Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"If we don't end war, war will end us."
Herbert George 'H.G.' Wells
English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, history, satire, biography and autobiography. His work also included two books on recreational war games. 

      
      This week has been exhausting for many of us: we may be worried about those in harm's way around the world and wondering how the violence that is happening in Ukraine will affect us and our life here in Vermont. Often, finding ways to help those in need can ease our anxiety while creating tangible, positive change in disastrous situations. With that said, we want to relay a list of non-profits and charities that are currently accepting donations for those affected by war in Ukraine, in Poland, and in neighboring countries that have accepted refugees. This list, compiled by the Vermont Community Foundation, is by no means complete; if you have other organizations you'd like us to share in future emails, please send them to [email protected] 

"The Community Foundation's philanthropic advising team has put together a list of resources for how you can support Ukraine during the current crisis. Please see below or reach out to Jane Kimble at [email protected]or (802) 388-3355 ext. 286 for more information on our philanthropic advising services.

The following international groups are already on the ground doing relief work in Ukraine: 

• Doctors without Borders
• Hope for Ukraine 
• Save the Children
• Mercy Corps
• Direct Relief
• UNICEF
• World Central Kitchen
• International Red Cross
• International Medical Corps
• United Help Ukraine

To support Ukrainian refugees in Poland:

• International Rescue Committee

The following groups are working on human rights challenges in Ukraine, including supporting activists and journalists, as well as minority groups like LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized people:

• Amnesty International
• Human Rights Watch"

Do you want to help, but making a donation isn't what you're looking for? Here are some other ways you can support the Ukrainian efforts. 

• Write to your Congressperson and Senator
  You can use your zip code to find your local US representative here. Click on their image to find their contact information and voice your views on the Russian invasion. You can also contact the White House. You can contact your Senator using this directory tool, too. 
• Attend protests or volunteer
  Here is a list of forthcoming demonstrations against the invasion, including many in the US. You are also welcome to add an upcoming planned protest to the growing number listed (are there any coming up in Windham County? Mail us at [email protected] and let us know!).  
• Support local Ukrainian journalism
  You can support the English-language Kyiv Independent and the New Voice of Ukraine directly. There is also a GoFundMe page to support Ukrainian media more broadly as journalists risk their safety.

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HAPPENING TODAY:
SUNDAY, MARCH 6th, 2022

CASP VT Reading Group
Starting Sunday, March 6th, 2022, Online. 6:30pm.
We are so excited to be launching a several weeks long reading group starting this Sunday, March 6th at 6:30pm.
Please sign up HERE to receive scheduling updates about the group. We'll be meeting on Zoom.
The Community Asylum Seekers Project is excited to be launching a several-weeks-long reading group for Vermonters who are tired of being stuck inside in the cold and NOT having a chance to dive deep into readings about asylum and its context. That ends now! 
Please join us as we endeavor to develop a collective understanding of the historical roots of asylum and the current ‘border crisis,’ and how this ongoing history influences our work with CASP. We will be digging into issues of military intervention, the relationships between race, gender, and empire, and the connections between immigrant justice and class structure in the United States. Open to all! Please join us! 

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, MARCH 7th, 2022-SUNDAY, MARCH 13th, 2022

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-11am. 
Veggie Van Go is a program through the Vermont Foodbank that gives out free produce and local food for people to take home.
March 7th, 2022
March 21st, 2022

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.

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No Más Polimigra Organizing Meeting
Monday, March 7th, 2022, Online. 3pm-5pm.
If you’d like to attend Monday’s meeting, email [email protected] so we can get you the link.
On Town Meeting Day Putney, Dummerston and Marlboro passed non-binding resolutions asking that the Windham County Sheriff add language to the department’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy that would limit collaboration between the Sheriff’s Department and immigration authorities—the same changes that have already been approved in Brattleboro. These resolutions passed by huge majorities in each of the three towns! 
The Windham County No Más Polimigra organizing committee will be meeting by Zoom on Monday, March 7 from 3:30-5:00 to plan the next steps to get these changes into the official policy. Will Lambek of Migrant Justice will be joining us for this meeting.
For more information about the campaign, go to: caspvt.org/no-mas-polimigra.

