Weekly E-mail Update 2-26-17
Thank you for showing up every week. Thank you for caring a little more, hugging your loved ones a little tighter, and for going that extra mile to ensure that your neighbors and those in need feel loved and cared for. WeCAN is growing every day and that is because of you and your hard work. So THANK YOU!
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HAPPENING TODAY
Sunday, February 27th, 2017 at 3pm
Song and Solidarity Weekly Meeting in the Atrium at The Winston Prouty Center (the old Austine School). The Atrium is on the fourth floor of the big building in the center of campus. We're meeting the same time Sunday as usual, 3pm til 4pm or so. Please email Fred at [email protected] with questions or for more information.
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Talking Across Political Divides: A Skillshare
Sunday, February 26th, 2017, at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (29 South St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 1pm-4pm.
All are invited for this three hour skill share. Experiential and interactive activities provide space for attendees to practice strategies for creative, compassionate, and courageous communication across the political divide.
Partnering to provide this skill share are: SIT’s Office of Diversity, ACT for Social Justice, 350 Brattleboro (a local group of 350VT), and The Root Social Justice Center. Other sponsors of the event are VBike, Post Oil Solutions, John Woolman College of Active Peace, and the Social & Environmental Action Committee of All Souls Church.
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments. Childcare will be provided. We ask that you do not eat or handle any nuts before or during the event and that you please come fragrance free.
For more information contact Angela Berkfield, Daniel Quipp, or Kara Hamilton at [email protected], [email protected] and[email protected].
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Brattleboro Time Trade's Annual Meeting
Sunday, February 26th, 2017 at the Marlboro Grad Center (28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in classroom 2E on the 2nd floor. 12:00pm-3:30 p.m.
Current members are encouraged to attend, prospective members are invited! Potluck-stye food at 12:00 p.m. in lieu of our monthly potluck - please bring a dish to share if you can! MORE VOLUNTEERS/HELP NEEDED! Please contact [email protected] for more information.
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Weekly Events February 27th-March 5th, 2017
Mother Up! Monthly Meet-Up
Monday, February 27th, 2017 at the KidsPLAYce (20 Elliot Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5.30pm-7.30pm.
Join us in building solidarity amongst parents by taking action to protect the health and safety of our collective future. Inspired by Black History Month and using the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan as a case study, we'll connect the many ways in which climate justice is intertwined with racial justice. We'll also explore ways we can participate in local, state, and national climate legislation and action. A simple vegetarian meal and childcare for ages 8 and under will be provided. RSVP helpful, but not required. Contact Abby Mnookin for more info at [email protected].
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Climate Change Café: A Community of Concerned Citizens
featuring the Heartful Conversations meeting format. A project of Post Oil Solutions.
Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 at the Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6:00pm. Free, light refreshments available.
Through the localization movement a better world is not only possible; it’s within our reach. This world begins with people talking and listening to each other. When we have authentic, respectful conversations we strengthen our relationships and advance our understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and solutions before us.
Using a format called ‘Heartful Conversations’ Wendy Webber will facilitate a process that has the potential to support connection, to reach across differing perspectives, and inspire something new to emerge. At the end of the evening we will be looking to participants to explore with us if and how this kind of format may be used in an ongoing way to further the intention to bring community, meaning, and purpose to our lives.
For further information call 802.869.2141 or email [email protected].
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350Brattleboro Regular Meeting
Wednesday, March 1st 2017. 1st Wednesdays Public Forum at the Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room . 6pm-8pm.
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Protest Vigils at TD Bank
Sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Brattleboro
Friday, March 3rd, 2017 (and every Friday) in front of TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). Noon-1pm. Signs will be provided.
Bellows Falls
Friday, March 3rd (and every Friday) in front of the TD Bank Bellows Falls (2 Church St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101). 1pm-2pm. Please bring your own signs.
TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. The State of Vermont Keeps Most of Our Cash in TD.
What You Can You Do (besides attending the vigils):
· If you’re a TD depositor, change banks!
· If you’re a Vermonter, demand that state funds not be deposited with a bank investing in fossil fuels.
Contact your state legislators to support the bills in the House & Senate calling for a commission to explore the possibility of a State Bank.
Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society. For more information please contact [email protected] or call 802.869.2141.
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Gallery Walk Pop-Up Exhibit to Depict January 21st Women's March
Friday, March 3rd, 2017. Peter Havens Restaurant (32 Elliot St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 4pm. Free.
Peter Havens Restaurant is sponsoring a community interactive photographic exhibit by Brattleboro Area residents who participated in the January 21st Women's Marches. ANYONE may participate. Please bring a favorite photo or two (any size, any paper) of your “March” to donate to this exhibit, and 2 clothespins per photo. Most of the photos will be displayed on wire lines. Attach a short synopsis of your experience (optional). This exhibit will be hung in Peter Havens’ newest addition to the restaurant at 32 Elliott Street in Brattleboro. The future use of this open space is to accommodate private parties at Peter Havens and to house Jasmine’s Cakes.
