Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

“I know that no matter what happens in Washington, we have to be prepared here in Vermont to do our part to protect our reproductive liberty for all Vermonters.”
Lt. Governor Molly Gray, D-Vermont
In reference to advocating for Proposal 5 (which would enshrine the right to choose an abortion in Vermont) to be added to the VT Constitution, at the Women’s March in Montpelier
Saturday, October 2nd, 2021

     This week's email is chock full of ways to positively impact your community, Friends. From Silent Vigils and Democracy Forums to NAMI mental health assistance programs and an Empty Bowls Dinner, there is truly something for everyone this week. We look forward to seeing you at a meeting or event this October. Have a great week! 
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National Volunteering Opportunity 
From the Indivisible Truth Brigade:
      Propaganda, false characterizations, intentionally misleading messages, and outright lies threaten our democracy and even our lives. We can effectively combat disinformation, despite the well-funded machines that drive it. They may have money, but we have truth and we have people. People believe sources they trust. When we share and amplify unified, factual messages to those who trust us, we shift the narrative. When we do this by the thousands--we’re part of the Indivisible Truth Brigade, and we get our country back. Join us.

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 4th, 2021-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10th, 2021

Vermont Food Bank’s Veggie Van Go Upcoming Schedule
The First and Third Mondays of Every Month in the parking lot across the street from the main entrance to Brattleboro Union High School (131 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-11:30am. 
Veggie Van Go is a program through the Vermont Foodbank that gives out free produce and local food for people to take home.
Monday, October 4th, 2021
Monday, October 18th, 2021

Important information:

• Drive through model- please stay in your vehicles
• If you are walking there: see a Vermont Foodbank associate but please make sure to stay 6 feet back.
• There are no income requirements, registration or paperwork to participate
• You do not need to be present to get food: you may ask someone to pick up on your family's behalf.

For questions, please contact the WSESU VVG Program Coordinator:
Kira Sawyer-Hartigan, WSESU
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 
[email protected]
(802)254-3730

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Brattleboro Democracy Forum: Abortion Rights and the Production of Law with Nick Biddle and Friends
organized by We Celebrate Democracy Civil Rights For All, dedicated to positive nonviolent, nonprofit, public action for democracy and civil rights for all people
Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, Online. 6:30pm.
The meeting will be recorded and will air on BCTV and WVEW 107.7 FM.
To join the Zoom Meeting copy this URL into your search bar:       https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84509560179?pwd=SEppeEo5Z25VMThSMVdRajdPQkJIZz09
For more information, please contact Contact: [email protected]  or 802 258 7045.

Nick says:
The new Texas abortion law, officially entitled the “Heartbeat Act,” gained notorious stature in early September when the Supreme Court permitted its enforcement. The Court’s ruling is by any measure extraordinarily political and deeply threatening to Roe v. Wade. The emotional tension of abortion cannot be replicated and that quality has made it the darling issue of dark money activism for forty years. This presentation will highlight the nearly mechanical role abortion rights have played in advancing the production of laws designed not just to end legalized abortion but also the full welfare state as we’ve known it since the 1960’s.
Please come to the meeting and join the discussion.
Nick Biddle, is a retired professor of history, and a Brattleboro resident since 2013. 

To join the Zoom Meeting copy this URL into your search bar:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84509560179?pwd=SEppeEo5Z25VMThSMVdRajdPQkJIZz09
Meeting ID: 845 0956 0179
Passcode: 150977
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,84509560179#,,,,*150977# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,84509560179#,,,,*150977# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
       +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)    
Meeting ID: 845 0956 0179
Passcode: 150977
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kp8p6n8Ct

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A Silent Vigil of Loving Kindness
Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 at Wells Fountain (298-250 VT-30, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 4:30pm-5:30pm.
For further information and to be on the mailing list for future vigils, please contact Tim Stevenson, [email protected]
Under a banner that reads, “Holding a Space of Loving Kindness for All Living Beings,” we conduct a silent vigil on alternating Wednesdays and Thursdays, every other week, 4:30pm-5:30pm, @ Wells Fountain across from Brooks Library and the Municipal Building, downtown Brattleboro.
Our purpose is to serve as a living reminder of the inherent goodness of each of us, as well as our inextricable connection with one another.
For a few minutes or the entire hour, all are welcome to join us in extending sentiments of loving kindness to all living beings: to family and friends, neighbors and strangers, kindred spirits and adversaries, human and non-human beings, alike. And to ourselves, as well. People may choose to stand, kneel, or sit in a chair they bring (there are stone benches circling the Fountain).

