Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"Good morning, Revolution; you're the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on."
Langston Hughes

We have lots going on this week in Windham County. Let's get right to it: 


HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY JUNE 18TH, 2017

Phone Banking for the Georgia Special Election
Sunday, June 18th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Food Co-Op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Community Room. 
6:30pm-8:30pm.
Please use the entrance at 7 Canal Street.

What’s the best possible gift for Dad?? Adding a Democrat to the House of Representatives!  The GA special election is on Tuesday so we are phone banking! (Note: this is the new and correct time for the event.)
Please join us. This is a final push before the GA election to get out the vote!  We will be calling Democrats and reminding them to vote.  We had a phone banking party earlier this week -- it was fun to do it together and we all spoke to some really great, motivated voters.  One woman said to me, "We are super excited about Ossoff and thank you for all that you are doing from so far away."  That felt good.
Please join us!  We provide snacks, technical assistance, phone bank training, hand holding (if needed!) and a good time. You bring your phone, computer and if you would like, your headphones.  

     Wednesday, June 14th we celebrate National Flag Day, an anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. First celebrated in 1885, the observance of "Flag Birthday" a.k.a National Flag Day was signed into action by President Truman on August 3rd, 1949, but is still not an official federal holiday. 
Some suggested ways to celebrate Flag Day include flying a flag at your home or business, attending local flag day celebrations sponsored by the VFW or the American Legion, or celebrating with a cook-out or bbq. This year you may choose to think outside the box. Sometimes, the best way to be patriotic and channel the ideals of the Founding Generation is to resist.


HAPPENING TODAY SUNDAY JUNE 11TH, 2017

Regular Putney Huddle Meeting with guest speaker, Cynthia Stoddard
Sunday, June 11th, 2017 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346).1:30pm-3:30pm. 
All are welcome. RSVP here or via email ThePutneyHuddle@Gmail.Com.


______



HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY JUNE 12TH, 2017-SUNDAY JUNE 18TH, 2017

Lost River/BLM VT-South Organizing Meeting
Monday, June 12th, 2017 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 6pm-8pm.

Fragrance and nut-free space, please! 
For childcare contact blmvt.south@gmail.com


______

Happy June! As we look forward into the Summer we at WeCAN wanted to remind you to keep up those calls, petitions, emails, and postcards to our representatives both at the local and state level: call to encourage impeachment proceedings, call to encourage a livable minimum wage, call to encourage fair treatment of unions, call to demand that we as humans have rights to both a habitable environment and reasonable health care. 

Windham County
Representative Michael Hebert, mhebert@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 451-9088, P.O. Box 120, Vernon, VT 05354
Representative Valerie Stuart, vstuart@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 257-0249, 520 Meadowbrook Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05301
Representative Mollie Burke, mburke@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 257-4844, 62 West St., Brattleboro, VT 05301
Representative Tristan Toleno, ttoleno@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 579-5511, 33 Highlawn Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05301
Representative Carolyn Partridge, cpartridge@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 874-4182, 1612 Old Cheney Rd., Windham, VT 05359
Representative Matthew Trieber, matrieber@gmail.com, (802) 376-1134, 82 Atkinson St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Representative David Deen, ddeen@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 869-3116, 5607 Westminster West Rd., Putney, VT 05346
Representative Michael Mrowicki, mmrowicki@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 387-8787, 299 South Pine Banks Rd., Putney, VT 05346
Representative Emily Long, elong@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 365-7360, 239 Wiswall Hill Rd., Newfane, VT 05345
Representative Ann Manwaring, amanwaring@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 464-2150, P.O. Box 1089, Wilmington, VT 05363
Representative Laura Sibilia, lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us, (802) 348-7131, P.O. Box 2052, West Dover, VT 05356
Representative Oliver Olsen, oliver@oliverolsen.com, 1320 Middletown Rd., South Londonderry, VT 05155
State
Congressman Peter Welch, Email Form, VT office 1-888-605-7270 or (802) 652-2450 or (888) 605-7270, 128 Lakeside Ave, Suite 235, Burlington, VT 05401
Senator Patrick Leahy, Email Form, (802) 229-0569, 87 State Street, Room 338, Montpelier, VT 05602
Senator Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders, Email Form, (800)-339-9834, 1 Church St, 3rd Floor, Burlington, VT 05401
Governor Phil Scott, Email Form, (802) 828-3333, 109 State Street, Pavilion, Montpelier, VT 05609

HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2017 - SUNDAY, JUNE 11TH, 2017

Day of Action to Support the Budget and Communities - Putney Rally
SAY NO TO THE VETO! 
Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 in front of the Tavern Common (Main Street, Putney, VT). 4pm-5pm.
Time to stand up for our teacher's collective bargaining rights and to protect our unions! The Putney Huddle and The Action Pod have coordinated with VT NEA, working in coalition with fellow labor unions, environmental groups, progressive business groups, and several others to push back on Gov. Scott’s planned veto of the budget and the education funding bill. We will stand with our signs along the Main Street of Putney in front of the Tavern Common to show our support of teachers and unions!
Demonstrations will also be happening that evening throughout the state in 26 other towns including Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. Info for all included in the following link or you can contact Laura at ThePutneyHuddle@Gmail.Com. 
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1782467168730047/?active_tab=about

______



Day of Action to Support the Budget and Communities - Brattleboro Rally
Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 at Pliny Park (corner of Main and High Streets in Downtown Brattleboro, VT). 4:30pm-5:30pm.