On March 3rd, we’ll open the door at 4pm to welcome participants and to assist with hanging photographs under designated geographic headings: Brattleboro, Montpelier, Washington, D.C., Greenfield and Boston, MA, etc. Collages, signs, posters and pink hats are also welcome! The exhibit will be taken down on Saturday, March 4th; you may stop in between 1:30-3:30 to retrieve any items you want returned.
Come and meet others who may be interested in taking future action, share ideas on how to move forward, and learn about what is already planned locally and nationally. Please stop by to participate or just to view the exhibit. Thank you in advance!
Call Ro (802) 380-0284, Priscilla (802) 505-8925 or Louise (802) 258-8874 for more information.
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What is Sacred Activism?
Sponsored by Living Earth Action Group
Friday, March 3rd, 2017 at the Congregational Church of Westminster West (44 Church Street, Westminster West, VT, 05346). 5pm.
All are welcome! Call 802-387-5779 for more information.
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Brattleboro Time Trade's 3rd Annual Spring Forward Extravaganza
Friday, March 3rd, 2017 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:00pm-8:30pm.
Come to the River Garden on Friday March 3rd's Gallery Walk evening for our 3rd Annual Spring Fundraiser and Celebration of Student Art Month in collaboration with the Arts Council of Windham County! We have two great youth bands this year: Nomad vs Setter (NVS) is our headliner and opening for them will be Raspberry Jam.
Dosa Kitchen will be serving up yummy food and 10% proceeds will be donated to the Time Trade.
Time Trade member and master Herbalist Cindy Hebbard will be offering short consultations, we'll have a collection of Silent Auction Items to bid on, and Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center & Edible Brattleboro are collaborating to offer a cool seed-bomb making activity for springing forward!
Bring yourself, your friends, and/or the whole family! Help support the Time Trade and keep us up and running in 2017!
VOLUNTEERS/HELP NEEDED!
[email protected]
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Human Rights Cafe: Sustaining Momentum
Saturday, March 4th, 2017, at Christ’s Church (24 Main Street, Saxtons River, VT). 9am–11am in the dining room.
What's an activist to do? Alarming news bombards us each day; we want to stay informed and make a difference on every issue! Join us this week for inspiring tools for renewal, prioritizing issues, and selecting individual and group actions. Susan Still will facilitate.
Itinerary:
9:00am-9:30am
Coffee and Graffiti: As we sip coffee and chat, we can write and draw ideas for self-care (and other-care) on a large poster.
9:30am-9:50am
Inspirations: No one has a universal solution to sustaining momentum, but we each have a piece of wisdom that can be helpful to others. Be prepared to share a short poem, reading, song (recorded or sung), or example of a creative project that brings you hope, comic relief, renewal, or perspective. Please provide at least one copy to add to a Book of Inspiration that we'll keep at the Cafe.
9:50am-10:05am
Sorting One's Priorities: Each person will fill out a worksheet designed to identify and evaluate the importance of each issue and action based on criteria. Issues and actions include those in one's personal and work life as well as political and societal ones. Individuals will have the option to share insights from the worksheet.
10:05am-10:30am
Selecting Actions: In small groups based on one's top priorities, we will discuss ways to be effective over the long haul with individual and combined actions. Each group will report back and post intended actions on a timeline for the next 3 months. Groups who want to stay in touch will exchange contact information.
About the Human Rights Cafe
Together, we create a safe and inspiring space to share human rights concerns and information—and to plan solutions and actions. The Cafe is open every Saturday morning from 9am–11am in the dining room at Christ’s Church, 24 Main St., Saxtons River. Contact Susan Still at [email protected] for information.
Human Rights Cafe is a program of Saxtons River Community Building, a 501c3 nonprofit. Our purpose is to strengthen connections among people in the Saxtons River area. Are you Interested in tai chi, Saxtons River Cares, Human Rights Cafe, or Small Acts Permaculture? Contact [email protected].
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Local Love Brigade Postcard Making
Saturday, March 4th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market from 10am - 2pm
Be Part of the Local Love Brigade and make postcards to send out in an avalanche of love to support victims of hate. You'll be part of a movement that has begun to illuminate the power of fierce love. To find out more and see the heartfelt messages of support that local folks are sending out into the world, join the Local Love Brigade - Vermont Facebook Group.
Facebook Event
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The Putney Huddle
Sunday, March 5th, 2017 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 1:30pm-3:30pm.
Monthly meeting for local Putney group that continues to support Women's March and Indivisible efforts. All are welcome.