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Marlboro Community Food Share
hosted by the Marlboro Community Center
Thursday, October 7th, 2021, and every Thursday, at the Marlboro Community Center (524 South Road, Marlboro, VT, 05344). 4:30pm-5:30pm.
Every Thursday from 4:30pm-5:30pm the Marlboro Community Center invites you to fill a grocery bag with non-perishables and fresh local produce. No registration or eligibility required. This weekly opportunity is available for anyone who could use an extra bag of groceries or knows someone who does.
Food will be set up in the entry-way to the Marlboro Community Center. For proper social distancing, please enter one person at a time. Bring a grocery bag or use ours. Masks are required. Deliveries will be made through Marlboro Cares for those needing assistance. Please call Marlboro Cares at 802-258-3030 in advance to arrange a delivery.
To donate food:
Leave non-perishable food in the donation box at the Marlboro Post Office. It will be collected on a weekly-basis. (Please note that this box previously supplied the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, which is now distributing food exclusively from VT Food Pantry) 
Gardeners and farmers are welcome to donate produce. Wear masks and wash hands when harvesting and handling food. Fresh produce can be dropped off at the Community Center on Thursday between 1pm and 4pm. (Any leftover produce will be taken to FoodWorks the following morning)

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Guilford Cares Food Pantry
Thursday, October 7th, 2021 (and every Thursday) at the Guilford Fairgrounds (163 Fairground Rd, Guilford, VT 05301). 5pm-6pm. If you have questions, concerns or would like to donate groceries or monetary gifts please contact Pat Haine 802-257-0626. For additional questions or more information call 802 579 1350 or email [email protected].
Guilford Cares Food Pantry has moved! The Pantry has moved to the First Aid building at the Guilford Fairgrounds. We will be fully stocked with all our usual grocery items.
The Fairgrounds are on Fairground Road, just off Weatherhead Hollow Road. From Guilford Center Road turn onto Weatherhead Hollow Road. Travel 1.7 miles down the road. The Fairgrounds are on the left and there will be a sign directing you up the hill for about .2 miles. The red building is on the left with a sign out in front. Please remain in your car; we’ll greet you,  and give you a shopping list as we have been doing for the past year.
If the Pantry will be closed for any unexpected reason, the closure will be announced on WKVT, WTSA, and Front Porch Forum.
If you cannot come to the Pantry due to illness or high risk, you can call also call Pat to arrange for food delivery by a volunteer.
We know that supplemental food can make such a big difference in one's budget. That is why we are stocking our shelves for our neighbors. All are welcome to come and take home fresh produce, staples, meat, dairy.
Guilford Cares welcomes anyone in need of supplemental food for themselves or their families.

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Empty Bowls Dinner—At Home! 
hosted by Groundworks Collaborative and FoodWorks
Saturday, October 9th, 2021, Online. 4pm.
Our 18th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser is virtual in 2021.  Although there will not be an in-person Empty Bowls dinner this year, we will again make the beautiful, handcrafted and locally-made bowls you've come to expect available in local business storefronts.
Handcrafted bowls made by local potters are available to buy in the following locations for $25 each:

Brattleboro Food Co-op
Everyone's Books
The Kitchen Sync
Putney Food Co-op
Putney General Store
The Shoe Tree
Zephyr Designs

You can also CLICK HERE to purchase a pre-selected 12- or 6-bowl PARTY PACK—allowing you to Host-Your-Own Empty Bowls with a small group on a date of your choice.  PARTY PACK purchases (12 bowls for $250 and 6 bowls for $125) come with pre-selected bowls and a soup recipe booklet and are delivered free within a 30-minute drive of downtown Brattleboro.
On Saturday, October 9th at 4pm, you can watch our Empty Bowls video premiere right here, on our YouTube channel, and/or on our Facebook page.
The sale of each $25 bowl allows Foodworks—the food shelf program of Groundworks Collaborative—to provide a 2-week box of food for a family of five!  Thank you for your support!

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Share the Harvest Stand
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 10th, 2021 and every Sunday until October 31st, 2021 in the garden at Turning Point Recovery Center (corner of Frost Street and Elm Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 11am-1pm.
Fresh produce available at no cost thanks to local farmers, VT Foodbank and local gardeners. Donations accepted with gratitude. If you have surplus from your garden, please drop them off on Sundays between 10:30 and 11:15am, or by appointment (call or text Marilyn 516-298-9119).

