Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"I don’t begrudge the parents who have the means to afford it, but I do begrudge the system that allows it, knowing this will mean some kids get further ahead while others, who don’t have the means, fall further behind."
Tyrone Howard, 
Director of the Black Male Institute and Professor of Education, Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA, 
on how some communities in the USA are turning empty schools into for-profit learning camps and day care centers during Covid 19.

     We hope you are enjoying some down time this weekend, WeCAN Friends. Your Friendly WeCAN Admins would like to give a small reminder to all our social justice group leaders, activists, artists, makers, allies, lawmakers, and advocates to get your Fall workshops, classes, virtual events, socially distanced meet-ups, and creative get-togethers into us ASAP. The longer events run in the Weekly Email Update, the more eyeballs it will reach! So send your listings, questions, and suggestions to [email protected] soon!
     Lastly, a personal note from your Editor, Joanna: I want to say a brief "Thank You" for being a part of this project, Friends. This is our 200th (!) Weekly Email Update and, while I wish this project was no longer needed, I am so thankful and proud to be a part of this community where this resource--and all the events in it-- is available. Thank you for reading these emails, sending in your comments and notes of encouragement, and for showing up for your neighbors; it truly matters. Thank you, too, to Friendly WeCAN Admins Leslie and Sam: I am filled with gratitude for your patience, intelligence, and kindness. Thank you for the late nights, early mornings, and for giving of yourselves to make this project a reality. 

HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, AUGUST 30th, 2020

Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 30th, 2020, and every Sunday during the Summer, at the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street in Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm. For more information please email [email protected] Please wear a mask. 
Pick up FREE fresh veggies and/or drop off surplus from your garden to share. Please supply your own bags.  

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After yet another unarmed black man has been shot by police it's time to gather once more to stand in solidarity with black people around this country who continue to be mistreated, hurt, and killed.

Please bring your signs, your friends and families, and please remember to wear a mask and to practice safe social distancing.

We will be collecting donations for Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust.

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National Event: The People's Convention
hosted by Movement for a People's Party
Sunday, August 30th, 2020, Online. 4pm-6pm. For more information and to register, please go to https://peoplesconvention.org/.
The DNC will have Biden, the Clintons, and John Kasich at the Democratic Convention. The RNC will have Trump, Pence, and McConnell at the Republican Convention. And MPP will have Sen. Nina Turner, Dr. Cornel West, and Jimmy Dore at The People’s Convention.
On August 30th, thousands of people from across the country will gather to discuss the state of the nation. Sen. Nina Turner will deliver a speech titled, "Choice, Challenge and Change: The Necessity of a People’s Movement".
At the conclusion, participants will vote on forming a major new political party in America. A party free of corporate money and influence. The People's Convention will mark a turning point in our nation's history. The moment the people of our country broke from the beaten path and willed a new future into reality.
Press release:
https://peoplesparty.org/the-peoples-convention/

"I’m a 15-year-old Black girl who would love to just be a child and know what it’s like to experience innocence. But this privilege was never afforded me because I was born Black. Instead, I have to watch my community fight for what white citizens get in this country for free—the right to survive. Which leaves me with this question—am I next?"
Chineze Egbunike
Chineze Egbunike is 15 years old and goes to Prospect Hill Academy, a charter school in Cambridge, MA. This passage is from her essay entitled "Our House is On Fire: Why Black lives Matter Now and Always"

 We hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing weekend, WeCAN readers. There are a few new additions this week, so take a minute and scroll through to the end to see what's happening in Windham County. Until next week...

HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, AUGUST 23rd, 2020

Brattleboro Mother Up! Meet-Up
hosted by 350 Vermont
Sunday, August 23rd, 2020 at the Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-12pm.
Join us for another in-person, outdoor, distanced meet-up at Retreat Farm!
Guidelines:
* We would like to keep our group size under 25. You can respond to this FB event, but please email [email protected] to confirm.
* Unless eating, masks required for all adults. Masks at parental discretion for kids under age 5.
* Maintain physical distance
* Snacks (apples, cheese sticks, granola bars, hard-boiled eggs) provided
* Childcare support provided by Mikaela.
We'll share gratitudes, spend time in the woods and trails, talk about group action steps, and end with a song. Can't wait to see some of you in person!
Mother Up!: Families Rise Up for Climate Action is a project of 350 Vermont bringing together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. What Joanna Macy calls the “Great Turning,” or the third revolution, is this unprecedented time where we are called to stop the destruction of our world, to build new life-sustaining practices and ways of being, and to shift our collective consciousness. We especially wish to engage young parents in this vital discussion of how we can make positive changes to protect our planet for our children's future.
Join us on Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/groups/1575656819412318

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Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 23rd, 2020, and every Sunday during the Summer, at the corner of Elm Street and Frost Street in Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm. For more information please email [email protected] Please wear a mask. 
Pick up FREE fresh veggies and/or drop off surplus from your garden to share. Please supply your own bags.  

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for (their) own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Marie Curie

Welcome to this week's Weekly Email Update, WeCAN family! We have lots of new listings this week, so take your time and give this email a careful read. 
We hope to see many of you this Thursday, October 19th at the WeCAN Cafe starting at 7pm (you can find more information below in the email) and are excited to connect with you amongst friends as we recharge our activist spirits. 

