Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"Did you know unions are what brought races and genders together more than any other type of organization, including government? We’re all brothers and sisters in the union. And we don’t have to be forced into this unity. In the common struggle for a better life, a decent income and respectable retirement, the divisions fade away."
-Loren Adams, Arkansas Postal Workers Union Editor, The Arkansas Postal Worker; 2018.

     Thank you so much for your patience while we sorted out technical difficulties this past week, WeCAN family. Our apologies, too, to anyone that submitted an event that did not get listed. We are currently accepting Fall and Winter events right now, so please get them in to [email protected] as soon as possible.
     We hope you have a safe and relaxing Labor Day, friends. We continue to be thankful for those that suffered at their places of employment so that others might be treated more fairly. 

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UPCOMING EVENT:
Vermont Pride Week 2022 / September 9th-18th, 2022, in Burlington and Surrounding Areas
https://www.pridecentervt.org/pride/
The Mission of Pride is to celebrate Vermont for its safe, healthy, empowering community that embraces all of life’s colors. We take Pride in Vermont’s progress towards equality, and want Vermonters to know that being queer in Vermont is something worth celebrating and not only can it continue to get better, it is better.

Pride Week Schedule:
*Untapped: A Night of Burlesque & Drag // Friday, September 9th @ 8pm – 10pm
Pride Hikes: Arms Forest // Saturday, September 10th @ 1pm – 3pm
*Espresso & Eleganza: A Drag Brunch // Sunday, September 11th @ 11am – 1pm
Stowe Cider Tea Dance // Sunday, September 11th @ 2:30pm – 6pm
Dyke Night: Pride Edition // Monday, September 12th @ 7pm – 10pm
Pride Trivia Night // Tuesday, September 13th @ 7:30pm – 9pm
GLAM Pizza Party // Wednesday, September 14th @ 6:30pm – 8pm
*Pop-Up Happy Hour at Lincoln’s // Wednesday, September 14th @ 5:30pm – 7pm
*Queer Ecstatic Dance // Wednesday, September 14th @ 7pm – 9pm
LGBTQIA+ Health Provider Panel // Thursday, September 15th @ 6pm – 7:30pm
*Interfaith Pride Service // Thursday, September 15th @ 7pm – 8pm
Laugh with Alec Mapa // Friday, September 16th @ 7pm – 9pm
*PRIDE BALL 2022 // Friday, September 16th @ 9pm – 12am
*Women Who Bird: Pratt Refuge // Saturday, September 17th @ 8am – 10am
Pride Dog Park Takeover // Saturday, September 17th @ 10am – 11:30 am
*Flow With Pride // Saturday, September 17th @ 10am – 11:00 am
Queer Causeway Bike Ride // Saturday, September 17th @ 11am – 1pm
*Winooski Pride 2022 // Saturday, September 17th @ 5pm – 8pm
*Titties & Tokens: #LoveWins // Saturday, September 17th @ 8pm – 10pm

Parade
Sunday, September 18th, Morning. 
Since 1983, LGBTQ+ Vermonters have been marching the streets of Burlington to expand LGBTQ+ visibility, highlight the continued fight for equal rights and treatment, and celebrate the love that we have for each other and our community overall. Connected to our theme of ‘Metamorphosis’ this year’s festivities feature a new parade route and festival venue, as well. Our parade will start in the same location it always has — the Hood Plant — then make its way up Church St, then turn onto Bank St, and come back down on St. Paul Street past the newly erected 1983 Pride March Historical Marker. But in keeping with tradition, feel free to join the end of the parade as we make our way down Main St to the Burlington Waterfront Park for our fabulous Pride Festival and celebration. ALL AGES. Featuring surprise guests, great food and fabulous entertainment fitting for Vermont’s biggest LGBTQ celebration! Expanded family-friendly area, queer youth tent and vendors!

Festival
Sunday, September 18th, 1pm–5pm
Pride Festival at Waterfront Park // Sunday, September 18th @ 1pm – 5pm
Join us on the Watefront for performances, food & beverage vendors, activities, and celebration.

 
click the image to download the 2022 Pride Guide

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Lean Left Action of the Week

New Hampshire

Write Postcards to Flip the Executive Council! This five-member-governmental body is powerful and little understood. The Council determines state spending, approves state contracts, and confirms all state agency heads. It recently rejected $27 million in federal funds for Covid vacines, defunded Planned Parenthood, and confirmed an education Commissioner who wants to use public tax dollars for private schools. 

