Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

     Happy August fellow weCANners. We'd like to take a moment to congratulate each and every one of you for making it half way through this year; it has been less than easy, but you have proven time and time again that you are willing to work long and hard to protect and improve our way of life in Windham County and we thank you. 

     Recently we at WeCAN have noticed a slight uptick in apathetic feelings amongst those around us and we wanted to provide you with a few helpful hints to navigate conversations with those that are feeling a bit of pessimism about our collective future. 

1) Direct their attention to a goal they might pursue right now*. A tangible goal (like attending a meeting or event listed below) may be key in injecting a bit of optimism into your friend's perspective. Simple goals like calling Representatives and making postcards also provide a sense of accomplishment when they are completed and can do a lot to create a sense of optimism throughout their day.  
2) Suggest that they inject some novelty into their daily routines*. Breaking up familiar routines stimulates the brain in new ways and can break up the monotony that can lead to apathy. New sounds, new sights, new smells, and new activities stimulate the brain's problem solving centers and can increase motivation and decrease pessimism. 
3) Inquire about their diet and sleep habits+. Diets high in sugar, dairy, and wheat can impede a brain's neurotransmitter activity (how quickly and accurately your brain moves the chemicals that help it function correctly). Foods like raw nuts, dark chocolate that is 70% cacao or more, leafy greens, berries, avocado, and pumpkin seeds can all improve brain function as well as mood. Suggest that your friend eat raw nuts (if able) before bed to help relax their muscles--it may help them get a better night's sleep, decreasing cortisol levels and increasing serotonin production in their brain while they snooze.
4) Let them know you care^. When your friend says, “nothing matters,” or "nothing is going to change" what they really mean is “I don’t matter" and "nothing I do can affect change". Be sure that your friend knows how much they matter to you and that every small action they take can have big effects, even if they can't see them. Remind your friend that when they feel apathetic you are happy to lend an ear and will always remind them of just how valuable they are in the fight against hate, injustice, and intolerance. 




*https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201604/the-curse-apathy-sources-and-solutions
^https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/strategies-reaching-apathetic-students
+advice from Joanna Wilson Phillips, a certified Culinary Nutritionist 
______


HAPPENING TODAY SUNDAY, JULY 30th, 2017

Share the Harvest Stand 
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, July 30th, 2017 at the Elliott Street Park from 11am-1pm.
Edible Brattleboro is launching its weekly “Share the Harvest” Stand! In addition to produce from our gardens, we are accepting donations of fresh produce from local gardeners and farmers. The stand will be set up at the Elliott Street Park from 11am-2pm. Everything is available to the community at no cost. Please drop off your surplus to our stand as close to 11am as possible.
We need volunteers to keep this going through the season. Please visit http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae to sign up for a spot. It's real easy, and your contact information is never shared. Brattleboro Time Traders can earn hours, too!




______


Women Marching Forward 
Sunday, July 30th, 2017 from 4pm-6pm. Location: The Learning Collaborative in Dummerston, (471 Route 5, Dummerston, VT 0530)
All are welcome to attend what promises to be a fascinating presentation and discussion time with Michael Krasner, political scientist and professor at Queens College, City University of New York. Krasner will focus on the Trump administration, giving a brief review of how he got elected, and now how he is staying in place. Time will be spent on, broadly speaking, what the possibilities are in regards to where we go from here. We look forward to seeing you there.


______

HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY, JULY 31ST, 2017-SUNDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2017

Vermont Workers’ Center Organizing Committee
Tuesday, Aug 1st, 2017 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor. 
6pm-8pm. Doors open at 4:45pm.
Organizing for healthcare justice and workers’ rights in Vermont. If you are concerned about what is happening with healthcare and how it will affect you and your family, join us in becoming part of the solution. At this meeting we'll get an update on resistance to the rate hikes requested by Blue Cross & Blue Shield & plan some outreach activities. Newcomers welcome! Info: [email protected] or 802-257-4336.


______

Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions 
Brattleboro
Friday, August 4th, 2017 (and every Friday) in front of TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). Noon-1pm. Signs will be provided. 
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 802.869.2141

We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All Fundraiser
Friday, August 4th, 2017 during Gallery Walk, in front of Vermont Art Designs (106 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6pm-8pm.
Fundraiser to fly the banner over Main Street in Brattleboro from Sunday Sept 3rd to the 10th. We need to raise $800: $600 hanging fee. $50 Vendors Permit, $150 for new banner ropes. This time the banner will be up by itself above the center of the street. Come and see the banner. Stop by and tell us what you think about what we are doing. Talk to us about civil rights. Get postcards from us of the banner at the Brattleboro, Marlboro and Putney post offices. If you would like to help with the banner at gallery walk email: [email protected]. 