For more information or to sign up, please contact Laura Chapman at 802-380-4379 or email [email protected].
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UPCOMING AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Non Violent Direct Action Training Class
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
For more information please email [email protected] or call 802.869.2141
We are in the process of organizing a day-long (most likely a Sunday) Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA) training class in Brattleboro for sometime this Spring. Please contact me if this is something that you would like to do, or if you have any questions as to what is involved in NVDA training.
While doing civil disobedience may not be something you are considering at present, NVDA training is nevertheless always a good thing to have done in case that day arrives when you might consider such an act (this is especially true in the Age of Trumpism).
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UPCOMING AND FUTURE EVENTS
Women Under Capitalism 4 Week Study Group
presented by Brattleboro Solidarity
Mondays, March 6th, March 13th, March 20th, March 27th at the Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 6pm-8pm.
Hello All ~ We are excited to start our new 4 week study group: Women Under Capitalism. Mondays in March, 6-8pm atPutney Public Library. Dinner will be provided. Women’s lives are under attack - from health to reproductive rights, violence, harassment, and overall sexism, women in the U.S. have much to fight for. The derogatory rhetoric from the pre and post Trump election cycle threatened many and propelled people across the globe to join on January 21st to rally against bigotry and stand up for human rights. The Women’s March on Washington, the day after inauguration, was to send a message in large part that women’s rights are human rights. It was to become the largest rally in U.S. history, joined by 5 million worldwide to march and speak out. The subordination of women is not new - in fact, throughout U.S. history violence against women has benefited those in power and is a necessary component to the functioning of capitalism.
Brattleboro Solidarity is hosting a 4 week study group to explore how capitalism affects women’s lives and how we can work to fight back.
This is an open and free study group. We ask that participants commit to all 4 Mondays:
March 6th
March 13th
March 20th
March 27th
****Please email us at [email protected] to sign up.
Readings will be sent out by February 27th.
FACEBOOK EVENT
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Town Meeting Day is Tuesday, March 7th, 2017. Don't forget to show up and vote!
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Black Lives Matter VT Fundraiser and Membership Drive will take place Tuesday, March 7th from 5pm-8pm at the Elliot Street Fish, Chips, & More Shop (50 Elliot St, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) for their "Feeding Frenzy”.
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WeCAN Spring Into Action Fair
Sunday, March 19th, 2017 at the Winston Prouty School (209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-4pm. All are welcome! 
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Soil Carbon Restoration Gives Hope for Reversing Global Warming
Sponsored by Living Earth Action Group
March 31st, 2017 at the Congregational Church of Westminster West (44 Church Street, Westminster, VT, 05346). 5pm.
Speakers Marilyn Chiarello and Marlene Everingham will present on “Soil Carbon Restoration Gives Hope for Reversing Global Warming”.
This is exciting new information on the ability of healthy soil microorganisms to take carbon out of the atmosphere, if we change harmful farming practices. Come find out about how it works, how you can make a difference and spread the word. For more information call 802-387-5779.
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Let Justice Roll Down - Southeastern Vermont
March 31st, 2017 at the Guilford Community Church (38 Church Drive, Guilford, VT, 05301). Time TBD.
This singalong concert will focus on racial justice issues. We will join together in songs that emphasize the struggles for equal rights and dignity and safety for people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and national origin.
SAVE THE DATE: March 31st, 2017.Details (cosponsors, etc.) to be announced soon.
Artists:
Lea Gilmore - racial justice activist, outstanding blues/gospel/jazz singer from Baltimore, MD: www.leagilmore.com
Annie Patterson & Peter Blood - creators of the songbooks Rise Up Singing and Rise Again.
Professor Louie - award-winning blues pianist and vocalist. www.professorlouie.com
Copies of the songbook Rise Again will be available to buy or borrow at the concert.
For more information visit Riseupandsing.org or email [email protected] or [email protected].
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COMING UP: Saturday, April 15th: A Tax Day March in Brattleboro to stand in solidarity with those protesting and marching nationwide. Sponsoring organizations and details to come. www.TaxMarch.org
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Once again, we thank you for doing the hard work and for showing up. When we work together there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Have a wonderful week and we look forward to seeing you at an event soon!
In solidarity,
Your Friendly WeCAN Admins
Ann and Joanna
P.S. If you would like to submit an event to be included in the weekly email blast, please email [email protected] by Friday at 10pm and include "Weekly Email Blast +Your Event Date" in the subject line (for example: "Weekly Email Blast 2/19/17"). Until we get our calendar up and running, we ask that all organizations please send us events on a weekly basis and not in advance. We are working on the ability to track ongoing events, but aren't quite there yet! Thank you for your cooperation and don't hesitate to email WeCAN with any questions.