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Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting: Guiding Body or Rubber Stamp
hosted by Brattleboro Common Sense
Monday, March 7th, 2022, Online. 5:10pm: Meet and Greet; 5:30pm: Buttoned-Down Discussion.
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89714925598.  For more information please email: [email protected] or go to BrattleboroCommonSense.org.
This is an invitation to Brattleboro townspeople, groups, and especially town meeting members and candidates who want to plan for their ideas.  The town charter makes RTM the only “guiding body for the town and a source of ideas, proposals and comments”,  but this has never been realized.  RTM functions mostly as a rubber-stamp for the select board.  Kurt Daims will explain how things go and how to make proposals and use the rules (Robert’s Rules).  Daims has helped with many successful proposals in and outside or RTM.   Then we will discuss
YOUR proposals
YOUR ideas
Because  RTM is supposed to be about YOUR ideas and proposals
If we remember we are the guide, learn the rules, and plan ahead, that’s plan ahead, we can have an interesting and productive meeting.
Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS) has promoted election reform in Brattleboro and in the courts, to end voter suppression and invigorate democracy in Brattleboro.

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Brattleboro Democracy Forum: Real Democracy with Tim Kipp and Friends
Tuesday, March 8th, 2022, Online. 6:30pm. 
This meeting will be recorded and will air on BCTV, the Vermont Media Exchange and WVEW 107.7 FM Brattleboro. To join the Zoom meeting click on this link on 3/8/22: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4506111037?pwd=ZWQyVHl4NUtXK3dmVVl1NnB1T3NJUT09
Tim says:
The United States is in a crisis of two nations.  Economic instability, racial reckoning, a lingering pandemic and rising authoritarianism divide Americans by a gulf not experienced since the Civil War.
Underlying this disunion are conflicting concepts of what democracy actually is or should be. The old consensus is crumbling. Today for some, physically attacking the nation’s capitol makes sense, for others, making it harder for people to vote is a democratic act. 
On the other hand many still believe in citizen responsibility in the political process. For these people government and community organizing for social justice is what democracy looks like. 
Our future can and will be charted by how we conceptualize democracy itself. Understanding, expanding and sustaining democracy can perhaps lead to a bridging of this not so grand canyon of national divide.
This presentation focuses on the nature of democracy and offers a re conceptualization of this greatest of human inventions.
Tim Kipp is a retired history and political science teacher of 39 years and a political activist since the 1960s.

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Guilford Cares Food Pantry
Thursday, March 10th, 2022 at the Guilford Fairgrounds (163 Fairground Rd, Guilford, VT 05301). 3pm-4pm. 
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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Happening Outside Windham County: Dartmouth, New Hampshire
Hop Stop Family Show: Abenaki Artistry
presented in partnership with the Hop Stop Family Show
Saturday, March 12th, 2022 at Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College (4 E. Wheelock St., Hanover, NH), in Alumni Hall. 11am-12pm.
This event is free, but advance registration is required.
For tickets, please go to: hop.dartmouth.edu/events/abenaki-artistry
Experience Wabanaki storytelling and fiber arts.
Enter the world of Wabanaki history and culture with storytelling and music by the Sagamo (Chief) of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, Roger Longtoe Sheehan. Meanwhile, Vera Longtoe Sheehan, a museum educator and Director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, shares her one-of-a-kind twined art that blends ancient and contemporary Wabanki culture.

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Happening Outside Windham County: Plymouth, MA
Walk to Save Our Bays
Saturday, March 12th, 2022 at Plymouth Town Hall (26 Court Street, Plymouth MA). 12:30pm.
Please join us to protest the planned dumping of a million gallons of Pilgrim’s nuclear waste into our bays. Shuttles will pick people up along the route and get walkers back to Town Hall.
More information is available in the attached image.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Youth Centered Art Series with Local BI&POC Artist
hosted by The Root Social Justice Center, Youth 4 Change, and the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (10 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5pm-7pm.
This series is FREE for all youth participants! Food will be provided. Masks are required. Please Register and share your dietary needs at https://forms.gle/D7Mu6c6DEeN9WwsU7
Youth ages 12-22 are invited to participate in the collaborative workshop series between Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Youth 4 Change and local BI&POC Artist Deidra Razzaque.
Youth4Change and Brattleboro Museum are excited to create space that will connect youth of our community with a local BI&POC artist as well as find ways to honor the history of art in activism. We are grateful to artist Deidra Razzaque for her eagerness to share her skillset and creativity with youth as together we share space centered on art and activism.
Next Session: 
Tuesday, May 17th 5:00-7:00pm

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Public Forum on the Right to Housing & Healthcare
sponsored by Vermont Workers’ Center
Wednesday, March 16th, 2022, Online. 6pm.
Register here to get updates and the Zoom link. Questions: [email protected].
Have you been forced to choose between paying rent and meeting other basic needs? Are you concerned about losing emergency shelter or Medicaid? Do you have another experience related to  healthcare or housing? 
Join us on March 16th to testify about how you and your family have been impacted by the housing and healthcare crises in our state, or to listen to others from around the state.