 

______

A Vigil of Lovingkindness
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, August 4th, 2017 in Pliny Park (corner of Main and High Streets, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 
6pm-7pm. For more information please email [email protected] or call 802.869.2141.
Please join us in a silent vigil in support of the values of a loving, compassionate world.
All too often, when we become caught up in the evil and negativity of our world, we can lose sight of the importance of expressing and simply being our inherent heart values that are the basis of the wholesome society we want to live in. Although silent, our Vigil of Lovingkindness is intended to give voice to these values and to speak up for them. It hopefully will remind us that as important as it is to resist the harm and suffering that human beings inflict on each other, it is equally important to be creating the caring alternative at the same time .

“May All Beings Be Free Of Pain And Suffering,May All Beings Know Peace And Happiness.”


______

Share the Harvest Stand 
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, August 6th, 2017 at the Elliott Street Park from 11am-1pm.
Edible Brattleboro is launching its weekly “Share the Harvest” Stand! In addition to produce from our gardens, we are accepting donations of fresh produce from local gardeners and farmers. The stand will be set up at the Elliott Street Park from 11am-2pm. Everything is available to the community at no cost. Please drop off your surplus to our stand as close to 11am as possible.
We need volunteers to keep this going through the season. Please visit http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae to sign up for a spot. It's real easy, and your contact information is never shared. Brattleboro Time Traders can earn hours, too!
In order to keep this going through the season, we need volunteers to help out with gleaning from the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 1:30-2:30pm, and operating the stand on Sundays from 10:40am-1:15pm. You may sign up for a time slot at http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae.


______


UPCOMING EVENTS

Senior Town Meeting
hosted by The Office of Senator Bernie Sanders
Tuesday, August 1st, 2017 at the American Legion Hall (32 Linden Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12:30pm. Free lunch served at 12pm. The event is free and open to the public. Please call 1-800-339-9834 to RSVP.
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office and a coalition of Vermont senior groups will hold a town meeting on senior issues on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at the American Legion Hall, 32 Linden Street, in Brattleboro.
A free lunch will be served at noon. At 12:30 p.m., representatives from Sanders’ office, Gibson-Aiken Center, Senior Solutions and the Vermont Alliance for Retired Americans will give short updates on issues impacting seniors, followed by an open discussion.
Vermont seniors are invited to hear about proposals coming out of Washington that call for cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Meals on Wheels. These misguided proposals would also make prescription drugs even more expensive. Now is the time to get informed, ask questions and take a stand.

______

Sauti (Voice): A Documentary Film
presented by Carry Me Home 
Friday, August 11th, 2017 at the Hooker-Dunham Theater (139 Main St #407, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6pm.
The award winning documentary film, Sauti (voice) will be screened at the Hooker-Dunham theater in Brattleboro. The film follows the story of five young women living in the Kiyangwali refugee settlement in Uganda. It highlights the struggles that face women refugees in particular. Carry me Home is organizing this event as a benefit for COBURWAS International Youth Organization to Transform Africa (CIYOTA). CIYOTA was founded over 10 years ago by displaced youth living within the Kiyangwali settlement, and their mission has been to provide opportunities for youth to pursue education and leadership training. Following the screening there will be a discussion led by one of the women from the film, and CIYOTA member, Favourite Regina, who will be visiting from Uganda, as well as Brattleboro community member and CIYOTA co-founder, Bahati Kanyamanza. 
This promises to be a unique opportunity to hear from two remarkable individuals who have experienced the struggles of refugee life and are working on the ground to make a change. 
Admission is $15 and all proceeds go to CIYOTA and the young women at Kiyangwali. 




______

Local Love Brigade: Postcard-Making Gathering
Sunday, August 13th at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (10 Vernon St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 11:30am - 1:30pm.
Join us to make postcards and send out love to folks who are facing hate. No artistic ability necessary. Just bring your love. All ages are welcome.

______

The Putney Huddle Meeting
Sunday, August 13th, 2017 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main St, Putney, VT 05346). 1:30pm-3:30pm. RSVP HERE.
The Putney Huddle invites you to join us at our Sunday, August 13th meeting with State Treasurer, Beth Pearce. It will take place at the Putney Public Library from 1:30-3:30. Because of limited time we are asking that you email any questions you may already have for her in advance to [email protected].

______

Climate Change Café: A Community of Concerned Citizens 
“We the People 2.0”
a project of Post Oil Solutions
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6pm. 
FREE. Light Refreshments Available
A New Democracy Movement Is Building, Elevating Community And Natures Rights Over Corporate “Rights.” This excellent film is a visual essay about the loss of democracy in the United States, and how people are taking it back. It describes a profound change in thinking at the grassroots level where people are building a movement, not just in this country, but around the world. It shows how and where it all began.
This event is a great lead-in to the Community Rights Awareness Workshop by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) that  Post Oil Solutions and Rights and Democracy will sponsor on Sunday, September 10, @ the Brattleboro Food Co-op, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
For more information please contact802.869.2141 or [email protected].


