Weekly Email Update 9-25-17
"A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent."
John P. Kotter
Happy Autumn fellow WeCANners! As we enter a new season we'd like to offer some tips and tricks that may help you deal with anxiety or stress that can arise due to global current events, Seasonal Affective Disorder*, or every day hurdles.
A few questions to ask yourself when feeling anxious or unsure include:(+)
1) If the event or circumstance were to happen in the future, how would worrying about it now help?
2) What is the difference between cautious, fearful, and worried? How do you define each of these terms for yourself? Which do you most want to feel in this situation? What action(s) will help you achieve the desired feeling?
3) What is the information that is being presented to you and how valid is the resource delivering the information? Is it from a first person boots-on-the-ground perspective? Is it second hand accounts? Is it third person conjecture? What qualifications does the person, expert, or pundit giving you the information hold in the field in which they are speaking? How are they compensated for their opinions or what are they trying to gain from the conversation?
Whatever your answers may be to the above questions please know that you're not alone in the experience of anxiety or uncertainty. Don't be afraid to seek comfort in others (your community!) who feel the same way. Stay connected with the people you care about and reach out to those who give you support.
* For more information please visit: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/seasonal-affective-disorder/index.shtml. For 24/7 help call the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at 1-800-950-NAMI (1-800-950-6264).
(+) For more information please click here.
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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2017
Share the Harvest Stand
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, September 24th, 2017 at the Elliott Street Park (on Elliot Street in Brattleboro, VT, 05301) from 11am-1pm.
You are invited to participate in Edible Brattleboro’s Share the Harvest stand where we will be sharing produce from our gardens as well as donated produce from local farmers and gardeners. The stand is set up at the Elliot Street Park every Sunday from 11am - 1pm; rain location - in front of Experienced Goods / Transportation Center on Flat Street. Everything is available to the community at no cost.
We are happy to accept your donations from your garden - please drop off your surplus to our stand on Sundays as close to 11amas possible. We also need volunteers to keep this going throughout the season. Please visit http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae to sign up for a spot. It’s real easy to sign up, and your contact information is never shared. We need teams of two to glean at the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays or to operate the stand on Sundays. Brief descriptions of the tasks are on the sign-up site, and complete directions are provided via email. Brattleboro Time Traders can earn hours, too!
URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: If we do not have sufficient volunteers in the coming weeks, we will not be able to continue to offer fresh produce every Sunday through October. I urge you to look over the schedule online and commit to offering several hours in the coming weeks so we can continue to provide this much appreciated service. We're using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming SignUps.'
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
Come Grow and Share with Us!
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HAPPENING THIS WEEK MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th, 2017-MONDAY, OCTOBER 2nd, 2017
Town of Brattleboro Democratic Reorganization Meeting
Monday, September 25th, 2017 at the Winston Prouty Center, Holton Hall, Top Floor, at 130 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT. 6pm (Before the Windham County Democratic Committee meeting at 7pm)
The Agenda:
- Election of Town Committee
- Election of Officers by the Town Committee
- Election of County Committee Member
- New Business
The stronger an organization we have, the more prepared we'll be for the 2018 election. Come be part of the solution.
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Letters To Editors Drop-In Party for Healthcare Justice
Monday, September 25th, 2017 at the Putney Library (55 Main St., Putney, VT.). 6pm-8:30pm. For more information please email [email protected].
Drop-In space to come by and work out a letter to the media in support of implementing universal healthcare in Vermont. We need a steady drumbeat of public voices in the media, and local and state L.T.E. banks are building. Handy will be an LTE template based on personal stories, updates about Vermont healthcare initiatives and legislation, and folks to help work out the letter.
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Mother Up! Monthly Meet-Up
Monday, September 25th 2017 at KidsPLAYce (20 Elliot St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Contact Abby Mnookin for more info at [email protected]. RSVP helpful, but not required.
Mother Up!: Parents Exchange for Change is a project of 350Vermont that brings together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. We'll be considering the question, "Is Eco-Travel Possible?" A simple vegetarian meal and childcare for ages 8 and under will be provided.
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Study Group Opportunity
sponsored by Brattleboro Solidarity
PLEASE REGISTER by emailing [email protected] to receive the readings prior to the first class.
Multiple Dates: September 25th, 2017, and October 2nd, 9th, and 16th at Antioch University in Keene, New Hampshire (40 Avon St, Keene, NH 03431) from 6:00pm-7:30 pm. There will be soup and bread. We ask that you commit to all four days.
When people are in the streets against police brutality, it is important to come together to expand our knowledge on the history of race and whiteness in this country. Brattleboro Solidarity will be hosting a study group to expand our understanding of the construction of whiteness as a tool for economic exploitation and the historical division along race and class lines in the U.S.
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Progressive Party of Vermont Biennial Reorganization Meeting
Tuesday, September 26th, 2017. Brooks Memorial Library, Library Local History Room on the Mezzanine Floor. (224 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 6pm.