Have a productive, positive week and THANK YOU for all that you continue to do for our community. Your presence at events makes all the difference. 


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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2017

The Putney Huddle Regular Monthly Meeting
Sunday, October 15th, 2017 at The Putney Public Library (55 Main Street, Putney, VT 05346). 1pm-3:30pm. To RSVP via Facebook click HERE.
This meeting will include working group updates, a discussion on fundraising for the Vermont Democrats, and guest speaker Bari Shamas talking "Sex and Politics".
Schedule
1pm-2pm: Updates and Dems
2pm-3:30pm: Bari Shamas


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HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, OCTOBER 16th, 2017-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22nd, 2017

Youth4Change Group Meeting
Monday, October 16th, 2017 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 5:30pm-8pm. For more information please email [email protected]
Youth4Change is a project of the Root that meets every 1st and 3rd Mondays. It is for youth 12-22, particularly those from historically disenfranchised groups who want to use education, art, and action to address racial and intersectional justice. The October 16th meeting is an organizing meeting to set a timeline and tasks toward local campaigns
Schedule:
5:30pm: Space opens for art and hanging out.
6:00pm: Food!
6:30pm-8:00pm: Group meeting/training/strategy session.


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Women’s Action Team Meeting
Tuesday, October 17th, 2017 at the Prouty Center (20 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm.
Calling all flavors of women! We’ll have light refreshments, nuanced conversation, and of course, bada$$ feminist action. This month we’ll focus on reproductive justice ACTION and more political art. We’ll admire the bomb ‘zine made by our Vermont ERA research team and plan for  the upcoming screening of our "Break the Silence: Reproductive + Sexual Health Histories" video project (created by Willow O’Feral), a fundraiser at the Latchis on Oct 29th. Hope to see you there!


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“You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion.” 
Hillary Clinton

There are lots of events to choose to participate in from this week, WeCAN Family. Let's get right to it:


HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8th, 2017

Civil Rights for All Banner Raising
Sunday, October 8th, 2017 on Main Street in Brattleboro, VT. 8am-9am. 
Let's Fly the "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" banner over Main Street in Brattleboro!

The Trump administration is holding an endless nation-wide "hate rally". We believe what the civil rights organization The Southern Poverty Law Center says about fighting hate: "Every act of hate should be met with an equal act of love". Otherwise hate will spread until it takes over the whole country, the way it did under Hitler in Germany. The result would be horrible for all of us. We firmly believe that "democracy/love versus tyranny/hate" is our winning battlefield. We must hold a nation-wide "love rally" to stand up to the Trump administration. Taken together all our small positive nonviolent public actions add up to a huge "love rally".  The "We Celebrate Democracy/ Civil Rights For All" banner says "I love you" to all people.  The banner raising is just a small part of our "love rally", but every part is an essential  part.   We need to be in the streets standing up for loving,  caring, sharing and helping, in a massive way. Unite! We can only win this together. Stand with the banner! Stand up to hate! Please help us by making a small donation to cover the $600 banner raising fee (sixty $10 donations) as we fly the "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" banner over Main Street on Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend. To donate via check please donate to "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" (WCD/CRFA), 1196 Lower Dover Rd, Brattleboro VT 05301 or visit our GoFundMe site here.

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VOLUNTEERS URGENTLY NEEDED!!


Share the Harvest
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 8th, 2017 at the Park on Elliot Street, Brattleboro, VT. 11am-1pm.
We hope to be able to keep our Share the Harvest stand operating for the remainder of this month, but we NEED volunteers. Presently all we have are two volunteers who will be operating the stand this coming Sunday. In order to make that happen, we need two volunteers for this Saturday to collect donations from our incredibly generous farmers at the Farmers’ Market.
Then we will need 4 volunteers for each of the remaining three weekends in October, or we will have to close earlier than anticipated. If you are new to volunteering with us, don’t worry. We will pair you up with an experienced person and provide very detailed instructions as well. It’s actually fun and very rewarding to know that you are helping people enjoy the wonderful bounty from our local gardens and farms.
Here is a link to our sign up site. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY, OCTOBER 9th, 2017-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2017

AMERICA IN TRANSITION : Forging Families That Work for Us
A screening and workshop with filmmaker Andre Perez
Tuesday, October 10th, 2017 at the Marlboro College Graduate Center (28 Vernon St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6pm-8pm. Free. Trans folk and allies are welcome. 
America in Transition is a web series, interactive documentary, and community engagement campaign taking a real look at social change from the perspective of trans people in marginalized communities. Each episode explores one person’s story in depth, tackling intersectional issues such as HIV criminalization in Arkansas, black trans masculine (in)visibility in the media, and barriers facing trans Latina immigrants. Forging Families Workshop: Many trans folks have conflicted relationships with our families of origin. There are often layers of trauma, misunderstanding, and frustration. Some choose to craft chosen families of our own design. How much should we change for our families and how much can we expect them to change for us? In this interactive workshop, we share personal experiences and strategize about how to navigate the complexity of family in order to build a network of supportive relationships that will nourish us. 


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