Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

“If you, too, can come to love this land as our ancestors did, all the problems of the world will fall away like Autumn leaves in the wind.”
Tony Ten Fingers (Wanbli Nata’u), Oglala Lakota
Conductor of empowerment, education, leadership, and prevention trainings for Native youth and young adults; His contribution to suicide prevention in native communities has been transformational; Indian Health Program Analyst, Substance Abuse clinician, college Instructor, as well as participating in his own Oglala Lakota culture, traditions, and ceremonies; has made significant contributions to Nature Awareness Schools and their programs in the continental US.

     Happy Autumn, dear WeCAN friends! We hope you are all enjoying this harvest season as you gather the fruits, both physical and metaphorical, of your yearly labor. Now that the days are getting shorter, we'd like to remind you that many of our  event offerings are available online and can be accessed from the comfort of your own home. When it's cold and dark outside, consider lighting the way with your commitment to Windham County and to justice in all its forms. We hope you can make a plan to join us at an event, meeting, or lecture this Fall.

______

Action of the Week: Sign Up to Textbank with Fair Fight

The US Senate needs to do EVERYTHING they can to pass BOTH the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Fair Fight is texting voters to make sure they call their Senators to ask them to take action on voting rights. Once you take their training, they’ll send you everything you need to join Slack and get started texting. Sign up for the text training here.
Trainings take place on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays at multiple times

______

HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 2021-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 2021

Redrawing Electoral Lines: Reapportionment and Vermont’s Political Landscape
hosted by VPIRG, Rights and Democracy VT, and Rights and Democracy Institute
Tuesday, September 28th, 2021, Online. 6pm-7pm.
RSVP to join us on Zoom: https://www.mobilize.us/rightsdemocracy/event/414093/
Join Rights & Democracy's Kiah Morris and VPIRG Executive Director Paul Burns to dig into what the redrawing of electoral lines following the 2020 census will mean for Vermont's political landscape over the next 10 years.
We will hear from reapportionment experts and you will have an opportunity to share your thoughts, questions and concerns with Vermont Apportionment Board members who will be in attendance. We will also share action steps you can take to have a voice in this process!

______

Marlboro Community Food Share
hosted by the Marlboro Community Center
Thursday, September 30th, 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)

______

Guilford Cares Food Pantry
Thursday, September 30th, 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.

______

2021 Brattleboro Buddy Walk
hosted by the National Down Syndrome Society
Saturday, October 2nd, 2021 on the Brattleboro Commons (Park Place, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am.
Click here to register today.
Yes, we are planning a safe, fun, in person celebration this year at the Brattleboro town common on October 2nd RAIN or SHINE.
In addition to a one mile walk through Brattleboro this celebration will include many fun activities, lunch, prizes and games.
Check in starts at 10am at the Brattleboro Commons.

______

Women’s March Wilmington
Saturday, October 6th, 2021, starting at 6 North Main Street, Wilmington, VT, 05363. 9am-12:30pm.
Let’s stand together, share, make signs, March, meditate, listen to the music talent of Jill Sachs & join an optional community yoga class led by Heather Johnson @EcoSpa.
We will meet in the grassy area next to the Village Roost (lots of public parking behind) and make or come with signs, gather and March down Main Street to the lights to share stories, chant, & spread love.
This March was motivated by the women’s march movement that is happening world wide please see the link below for more information and to donate to this very important movement for human rights! https://linktr.ee/womensmarch

______

Brattleboro Women’s March: Mobilize to Defend Reproductive Rights 
Saturday, October 2nd, 2021 at Pliny Park (corner of High Street and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-2pm.
Email for general inquiries: [email protected]
The march will begin down Main Street at 1pm, from Pliny Park to Plaza Park (Malfunction Junction).
Then, the rally will continue with speakers and singing at Plaza Park. 
We are seeking informed speakers for the rally at Plaza Park as well as volunteers to lead with megaphones and chanting. 

______

Share the Harvest Stand
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, October 3rd, 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.

______

UPCOMING EVENTS

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

______

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).

______

Brattleboro: NAMI Family to Family
hosted by NAMI Vermont
Starts Thursday, October 7th, 2021, Online. 6:30pm-9pm.
Limited slots. Must pre-register here: https://namivt.org/education/family-to-family-class/
The NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program is a FREE 8-week course structured to help families and friends of individuals with a mental health condition understand and support their loved ones while maintaining their own well-being. Vermonters only, please.

______

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!

______

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. 

______

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!

______

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.

______

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.

______

Milk with Dignity Tour
presented by Migrant Justice and hosted by All Souls Church
Friday, October 22nd, 2021 at  West Village Meetinghouse, (29 South St., West Brattleboro, VT, 05301). For timing, please contact [email protected].
Join us for a 1.5 hour presentation with farmworker leaders from Vermont’s dairy industry. Learn more about Milk with Dignity, the current Hannaford campaign and how to get involved!
Farmworkers from Vermont are hitting the road this fall to spread the word about Milk with Dignity! Throughout the Corona Crisis, migrant farmworkers continue to work day in and day out to produce the milk and dairy products that line supermarket shelves. Join Migrant Justice for a 1.5 hour presentation to learn more about farmworkers’ groundbreaking Milk with Dignity program which brings together farmworkers, consumers, farmer owners and corporate buyers with the principal goal of fostering a sustainable Northeast dairy industry that advances the human rights of farmworkers, supports the long-term interests of farm owners, and provides an ethical supply chain for retail food companies and consumers. We know that the cows don't milk themselves: Learn more about how you can get involved and help expand this powerful solution to the Hannaford supermarket’s supply chain.

______

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=

______

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. 

______

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.

______

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)

______

Democratic Town Committee Reorganization
For additional information and updates, contact John Hagen at [email protected]. 
This month, Democrats are reorganizing their town committees in all 22 towns of Windham County. This reorganization occurs every two years, and this year it is especially important for voters to join their town’s committee. We are seeing a pattern of behavior from extreme right-wing groups using anger and conspiracy to dominate the civil discourse in our local and state government. Democratic town committees provide us opportunity to organize in support of candidates and policies that are committed to a Vermont that serves all Vermonters. Many towns will be holding hybrid meetings with in-person or Zoom options. Even if you cannot join the reorganization meeting, please sign up to be a member for your town’s committee.  

______

COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES

Community Activist Brenda Siegel is Looking for Lived Experience Experts
Brenda Siegel is consulting on a project to try to create more support for parents going through this  process and humanize it a LOT more. She needs to talk to all of the above, especially category 2 and 3. It will be completely anonymous, only she will know whom she talked to. Please reach out to in an email to [email protected] and I can tell you more about what I am doing so you can see if you would like to connect. 100% anonymous and I want you to know I see you, love you and support you. You will be talking in a safe space completely.
If one of the below applies to you, please contact Brenda.

1. Friends who are kinship caregivers.

2. Parents who are in the dcf process or have had a tpr.

3. Adult Children who have grown up in foster care or kinship care (someone in you family raised you who isn't your parent for any reason at all)

______

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

______

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.

______

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

______

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.

______

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. 

______

    Reminder to all you group leaders and organizers out there: get your Fall and early Winter events in ASAP! Until next week...

Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,

Joanna and Sam