There are currently seven Progressives in the House, three in the Senate and two holding state office, the Lieutenant Governor and the Auditor. It holds the most elected seats in the country for a third party. The Progressive Party expects its candidates to support and advance its principles ((http://progressiveparty.org/principles/) and platform ((http://progressiveparty.org/vpp-platform/) and we will be discussing our organizational practices at this meeting.
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Climate Change Café, A Community of Concerned Citizens: Grieving in the Age of Climate Change
a project of Post Oil Solutions
Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) at 6pm. Connie Baxter, the Bereavement Program Coordinator for Brattleboro Area Hospice, will lead and facilitate this workshop. FREE. Light Refreshments Available.
Grief for our changing climate can be paralyzing. The irony is that this grief has to be acknowledged and experienced in order for us to find hope and a path to action. In coming together to share grief we can find support from one another to face the emotional challenge that despair for our planet presents. We'll participate in a range of activities designed first to identify the unique grief each of us feels for our changing planet and then to explore how this grief can be transformed to hope and action. For more information: [email protected].
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Windham County VT Workers' Center Organizing Committee
Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 6pm-8pm. For more information please email [email protected].
We will begin planning for a Legislator Night event, to have state legislators from all of Windham County account for their support, and actions, toward equitable financing and full implementation of Universal Health Care in Vermont. We will also have a short education piece about the history and principles of the Health Care is a Human Right campaign/movement. And report-backs from events and planning projects.
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Freedom March
Wednesday, September 27th at Pliny Park (Corner of High and Main Streets, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5pm-5:45pm. Speakers Anna Stevens and Ellen Schwartz will speak 15 minutes before the March.
In Vermont, the disparity in incarceration rates for Black people to White people is 10:1, which is double the national rate of 5:1. Join this rally and march to call for an end to over-incarceration and racial disparities in Vermont’s criminal justice system. Featured speakers: Shela Linton of the Root Social Justice Center, who serves on The Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile System Advisory Panel created by H.308, and Anna Stevens of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR). Participants in the rally will be invited to read anonymous excerpts from letters that VCJR has received. Daniel Sicken, who was incarcerated in federal prison for acts of civil disobedience, will present a song. The rally will be followed by a march through downtown. For more information contact Eesha Williams at (802) 254-2531 or [email protected].
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Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing
Friday, September 29th, 2017 at the School for International Training at SIT (1 Kipling Rd, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 4pm. Free.
You are invited to a talk by Dr. James Waller, Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. Dr. Waller will present “Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing.”
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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, September 29th, 2017 (and every Friday) in front of TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-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
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Queer and Trans Youth Homecoming Dance
co-sponsored by Green Mountain Crossroads and Youth4Change
Friday, September 29th, 2017 at The Root Social Justice Center (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). First Floor. 7pm-11pm.
For more information please email [email protected] or [email protected].
Open to all queer and trans youth 13-22 years old. Outright Vermont uses its monthly Friday Night Group to throw a dance night to celebrate the Fall and school season. Live DJ, food, lounge, hilarity.
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Share the Harvest Stand
sponsored by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 1st, 2017 at the Elliott Street Park (on Elliot Street in Brattleboro, VT, 05301) from 11am-1pm.
You are invited to participate in Edible Brattleboro’s Share the Harvest stand where we will be sharing produce from our gardens as well as donated produce from local farmers and gardeners. The stand is set up at the Elliot Street Park every Sunday from 11am - 1pm; rain location - in front of Experienced Goods / Transportation Center on Flat Street. Everything is available to the community at no cost.
We are happy to accept your donations from your garden - please drop off your surplus to our stand on Sundays as close to 11amas possible. We also need volunteers to keep this going throughout the season. Please visit http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae to sign up for a spot. It’s real easy to sign up, and your contact information is never shared. We need teams of two to glean at the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays or to operate the stand on Sundays. Brief descriptions of the tasks are on the sign-up site, and complete directions are provided via email. Brattleboro Time Traders can earn hours, too!
URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: If we do not have sufficient volunteers in the coming weeks, we will not be able to continue to offer fresh produce every Sunday through October. I urge you to look over the schedule online and commit to offering several hours in the coming weeks so we can continue to provide this much appreciated service. We're using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming SignUps.'
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/GmYCbae
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
Come Grow and Share with Us!
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Girl Power Fall Book Talks: Chapter Books and Middle Grade Books
Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main St, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301) in the Children’s Room. 6:30pm-7:30pm.
Join us at Brooks Memorial for an hour of fast-paced book talks from three local book superheroes: Local Author Ann Braden, Everyone's Books Owner, Nancy Braus, and Youth Services Librarian, Lindsay Bellville. For this book talk, the second in our three part series, we will go over books with strong, female characters that would be perfect reads or read alouds for kids in grades 1-8. For more information call the Children's Room (802)-254-5290 x110.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Civil Rights for All Banner Raising
Sunday, October 8th, 2017 on Main Street in Brattleboro, VT. 8am-9am.
Let's Fly the "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" banner over Main Street in Brattleboro!
The Trump administration is holding an endless nation-wide "hate rally".