Edible Brattleboro’s Share the Harvest Stand Needs Volunteers
Sign-up here: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/245496458026/false#/invitation
Please consider offering the gift of your time. Time Traders, Brattleboro Food Co-op shareholders, and students can log their hours for community service credit.
We always pair up a new volunteer with an experienced one, so if you have never volunteered, don't worry. You will have guidance from an experienced person and detailed written instructions. If you value this service, I urge you to please sign up for a time slot (or two or three) so we can continue to offer fresh free produce to our neighbors through October. More on how to volunteer below.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Gathering
hosted by the Atowi Project
Monday, October 11th, 2021 at Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 2pm-5pm.
Elnu Abenaki and the Atowi Project invite the Wantastegok-Brattleboro community to join them in observing Indigenous Peoples' Day at Retreat Farm, Oct. 11th , 2021 from 2pm-5 pm.
We will celebrate with song, storytelling, demonstrations, traditional foods to sample, language lessons, local history, and community affirmation. Kolipaiôba - you are all welcome! Free and open to all.

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Outside Windham County
Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Erasure and Reclamation
Monday, October 11th, 2021 at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road, Warner, NH). 1pm-3pm.
A panel will discus our erasure in New Hampshire and how we are reclaiming our history and celebrating our persistence. The event will end with concrete actions people may take to help us meet our goals. 

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Milk with Dignity Tour
Wednesday, October 13th, 2021 on the Brattleboro Common (at the intersection of Park Place, Route 30 and Route 5, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-11:30am.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
On Oct.13th, 2021 farmworkers from Migrant Justice will be at the Brattleboro Common from 10am-11:30am to spread the word about their groundbreaking Milk with Dignity program. It's been four years since Ben & Jerry's joined Milk with Dignity. In that time, the program has meant pay raises, paid sick leave, new health & safety standards, improved housing, and protections against sexual harassment, discrimination, and unjust firings for hundreds of workers on farms in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Through the program’s worker-defined standards and binding enforcement mechanisms, workers have become frontline defenders of their human rights.
But the work doesn't end there! Many farmworkers remain outside the protections of Milk with Dignity, living and working in unjust, unsafe, and undignified conditions.
Migrant Justice farmworkers are fighting to expand Milk with Dignity and calling on Hannaford Supermarkets to join. This event in Brattleboro is part of a 3-week northeast speaking tour to build support for the Hannaford campaign. Learn more about how you can get involved and help bring this powerful program to Hannaford’s dairy supply chain. 

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Brattleboro Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide
hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention-Vermont Chapter
Saturday, October 16th, 2021 at the Brattleboro Common (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-12pm.
Register, start a team, or make a donation TODAY at www.afsp.org/brattleboro
Join the movement turning HOPE into ACTION!
Walk with us at the first annual Brattleboro Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide.
Once registered, keep an eye out for an invitation to our PRIVATE walker facebook group!

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Harvard Postcolonial Theorist Homi K. Bhabha in Conversation
presented by SIT as part of the Fall 2021 SIT Critical Conversations Webinar Series
Monday, October 18th, 2021, Online. 12pm-2pm.
Join the free Fall 2021 SIT Critical Conversations Webinar Series for a discussion with Harvard Prof. Homi K. Bhabha on conceptual imaginings of society in an era marked by "the governance of the unprepared," "the fragility of democracy," "tribal nationalism," and racism. Dr. Bhabha is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities in the English and Comparative Literature Departments at Harvard and is considered one of the most influential voices of the past 100 years.
This free SIT webinar series is taking place throughout the fall and features SIT faculty, guest speakers, alumni, and other experts from around the world. Visit the SIT website for more information and to register.

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Dedication of State Historic Marker for Abijah and Lucy Terry Price: Early Landowners and First Known African American Poet
hosted by Brattleboro Words Project 
Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 at the Guilford Welcome Center ( South of Exit 1 off of Interstate 91). Time TBD.
Save the date! October 19th at the Guilford Welcome Center we will be dedicating the VT historic marker commemorating the contributions of early African American landowners Abijah Prince and the first known African American poet Lucy Terry Prince.