Community members from across Vermont will come together on Wednesday June 7th to tell Gov. Phil Scott to stop holding the budget –- and Vermont –-  hostage.  The state budget invests in creating more affordable housing, increasing access to childcare, maintaining the Vermont state colleges, protecting clean water, and giving more resources to mental health workers on the front lines of the opiate crisis. This budget supports Vermonters and our communities. Gov. Scott is choosing to play politics with education, affordable housing, child care, and our waterways while pitting Vermonter against Vermonter. He also has taken steps to undermine the collective bargaining rights of teachers, starting with healthcare.
There will also be gatherings in Putney & Bellows Falls.

Sponsors: Vermont State Employees Association, Vermont AFL-CIO, Vermont-NEA, Vermont Democratic Party, Vermont Conservation Voters, Sierra Club – Vermont Chapter, Vermont Workers’ Center, Main Street Alliance Vermont, AFT-Vermont.

Can you join us? Click here for details and to RSVP: https://actionnetwork.org/events/day-of-action-to-support-the-budget-and-communities-brattleboro?source=email&

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1155625121249310/

















______

This Memorial Day Weekend we at WeCAN would like to take this opportunity to invite you to hold a moment of silence in honor of those that have given their all for this country. May we continue to strive to make them proud. 

Thank you.

______


HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, MAY 28TH, 2017

A Vermont Climate Movement Strategy Retreat
Saturday, May 27th, 2017 - Sunday, May 28th, 2017 at Common Ground Retreat Center (473 Tatro Road, Starksboro, VT). 
If you need a ride, please click HERE.
We understand if you can’t make it, and of course may not belong to a social justice organization. Please fill out this survey whether you plan to come to the retreat or not.  We want to know where you see strategic opportunities for our movement.

WHO
We are asking people who are doing social justice and organizing work regularly, and who see climate to be a key issue,  to be the participants for the initial stages of strategy development. We apologize for the late invitation. We realized that we need to open this retreat up more broadly than originally intended. Childcare and lively conversation will be provided. Please come.

WHAT
We will collectively identify opportunities to build a movement for justice and a stable climate.
The first day will be spent on goals, mapping projects, and discussing coordination structure. The second day will be spent building a plan to plug people and resources into each project, and into a structure that can keep our goals on track. We then expect to implement our strategy together, and to evaluate and renew it with allies at a set date in the future.
While critical dialog and analysis will be central to our time together, this is not an invite to a debate. We are asking people to help design cooperative plans and help execute them. We hope you or someone you work with can make it. Please register by filling out the survey.

GOALS
To create a cooperative climate movement strategy for Vermont, growing the Vermont Climate Movement as a whole, and ideally building towards a broader, democratic mass social movement.

Movement Strategy
By movement strategy we mean mutually assessing the problem, setting clear goals for addressing it, and building a work plan for reaching those goals in a collaborative,  growing network. The climate justice organizing community must agree about goals, tactics, and a cooperative implementation plan or we undermine united struggle and fail to play to our key strength, our collective power.

Your Hosts
This invite is from an independent coordinating collective of organizers from Central Vermont Climate Action, 350VT, Rising Tide Vermont, Upper Valley Affinity Group, and the Make. We began this project out of our work with the Stop the Pipeline Coalition, which has spent the past four years fighting Phase 1 of the Addison County Pipeline. The coalition met this month to assess our work in the Phase 1 campaign, our collectively learned lessons, and our network of strong relationships. In designing a strategy retreat for our coalition, we recognized that we feel strongly that an effective strategy requires coordination with all potential partners.
Whether you are new to climate change and climate justice work or have been involved for a long time, we would appreciate your input.
Thanks for being in the fight with us!

In Solidarity,
The Strategy Coordinating Committee
Rebecca, Hambone, Lyndsay, Erok, Maeve, Brian, and Karen
Contact us at 123themake@gmail.com.


______



HAPPENING THIS WEEK - MONDAY, MAY 29TH, 2017 - SUNDAY, JUNE 4TH, 2017

Unsung Hero Awards
Wednesday, May 31st, 2017 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12:00pm-1:30pm.
Please join us as the Brattleboro Area Interfaith Initiative presents its second Brattleboro Area Unsung Hero Awards on Wednesday May 31 from Noon to 1:30pm at the River Garden on Main Street in Brattleboro. 
The recipients are:
Shela Linton, co-founder of the Root Social Justice Center, and
Jennifer Mazur, president of Marlboro Cares, former director of the Infant-Child Guidance Program
Both recipients have more than fulfilled the criteria for the award; selfless and valuable service to citizens of Brattleboro and/or surrounding towns; humility; and a lack of community awareness of these accomplishments.
The Facebook event is here. For questions or comments, please email interfaithinbrattleboro@gmail.com.

______