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Vermont Reads Book Discussion: We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra
Wednesday, March 16th, 2022 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main Street, Putney, VT). 6pm.
Sarah Henstra’s beautifully written and challenging novel, We Contain Multitudes, is the story of two high school boys who discover friendship, and then love, through letters to each other. Through letters, they reveal their complicated lives and families, transcending bullying, opiate addiction, PTSD, and domestic violence. The book presents a myriad of ways to communicate around tough issues in our lives while remaining hopeful and resilient.
Join us for a fireside book discussion led by Sarah Wiles and Putney School students. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.

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Community Forum: Community and Public Safety with Representative Emilie Kornheiser
Wednesday, March 16th, 2022, Online. 7pm.
Please register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lde-rrz8pGtNCrfqk6DMYQgndViiKM3f1 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
I am super excited to announce our second community forum to discuss public safety will be taking place on March 16th on 7pm. As a community, we structure our laws and our lives around what it means to feel safe and supported. Let’s talk about whose safety we prioritize, how, and what that means for statewide policy and the future of our communities.
I'm looking forward to a vibrant spicy conversation with Malaika Puffer of HCRS, Mel Motel from the Community Justice Center, and Rhianna Kendrick, GroundWorks Collaborative.

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Aquarela
hosted by 350 Brattleboro
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 at Epsilon Spires (190 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7:30pm.
Take a cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Aquarela is a visceral wake-up call depicting the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element. This event is hosted by Epsilon Spires in celebration of World Water Day. 

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Spark Teacher Education Solidarity Film Series: Not Just  a Game: Power, Politics, and American Sports
Friday, March 25th, 2022, Online. 7pm.
Professional development credits available. For more information contact Spark Teacher Education Institute at [email protected]
Zoom Meeting ID: 829 4329 6979
American sports have long been at the center of many major political debates and struggles of our time. This documentary traces how American sports have glamorized militarism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, and then excavates a largely forgotten history of rebel athletes who stood up to power and fought for social justice beyond the field of play. Optional Reading: Colin Kaepernick, the Virginia Elections, and the Canary in the Coal Mine, by Dave Zirin.

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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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Spark Teacher Education Solidarity Film Series: Cowspriacy
Friday, April 29th, 2022, Online. 7pm.
Professional development credits available. For more information contact Spark Teacher Education Institute at [email protected]
Zoom Meeting ID: 829 4329 6979
This is a documentary that interrogates the meat industry’s contribution to the climate crisis. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption, and pollution, and is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry; it is also a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean dead zones, an virtually every other environmental ill. Yet, it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged. Optional Reading: Creating an Ecological Society: Towards a Revolutionary Transformation (Chapter 1: The Social and Ecological Planetary Emergency), by Fred Magdoff and Chris Williams. 

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Spark Teacher Education Solidarity Film Series: The Boys Who Said No
sponsored by Brooks Memorial Library 
Friday, May 27th, 2022, TBD. 7pm.
Professional development credits available. For more information contact Spark Teacher Education Institute at [email protected]
Zoom Meeting ID: 829 4329 6979
This documentary profiles the young men and women who actively opposed the military draft in order to end the Vietnam War. The film shows how their personal and collective acts of nonviolent resistance, risking arrest and imprisonment for up to 5 years, were a critical part of the antiwar movement, intensifying opposition to the war and eventually forcing an end to both conscription and the war. May be in person, details available soon. 

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*POSTPONED UNTIL JUNE 1st, 2022 * From the Parlor to the Polling Place: Stories and Songs from the Suffragists
hosted by the VT Humanities Council
Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm. 
This talk has been postponed to Wednesday, June 1. Singer and historian Linda Radtke, in period garb and a “Votes for Women” sash, celebrates the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave the right to vote to white women. Linda Radtke, a classically trained singer, was a Vermont high school teacher for thirty-one years and now produces the VPR Choral Hour on Vermont Public Radio.