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Milk with Dignity Tour
presented by Migrant Justice and hosted by All Souls Church
Friday, October 22nd, 2021 at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church (20 South St., West Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6:30pm-8pm.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
On Oct. 22 farmworkers from Migrant Justice will be at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 20 South St., West Brattleboro from 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. to spread the word about their groundbreaking Milk with Dignity program. It's been four years since Ben & Jerry's joined Milk with Dignity. In that time, the program has meant pay raises, paid sick leave, new health & safety standards, improved housing, and protections against sexual harassment, discrimination, and unjust firings for hundreds of workers on farms in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain. Through the program’s worker-defined standards and binding enforcement mechanisms, workers have become frontline defenders of their human rights.
But the work doesn't end there! Many farmworkers remain outside the protections of Milk with Dignity, living and working in unjust, unsafe, and undignified conditions.
Migrant Justice farmworkers are fighting to expand Milk with Dignity and calling on Hannaford Supermarkets to join. This event in Brattleboro is part of a 3-week northeast speaking tour to build support for the Hannaford campaign. Learn more about how you can get involved and help bring this powerful program to Hannaford’s dairy supply chain. 

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Red Cross Blood Drive at the Winston Prouty Campus
Saturday, October 23rd, 2021
Saturday, November 27th, 2021
Saturday, December 18th, 2021 at the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development (Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-3pm. To help make these events possible by volunteering, please contact Lisa Whitney at [email protected]
Winston Prouty and the American Red Cross are hosting monthly blood drives throughout 2021.The Red Cross has over 135 years of experience providing humanitarian aid including more than 75 years of supplying blood to those in need. Each pint of blood we collect can help save up to three lives and will touch the lives of so many more. What a great way to pay it forward and make an impact on people in our community and across the country.
You can participate by donating blood or by volunteering to help support the event (set-up/clean-up, registration, parking, etc).
Sign up to DONATE blood here:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=

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Window Dressers Community Build
presented by the Guilford and Brattleboro Energy Committees, in conjunction with Window Dressers
Sign up by Thursday, September 30th, 2021.
Friday, October 29th, 2021- Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021 at Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development (209 Austine Dr, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 5pm.
Sign up for your inserts at windowdressers.org during the month of September, or by October 6th at the latest, so your windows can be measured by one of our volunteer teams and the parts cut in time for us to assemble them together at our community build. 
For more information and to sign up for inserts, go to WindowDressers.org  or call Nancy Detra at 802-779-1006. We also need folks who can volunteer to be part of our build even if you don't need any inserts!
Drafty Windows? High fuel bills? Come to a workshop and help us make low-cost insulating window inserts, custom-built to fit your home's windows! These low-cost, attractive window inserts function as snug-fitting indoor storm windows to keep out drafts and help you stay more snug and cozy, while using less fuel.  
At the build you'll be taught one of the simple steps in the assembling of the inserts, and working as a group we are able to keep the insert prices very low, just to cover materials. You will come for one 4-hour shift for every 3 inserts you've ordered. There are 2 shifts each day with lunch provided for everyone in between. There's all kinds of tasks for all kinds of volunteers--something for everyone. 
How does it work?

• The first step is to sign up for inserts at WindowDressers.org.
• Once you sign up for as many inserts as you're interested in, go to Community Builds on the menu and scroll down until you see the Brattleboro build in the Vermont section. Click on SignUp.com to put yourself onto volunteer shifts.
• Next, you'll be contacted by our measuring team, and a pair of local volunteer measurers will visit your home at a mutually agreed upon time to take precision measurements of your windows. The parts for the inserts will be pre-cut to spec at Window Dressers in Maine so they will fit snugly and be easy to install.
• The inserts will be assembled over the days of our build by our team of volunteers, including you!

Payment is made by check at the time of measuring, (or can be made by card on line if necessary.) There is subsidy available for those who qualify for programs such as LIHEAP and SNAP benefits, so that some of our recipients can receive inserts at no cost or what they are able to contribute. See FAQs on the website.
We're warming homes – helping the environment – building community.

COMING IN 2022

Lucy Terry Price: Witness, Voice, and Poetics within the American Tradition
presented by Vermont Humanities
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022, Online. 7pm.
Register for this talk at www.vermonthumanities.org/stjohnsbury
Beginning with Vermonter Lucy Terry Prince, the first known African American poet in the US, poet Shanta Lee Gander explores creative lineage within poetics. Surveying the work of Phillis Wheatley, Laurence Dunbar, Rita Dove, and slam poet Dominique Christina, Gander considers the poetic arc from the past to the modern moment. 