We believe what the civil rights organization The Southern Poverty Law Center says about fighting hate: "Every act of hate should be met with an equal act of love". Otherwise hate will spread until it takes over the whole country, the way it did under Hitler in Germany. The result would be horrible for all of us. We firmly believe that "democracy/love versus tyranny/hate" is our winning battlefield. We must hold a nation-wide "love rally" to stand up to the Trump administration. Taken together all our small positive nonviolent public actions add up to a huge "love rally". The "We Celebrate Democracy/ Civil Rights For All" banner says "I love you" to all people. The banner raising is just a small part of our "love rally", but every part is an essential part. We need to be in the streets standing up for loving, caring, sharing and helping, in a massive way.
Unite! We can only win this together. Stand with the banner! Stand up to hate!
Please help us by making a small donation to cover the $600 banner raising fee (sixty $10 donations) as we fly the "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" banner over Main Street on Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend. To donate via check please donate to "We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights For All" (WCD/CRFA), 1196 Lower Dover Rd, Brattleboro VT 05301 or visit our GoFundMe site here.
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Rights & Democracy's Movement Politics Training
sponsored by Rights and Democracy (RAD)
Saturday, October 14th, 2017 in Manchester, VT (location TBD). 9:30am-4:30pm. The training costs $50 or signing up as a $10/month sustainer (we will accommodate those to which the financial cost may be a burden).
To move from protest to power we need to get serious about impacting elections, either by running for office ourselves or supporting campaigns run by our allies in the movement. Join RAD Political Director Isaac Grimm, RAD Comms Director Shay Totten, Bennington Representative Kiah Morris & former Manchester Rep. Steve Berry for a training on how to build powerful grassroots electoral campaigns.
If you'd like to join our day long movement politics training, fill out this registration form. We will then follow up with a phone interview before accepting applicants. Training starts with a grounding in how we got to our current political situation, our long-term agenda, and a power analysis, and then delves how to build our base, the nuts & bolts of planning & executing a campaign, messaging & media, fundraising, and operating a field campaign.
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WeCAN Cafe: Recharge Your Activist Spirit
Thursday, October 19th, 2017 at 118 Elliot Street (Brattleboro, VT 05301). 7pm - 9pm
As a follow-up to the WeCAN Spring into Action Fair, the WeCAN organizing team is excited to offer a community event for the fall designed to recharge your activist spirit. It will be an evening filled with a mix of food, music, poetry, skill building, information sharing, connection to others, and a cash bar. We’ll celebrate small local and statewide successes and share strategies for self-care. This struggle is a marathon, and it's vital that we all take the time to refill our own reserves. The goals are to build community, to learn from each other, to remind ourselves that we are not alone, and to head home feeling better than when we arrived.
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Local Love Brigade Party at Avenue Grocery
Saturday October 21st, 2017 at the Avenue Grocery (82 Western Ave., Brattleboro, VT 05301). 2pm-4pm.
Join the Local Love Brigade! Drop by, get a cider donut, and make postcards to send out in an avalanche of love to support victims of hate. There will be plenty of materials to make a card, and no artistic experience is necessary. All are welcome.
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IN DEVELOPMENT
Impeachment Rally
Saturday, October 21st, 2017 at the Vermont State House (115 State St, Montpelier, VT 05633). Time TBD.
Join us for a PEACEFUL PROTEST to be held in Montpelier, VT, at the Vermont State House (115 State St, Montpelier, VT 05633). 12pm to 5pm (tentative).
Our immediate goal - to get Phil Scott, Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, and Peter Welch to take up the call for Impeachment proceedings based on Trump's "intimidation, failure to supervise, and unbecoming conduct." Donald J.Trump’s leadership poses a threat to the peace and safety of our nation on both national and international levels. His immoral reputation and misconduct are an embarrassment and threat to the freedoms this country stands for and will not be tolerated by United States citizens.
Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/the-people-impeach-donald-j-trump
Do you have questions or are wondering what you can do to help organize, get the word out, and prepare? Contact Sarah Vitale at 802.246.7603 or email her at [email protected].
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STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS
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.
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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.
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VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
Sister District
Here is an update from the Vermont district team:
SisterDistrict Soup
We currently offer a monthly soup subscription to benefit either SisterDistrict directly or our current candidate (subscriber's choice!) and we are considering extending our offering into this Fall/Winter; if you would be interested in subscribing to a monthly soup offering please use this form to get in touch! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfU1Vv1oJRgTBATJ8TTp8vHUaGFIz0coVCVe28gYVOrK9K-BQ/viewform?c=0&w=1
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!
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!
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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.
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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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Democracy, Eventually
WVEW 107.7FM, Brattleboro Community Radio Station
You can listen to recorded and archived episodes here: https://soundcloud.com/democracy-eventually and you can find us on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/democracyeventually/ and on Twitter here @Democrazeee.
We are Democracy, Eventually a radio show covering local, state, and underreported national news stories from a progressive analysis. We air live on WVEW 107.7FM LP Brattleboro Community Radio Station.
Thank you again, weCAN Family, for working so hard these last 40+ weeks to make sure our communities stay welcoming, inclusive, and just. We appreciate everything you do. We look forward to seeing you at an event this week!
Your Friendly WeCAN Admins,
Ann and Joanna