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Out in the Open is hiring an Operations Director!
Full job description and details on applying on our website.
Our Operations Director will be responsible for leading all internal parts of our work. This includes non-fundraising finance, logistics, staff coordination/communication systems, internal culture, office systems management, policies, staff team development and support, and more.  
We’re looking for someone who can dream big while manifesting in reality. Ideally, someone who has existing operations knowledge and expertise and is also willing to research and try new ideas. We seek someone who can be a thought partner alongside our Executive Director in building the long-term future of Out in the Open while holding our organizational values central. 

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ONGOING EVENTS

Recovery Families
hosted by Turning Point
Fridays at Turning Point of Windham County Recovery Center (39 Elm Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-11am. 
Young children welcome!
Join other caregivers for connection and support of your own recovery journey or that of someone you love. 

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES

In Home Covid 19 Vaccines and Boosters

If you are homebound and not able to leave your home for medical services, you can get your COVID-19 vaccination and booster in your home.

• If you are in the service of a local home health agency, the agency will reach out to you to schedule an appointment.
• If you are not in the service of a home health agency, you may request an appointment by calling 802-863-7240 (toll-free 833-722-0860) Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

www.healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine

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Covid 19 Pop-Up Testing and Vaccinations
Testing and vaccinations are available for all. 
If you need testing or a vaccine, there are a variety of options available to you: your primary care provider, pop-up 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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The Village Closet
on the Wintson Prouty Campus (60 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in Croker Hall.
Open Wednesdays from 4pm-6pm and Saturdays from 10am-12pm, or
by appointment. For more information, please email [email protected]
Your source for free baby, children, and pregnancy clothing/items. Donations of gently used items accepted. We are collecting new and "like new" children's coats and winter gear for our Kids in Coats partnership with United Way of Windham County.  If you have items to donate, please stop by today if you are able!
On Wednesdays, Everyone Eats will be distributing free dinners on campus from 3:30pm-4:30pm.

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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-11am. 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] 
Foodworks has open hours for curbside pickup on Mondays 11am-4pm, Wednesdays 1pm-6pm, Fridays 12pm-4pm, last Saturday of each month from 9am-12pm. Deliveries are available onTuesdays across Windham county. Please email [email protected] or call 802-490-2412 with any questions!
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.

Marlboro Community Food Share
hosted by the Marlboro Community Center
Wednesday 10am-2pm; Thursday 10am-5pm; Friday 10am-12pm; Saturday 10am-12pm at the Marlboro Community Center (524 South Road, Marlboro, VT, 05344). 
The Marlboro Community Center invites you to fill a bag with non-perishable grocery items. Food is set up in the main space and is available during our open hours. Eggs and produce on Thursdays as available. No registration or eligibility required. Deliveries can be made through Marlboro Cares for those needing assistance. Please call Marlboro Cares at 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)

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.

Putney Foodshelf Weekly Open Hours 
Fridays at Christian Square, Putney, VT, 05346. 1:30pm-3:30pm.
Saturdays at Christian Square, Putney, VT, 05346. 9am-10:30am. (NEW HOURS!)
We also have a food drop at the Putney Meadows parking lot every 4th Thursday, from 9am-9:45am.
Message us on our FB page HERE, call 802.387.8551, or email [email protected] with questions. www.putneyfoodshelf.org
Curbside Open Hours. All are welcome - we just ask you to provide your town of residence and number in household for our data tracking purposes.
Stay in your car, please. Volunteers will take your order and bring out boxes of food, including nonperishable items, fresh produce, paper goods, meat, and dairy products.

Everyone Eats continues, including grab-and-go meals at these times and locations: 

• There is no longer an Everyone Eats distribution at Turning Point on Sundays, as Edible Brattleboro is dormant in the winter.
• The meals at Retreat Farm are stocked in their farm stand for pick up anytime, first come first serve. We are planning to stock on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Folks receiving services through Foodworks, Loaves and Fishes, and the Brattleboro Community Justice Center can obtain free meals through those organizations.
You can also order Everyone Eats! meals directly from participating restaurants using the Localvore App.

Our Place Drop-In Center at 4 Island Street, Bellows Falls, VT, 05101. Call us at 802-463-2217 for assistance. Email at [email protected] Please wear a mask to keep our employees and yourself safe.
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Wednesday: 8:30am-4pm
Thursday: 8:30am-1pm
Friday: 8:30am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Our Place Drop-In Center operates a food pantry and meal site where they serve breakfast with to-go meals that are ready for pickup by 9am. Lunch is ready by 11:30am. 
Everyone is welcome to stop by to get a meal. At this time we are allowing only employees in the building.

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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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Until next week, friends...

Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,

Joanna and Sam