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The Poetics of Girlhood and Womanhood in America
presented by Vermont Humanities
Wednesday, April 6th, 2022, at Brooks Memorial Library (54 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm.
Poets and writers Diana Whitney and Shanta Lee Gander join Christal Brown, associate professor of Dance at Middlebury College, in a conversation that explores how girlhood and womanhood in America are manifested across the boundaries of poetry, dance, and lived experience.

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Southern VT Sister District Fall/Winter Soupscriptions Are Open

Join the scores of Southern VT SDP soup subscribers who have raised over $43,000(!) to support strategic races in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia. Simple as 1-2-3. Activism made simple and delicious. Please invite a friend!

1. You purchase a soup subscription here.
2. Your donation goes directly to our SDP candidates.
3. You pick up your monthly, volunteer-made soup in Putney or Brattleboro (or donate it to Putney Food Shelf or Groundworks).

Editor's Note: I have been a volunteer chef with Southern VT Sister District for over 4 years now and I can vouch that these soups are DELICIOUS, vegan, and made with so much love (added bonus: they freeze really well, too!). I hope to cook a soup for you and your family soon! -Joanna (Your Friendly WeCAN Editor)

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Covid 19 Pop-Up Testing

Testing is available for all. 
If you need testing, there are a variety of options available to you: your primary care provider, pop-up test sites and pharmacies. The Test Site Finder below can help you find other testing near you.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT POP-UP TESTING LOCATIONS
Here are the steps to set up a testing appointment at a pop-up testing site:

• Register to get an account
• Receive an email with your patient ID and use that to confirm your account (check your spam folder if you don't see the email)
• Log in with your patient ID
• Set up an appointment

Register for Pop-Up Testing Here

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FREE HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN WINDHAM COUNTY

Brigid’s Kitchen, St. Michael’s Church, 47 Walnut Street, Brattleboro 802-254-6800 or 802-558-6072 
Grab-and-go lunches and fruit/nuts on Mon, Weds, Thus, and Sat, 11:30am-12:20pm.

Loaves and Fishes, Centre Congregational Church 193 Main Street, Brattleboro (802) 254-4730
Grab-and-go lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12pm.

VT Foodbank and Veggie Van Go will be at Brattleboro Union High School (Fairground Ave, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the parking lot, on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, from 10am-11:30am. Drive up, touchless pickup. Walkers welcome, too. Call VT 211 for more information. 

Foodworks, the food shelf program of the Groundworks Collaborative https://groundworksvt.org (802) 490-2412, [email protected] 
Households in need of food are asked to call or email to coordinate delivery. There is an urgent need for volunteers, and Foodworks has set up protocols to keep staff, volunteers, and clients as safe as possible. Please email us at [email protected] if you are able to help.

Guilford Food Pantry 
Every Thursday at the Guilford Fairgrounds. 5pm-6pm.
We know that supplemental food can make such a big difference in one's budget. That is why we are stocking our shelves for our neighbors. All are welcome to come and take home fresh produce, staples, meat, dairy. Guilford Cares welcomes anyone in need of supplemental food for themselves or their families.

Full Plates VT 
Please click this link to confirm availability and to register up to 3 households: 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/full-plates-vt-tickets-151480705869
The program is currently scheduled to run from June – September, 2021.
To keep wait times to a minimum, reservations will be required for the distributions. New dates will be added to the registration website every two weeks. To register and see the dates and locations, please visit vtfoodbank.org/gethelp or call 833-670-2254 for assistance. 
Each household must register for their own food box and self-certify that they meet the income guidelines. You will not be asked for proof of income.

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ADDITIONAL COVID 19 RESOURCES CAN BE FOUND AT THEIR PERMANENT HOME ON OUR WEBSITE, HERE: https://www.wecantogether.net/covid19_resources

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RESOURCE FOR WeCAN

Rapid Response Text Alert System

When WeCAN began, Song & Solidarity set up a Rapid Response Text Alert System for WeCAN Groups. Directions for signing up are on WeCAN's website, here: https://www.wecantogether.net/rapid_response. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.

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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. 

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      Please continue to mask up when you attend in person meetings and lectures, WeCANners! Until next time...

Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,

Joanna and Sam