left as we reach out to specific populations of voters with two proven and well-run organizations.

Make calls with the Environmental Voter Project to turn out environmental voters. EVP estimates that over 8 million environmentalists did not vote in the 2020 presidential election, and over 12 million skipped the 2018 midterms. Here is more information about why EVP is a good strategic choice. 

Make calls with NextGen Organizing to turn out young voters! Exit polls on Tuesday showed voters in the 18-29 age bracket making up about 12-13% of the vote and preferring Democrats. This age group will be critical in Georgia. NextGen is calling young Georgia voters **daily** to help them cast their ballot for this crucial runoff election! 

• Text with NexGen Organizing  and reach out to young people to help them make a plan to vote for the December 6 Runoff Election! We know that building the power of the youth vote is crucial to our democracy, and that starts by getting youth to the polls during elections.

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“All of the great social justice advances that we ever had in this country have come not from people with big titles and not from people at the top, but just from everyday people getting together saying, 'Enough is enough. I'm going to change this, and I'm going to get involved, and I am going to be engaged'.”
-Nina Turner
an American politician. She’s a member of the Democratic Party and was a Cleveland City Council member from 2006 to 2008 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2008 until 2014

     This week we have 11 (!) new entries to the Weekly Email Update, readers, ranging from an online inclusive crafting circle to a public action meeting to yoga-for-a-cause. This week, there is something for everyone and we urge you to take a few moments out of your busy day to scroll though this email with your calendar at the ready and make a plan to get involved. 
     We at WeCAN can't stress enough how much your specific talents are needed in our community, friends. Only YOU can do what only YOU can do--and our WeCAN member groups could really use your individual talents and acumen NOW.
     Consider making a weekly, biweekly, or monthly commitment to a local group so that local initiatives can count on you for projects, fundraisers, and community conversation throughout the year. Consider, too, that many hands make light work; for many of your community neighbors, juggling activism, weather, childcare, the holiday season, and family can prove to be overwhelming. Your active hands help in more ways than you can even imagine, dear WeCAN members. So...will you step out of your comfort zone and use your unique talents to further the social, economic, and environmental progress of Windham County? If you do, email us--we'd love to hear about your experience. If you need advice on where your talents might fit best, we can help with that, too! Email us at [email protected] and let's get to work...

NOTE: A reminder to our WeCAN Group Leaders and Admins: Please continue to send in your events to [email protected] on a rolling basis, in addition to posting them in the Facebook group. We are now accepting and encouraging events through Spring 2023. Please email them to [email protected]. Thank you! 

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From Lean Left VT: 

In the coming weeks, all eyes will be on Georgia! That means tens of thousands of volunteers will be calling, texting, and canvassing voters. Be strategic about where you put your money and your time. Join Lean Left as we reach out to specific populations of voters with two proven and well-run organizations.

Make calls with the Environmental Voter Project to turn out environmental voters. EVP estimates that over 8 million environmentalists did not vote in the 2020 presidential election, and over 12 million skipped the 2018 midterms. Here is more information about why EVP is a good strategic choice. 

Make calls with NextGen Organizing to turn out young voters! Exit polls on Tuesday showed voters in the 18-29 age bracket making up about 12-13% of the vote and preferring Democrats. This age group will be critical in Georgia. NextGen is calling young Georgia voters **daily** to help them cast their ballot for this crucial runoff election! 

• Text with NexGen Organizing  and reach out to young people to help them make a plan to vote for the December 6 Runoff Election! We know that building the power of the youth vote is crucial to our democracy, and that starts by getting youth to the polls during elections.

DONATE! Your donation will go directly to Senator Warnock and the Georgia Progressive Alliance, which will distribute the funds to its grassroots partners who are focused on turning out Black, Asian, Latinx and young voters for the run-off.

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     There may not be any new submissions this week, friends, but the Weekly Email Update is still packed with loads of ways to get involved in Windham County. We implore you to take a moment and scroll through to the bottom of this email As December gets closer, we would like to remind all group leaders and organizers to send in their Dec/Jan/Feb events to us ASAP so that our readers have many opportunities to see your event and make plans to attend. Thank you, as always, for your support and readership, WeCAN community! Now, let's get to work...

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From Lean Left VT: 

In the coming weeks, all eyes will be on Georgia! That means tens of thousands of volunteers will be calling, texting, and canvassing voters. Be strategic about where you put your money and your time. Join Lean Left as we reach out to specific populations of voters with two proven and well-run organizations.

Make calls with the Environmental Voter Project to turn out environmental voters. EVP estimates that over 8 million environmentalists did not vote in the 2020 presidential election, and over 12 million skipped the 2018 midterms. Here is more information about why EVP is a good strategic choice. 

Make calls with NextGen Organizing to turn out young voters! Exit polls on Tuesday showed voters in the 18-29 age bracket making up about 12-13% of the vote and preferring Democrats. This age group will be critical in Georgia. NextGen is calling young Georgia voters **daily** to help them cast their ballot for this crucial runoff election! 

• Text with NexGen Organizing  and reach out to young people to help them make a plan to vote for the December 6 Runoff Election! We know that building the power of the youth vote is crucial to our democracy, and that starts by getting youth to the polls during elections.

Write POSTCARDS with Reclaim Our Vote. Deadline to mail is November 23rd. If you already have your ROV postcards—or you ordered them by 11/11—you can request addresses through VoterLetters.com. Contact Dana if you need to set up your account. Otherwise, please consider phone banking or texting to Georgia.

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