______

Community Rights Awareness Workshop
presented by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) and sponsored by Post Oil Solutions & Rights and Democracy
Sunday, September 10th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Community Room (please use the entrance at 7 Canal Street). 10am-1pm.  FREE, but registration required: [email protected]. Refreshments will be provided. 
In this workshop, we take an in-depth look at how political and legal structures have been set up to protect the interests of an elite wealthy minority, at the expense of the majority of people and community self-government. We’ll look at how corporations have received more rights and protections than real people living in communities. Most importantly, we’ll look at how communities have pushed back against these oppressive structures to reclaim democratic self-government in their communities, and at the state level with a proposed Community Rights Amendment.

______

STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS

350Brattleboro Regular Meetings
350 Brattleboro will be taking a break from our regular schedule for July and August. We will return to our regular meeting times from September onwards. To be kept in the loop follow us at facebook.com/350brattleboro and sign up for our email list by emailing [email protected]. Thanks!

______

Lost River Racial Justice, Black Lives Matter-South, and People Of Color Caucus Regular Meetings
Reoccurring racial justice organizing meetings every 2nd Monday at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio of the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor. 
6pm-8pm. 
Childcare provided. Fragrance & nut free space.  

______

SKILLED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Childcare as a Radical Act: Sign up to Provide Childcare! 
The Family Solidarity Action Network is moving forward with their next big effort to support families in local activism: a collective of folks to provide childcare for local activist meetings or events. If you or someone you know would be able and willing to offer childcare (as a volunteer, or paid) for meetings and events please fill out this spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YGVI8wECe4ZDdghtAG147j7ktwgB_J5ZoWUPkwGrOhM/edit#gid=0
We are looking for people young and old with varying degrees of experience.  Having a large pool of people to call on will make it much easier for organizers to arrange childcare for meetings, allowing for more voices of families with young children to participate in local activism!  We will then be making this list available to other local organizations so we can be sure that childcare doesn't have to be a barrier to participation for anyone. 

______

VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES

Sister District 
SisterDistrict is an organization that connects you with your local home district team to work on Sister Races in Virginia, Washington State, and Georgia. The goal? To turn Red states Blue. Support these critical races by donating to them and sharing about them on social media.  Or, get in on the fun by joining your local district team for even more action items! 
Here is an update from the Vermont district team:
SisterDistrict Soup
We have made a few changes to our SisterDistrict Soup project and will be offering a monthly soup subscription to benefit either SisterDistrict directly or our current candidate (subscriber's choice). 
Please help us by sharing this link with friends and family who may be interested in subscribing or volunteering to help make or sell soup:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfU1Vv1oJRgTBATJ8TTp8vHUaGFIz0coVCVe28gYVOrK9K-BQ/viewform?c=0&w=1 
(NOTE: for more information please email [email protected] or [email protected]. 
In addition to raising money to help get our nation onto a better trajectory, we are also committed to providing you the most delicious and locally-sourced soup that we can. Vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free options will be available. 
There is no reason that you can't eat well and resist at the same time!

______

Exchange Student Hosts Wanted
PAX (Program of Academic Exchange Vermont) is looking for families who are interested in hosting a high school exchange student for Brattleboro HS and Bellows Falls for the upcoming school year.  Clara is one such student, a 15 year old girl from Spin whose interests include skiing, scouting and gymnastics.  Could you open your home to one of these students?
Host families come in all shapes and sizes - they represent the diversity of American culture, with varied economic, religious and racial backgrounds. Among those who truly enjoy the exchange experience are parents looking to give their families a glimpse of the world and introduce them to new customs and cultures, without having to travel the globe.
Many of our host families do not have high school age children, while others have adult children who no longer live at home. They say that hosting an exchange student gives them an opportunity to enrich their own lives and connect with their community in a whole new way.
If you've considered hosting but have questions, please contact Kimberly at [email protected] or 802-824-3792.

______

ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FM
To stream live: Visit www.wvew.org 
Indigo Radio, deepening understanding and making connections!
IndigoRadio is a group of area educators seeking to learn through engaging with others in our community and throughout the world. We will be talking about educational and social issues both globally and locally and connecting them to our lives and Brattleboro community.
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indigoradiowvew/
For archive recordings of past shows: https://soundcloud.com/user-654648353

Your Friendly WeCAN Admins,
Ann and Joanna