• Our goal is 10,000 postcards, so we need all hands (literally) on deck for this effort. Flipping the 4 to 1 GOP majority would help Granite Staters have an Executive Council that cares about public health, reproductive rights, and education. SIGN UP HERE.

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The Vermont for Reproductive Liberty Campaign Now Has Lawn Signs! 
Contactless pick up for lawn signs is available right near downtown Brattleboro. 
Email Tracy at [email protected]. Learn more about the proposed amendment by visiting the campaign website: reprolibertyvt.org.
You can sign up to volunteer HERE.

Our signs display this text: 
VOTE YES
REPRODUCTIVE LIBERTY AMENDMENT
Article 22

Openly displaying support for our campaign will help to educate those who are still unaware of the RLA. These signs will also help educate those who are not yet aware yet that the amendment formerly known as Prop 5, has finally made it as an article for us to vote on the general ballot this November after a four year process. If or once voted in, this amendment to the Vermont state constitution will protect the reproductive freedom we already have in this state, but at a higher level which makes it more secure for our future.

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HAPPENING TODAY,
SUNDAY,SEPTEMBER 4th, 2022

Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 28th, 2022 at the Corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm.
Questions or need a different time to drop off veggies? Email Marilyn at [email protected].
Pick up fresh, local veggies for free! 
Do you have extra veggies from your garden? Drop them off at the stand between 10:30am-11:30am to share with your community!
Vegan/GF Everyone Eats! meals will be available as well, first come, first served.

“Everything was not lost. This was the message we needed to carry forward. It’s what I truly believed. It wasn’t ideal, but it was our reality—the world as it is. We needed now to be resolute, to keep our feet pointed in the direction of progress.” 
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Becoming    

     We hope you are enjoying these hazy days of Summer, WeCAN friends, and are perhaps beginning to think about what your Fall activism will look like. Will you spend some time helping get the word out with Planned Parenthood about the Reproduction Liberty Amendment here in VT? Will you dedicate your focus and efforts on Midterm elections in VT and in our neighboring red state of NH, with Lean Left VT? Or will you perhaps stay close to home and volunteer with one of the many local organizations that are headquartered right here in Windham County? If you’re in need of some activism inspiration, take a look at the list of events below and let them guide you to your new local passion. Your talents and efforts are needed now more than ever! 

REMINDER: Organizational leaders, please send us your Fall events ASAP! We are also accepting events for early 2023(!). Thank you. 

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Lean Left Action of the Week

New Hampshire: November Midterm Elections  

Reaching out to young people in New Hampshire to help them make a plan to vote is critical for the September 13th Primary and the November elections! 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 midterm and local elections.

Join the NextGen America text team this week, Monday, and Wednesday & Friday from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. They will provide the script, texting platform, training, and a community to connect with other NextGen volunteers! It is a blast. SIGN UP HERE!

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HAPPENING TODAY,
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21st, 2022

Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 21st, 2022 at the Corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm.
Questions or need a different time to drop off veggies? Email Marilyn at [email protected].
Pick up fresh, local veggies for free! 
Do you have extra veggies from your garden? Drop them off at the stand between 10:30am-11:30am to share with your community!
Vegan/GF Everyone Eats! meals will be available as well, first come, first served.

“The stories we tell about who we are as a nation, and the values that define us, are not fixed. They change as facts change. They change as the balance of power in society changes. Which is why regular people, not just governments, need to be active participants in this process of retelling and reimagining our collective stories, symbols, and histories.”
― Naomi Klein, On Fire: The Case for the Green New Deal 

      Friends, this week's intro will be brief: NationBuilder, the site that houses our newsletter, is experiencing some technical difficulties that are making it hard to save our progress as the newsletter is written. All events that were emailed to us are included in this week's Weekly Email Update, but we are prohibited from adding any new events from Facebook or other sources due to unforeseen memory constraints. Hopefully, the issues will be rectified by next week. We thank you all for your patience and understanding. Have a great week!

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Lean Left Action of the Week

New Hampshire 

Up-ballot, down-ballot, it is all at stake in New Hampshire. Let’s cross the river and talk to our neighbors. Canvas organizing is happening on the western side of New Hampshire in Littleton, Keene, and Lebanon. From now until November, we have an opportunity to talk with voters and help Granite Staters strengthen democracy both for their state and the nation!

• Sign up here to let us know you are interested in canvassing, and we’ll be back in touch with details. 

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HAPPENING TODAY,
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14th, 2022

Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 14th, 2022 at the Corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm.
Questions or need a different time to drop off veggies? Email Marilyn at [email protected].
Pick up fresh, local veggies for free! 
Do you have extra veggies from your garden? Drop them off at the stand between 10:30am-11:30am to share with your community!
Vegan/GF Everyone Eats! meals will be available as well, first come, first served.

“I am not here for your understanding of who I am. I am here for your understanding of who you are. I am your mirror. How you feel about me, what you see in me, the thoughts that arise from your encounter of me, the judgements you hold about me are all reflections of you. They have nothing to do with me.”
Emily Maroutian
Author and poet born in Yerevan, Armenia. She moved with her family to the USA in 1989.

     There are a number of new entries this week, WeCAN Family, so please scroll through the listings with fresh eyes. We encourage you, too, to bring a friend or loved one to an event this week and start a conversation with them about how we can work to improve Justice in our towns, county, and state. We are truly reflections of each other and weCAN strive to be the best reflections we can possibly be, together. 
     A reminder, too, to VOTE THIS TUESDAY, AUGUST 9th, 2022, if you haven't done so already. Polls are open in some places from 7am onward, and others (like Guilford, for one) open later at 10am. We strongly urge you to bring a friend or family member to vote with you and to ask your circle of friends and family if they have a voting plan for Tuesday. Remember: you can register and vote on the same day in VT. If you have questions or need help getting to the polls, email [email protected] and we will get you sorted. Happy voting, Windham County! 

To find your polling location, please go to: https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/voters/polling-places/
For election night results, please go to: 
https://electionresults.vermont.gov/Index.html#/town
Windham County Local Candidate Information:
https://www.ballotready.org/vt-windham-county
Vermont Candidate Information:
https://www.addisonindependent.com/2022/08/04/vermont-primary-election-voter-guide-2022/
https://vtdigger.org/vtdigger-2022-election-guide/
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/2022-vermont-primary-candidate-lists/Content?oid=35911755

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Lean Left Action of the Week

New Hampshire 
The radical right-wing has infiltrated every nook and cranny in New Hampshire. We can be sure that they will try their hardest to disrupt the primary election on September 13th and the November 8 election. Recruiting poll observers and voter assistance hotline volunteers is crucial to seeing citizens are not harassed or stopped from voting.

• Every Monday from 4pm to 6pm, the Dems Voter Protection team provides information about recruiting poll observers and hotline staff. Sign up here.
• Then join us at the Sunday PowerHour on August 7th. You can drop in anytime between 3pm and 5pm. This is dedicated time spent working together to get critical election tasks done. These work gatherings will be held every week until the November election. Sign up here.  If you need more information about the Sunday PowerHour or the NH recruitment effort, please contact Rebecca. 

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WeCAN WEDNESDAYS

    Preparations are underway for our 5th Birthday Celebration this Fall. If you would like to be a part of the planning committee, please email us at [email protected] The date and time are still TBA, but you can check this website https://www.wecantogether.net/wecan_5th_birthday_party periodically. We will update it when the details are firmed up. Thank you!

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HAPPENING TODAY,
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7th, 2022

Share the Harvest Stand
brought to you by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 7th, 2022 at the Corner of Elm Street and Frost Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301. 11am-1pm.
Questions or need a different time to drop off veggies? Email Marilyn at [email protected].
Pick up fresh, local veggies for free! 
Do you have extra veggies from your garden? Drop them off at the stand between 10:30am-11:30am to share with your community!
Vegan/GF Everyone Eats! meals will be available as well, first come, first served.