Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

"The issue is not abortion. The issue is whether women can make up their own mind instead of some right-wing pastor, some right-wing politician telling them what to do."
-Howard Dean
American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003

     We know a lot of you are like us here at WeCAN and are asking, "How can I help those seeking reproductive healthcare in the form of abortions in Texas, even though I'm here in Vermont?". We've got you covered! Here are a few organizations* that are asking for your support so that they can keep their services available to Texas residents. If you know of other organizations you'd like to see highlighted, please send us an email at [email protected] and we will post them in an upcoming Weekly Email Update. 

The Lilith Fund provides financial assistance and emotional support for Texans seeking abortions. In 2020, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott temporarily banned abortion because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lilith Fund still managed to help 1,300 people find safe and legal abortions, dispersing $452,882 to those people to help fund their abortions. To help them continue their work, you can donate here. You can also sign up to volunteer with the organization in a number of ways, including manning their hotline, helping with research, and more.

Jane's Due Process is an organization that helps Texas teens access birth control and abortion as they navigate the state's strict laws around parental consent. They provide legal support for teens seeking a judicial bypass to get an abortion, advocate for young people's reproductive rights, and more. To sign up to volunteer with Jane's Due Process, head here. If you're a lawyer, read more about joining the organization's attorney referral network here. To donate to support their work, head here.

The Texas Equal Access (TEA) Fund helps low-income people in the northern part of Texas pay for abortion care. Because abortion restrictions most impact low-income people and people of color, that's who the TEA Fund focuses most on serving. Currently, the organization is holding a fundraiser as part of North Texas Giving Day, which you can find here. You can also donate here. You can sign up to volunteer from Vermont and help run their text line and hotlines here. 

RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, is ready to engage in civil disobedience. Unlike other organizations, RAICES Texas has vowed to disobey SB8, continuing to help immigrants pay for abortion whether or not they are more than six weeks pregnant. To apply to volunteer for their abortion justice initiatives or for their immigration initiatives, please go here. 

Here in VT, you can demand that your local representatives to support Proposal 5, also known as the Reproductive Liberty Amendment. Proposal 5 would add language to the Vermont Constitution stating that "an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course." The ballot measure would prohibit the constitutional right from being denied or infringed unless there is a compelling state interest, which would need to be achieved using the least restrictive means. The measure has been moving through the long process of passage for more than two years and may be on our ballots in November of 2022. You can find contact information for your local representatives here. 

Lastly, the wonderful folx at Women's March are issuing a national call to mobilize and defend our reproductive rights. On October 2, we're marching in every single state ahead of the Supreme Court reconvening on October 4. Women's March and more than 90 other organizations, including National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood, SHERO Mississippi, Mississippi in Action, Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, The Frontline, Working Families Party, and SisterSong, are organizing a national call to mobilize and defend our reproductive rights. You can take the pledge to march, no matter where you are, and find out more ways to get involved here. 

* https://www.teenvogue.com/story/texas-abortion-ban-what-to-know-and-how-to-help
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HAPPENING THIS WEEK: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th, 2021-SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th, 2021

NOTE: HOLIDAY DATE CHANGE
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.
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 (due to Labor Day)
Monday, September 20th, 2021
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: “Is the United States a Democracy?” with Tim Kipp
organized by We Celebrate Democracy Civil Rights For All
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021, Online. 6:30pm.
Contact: [email protected]   802 258 7045
The forum will be recorded and will air on BCTV and WVEW. This is a re-presentation of our July 6th meeting. The video was not good so we are redoing it for BCTV. If you were at the July 6 meeting please join us. Since we've all had time to let thoughts percolate in our heads It could lead to a really good discussion. If you weren't at the 7/6 meeting please be at this one , and join in the discussion.
Tim's synopsis:
The US was founded on undemocratic principles; Plymouth and Jamestown were built on religious intolerance, imperialism, systemic racism and Genocide. How could it be democratic when people were driven from the land; slaughtered; or enslaved as animals? The Native population in Northern America went from c.10-20 million in1500 to 250,000 in 1900. Africans were captured and made slaves for nearly 250 years, reaching a peak of 4 million in bondage by the time of the Civil War. This country is still confronted with the consequences of this legacy of oppression.
During the horrendous Regime of Trump, political analysts, mainstream media, and conventional historians conjured the decline of, the erosion of, the assault on, the undermining of, the twilight of, or the pending end days of our democracy. 
This presentation posits that we are not a democracy. While there have been magnificent and significant episodes of true struggles for democracy- they have only come as a reaction to the absence of democracy. It is the victims of this political and economic system who have led the struggle for real democracy. 
Real democracy in the United States happens when the people fight back: the Civil Rights, Women’s, Peace, Labor, Gender Identity and Environmental Rights movements, etc. 
The founders created a rhetorical and historical trap for themselves and us- as the story goes, we are a nation founded on an idea, the promise of democracy. 
And when, at those times when the people try to cash that promissory note demanding the country live up to its articulated ideas, the people are most often met with government intransigence, opposition and or class and white backlash.
The Trump Regime was not an aberration. It was a logical consequence of an undemocratic system.
I will explore the undemocratic nature of our system from an historical and structural perspective by examining key aspects of the Constitution; Federalism; the Representative System; the Party System; and the Supreme Court. And time permitting, offer a vision of what real democracy looks like.

Tim Kipp is a retired history and political science teacher for 39 years and a political activist since the 1960s.
We Celebrate Democracy Civil Rights For All, is dedicated to positive nonviolent, nonprofit, public action for democracy and civil rights for all people.      

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, September 8th, 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, September 9th, 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, September 9th, 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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Brattleboro Family Meet-up
a project of 350 Vermont
Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at the Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 10am-12pm.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
Join families for in-person, outdoor meet-up at Retreat Farm and help us rename our group (formerly Mother Up!: Families Rise Up for Climate Action).
Details:
* Snacks (apples, cheese sticks, granola bars, hard-boiled eggs) provided
* Childcare support provided by Mikaela
* Masks optional
We'll share gratitudes, walk up to the forest, talk about a name change (probably Families Rising or Families Rise Up), learn about 350VT's Just Transition campaign, and end with a song. Can't wait to see some of you in person!
This is a project of 350 Vermont bringing together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. What Joanna Macy calls the “Great Turning,” or the third revolution, is this unprecedented time where we are called to stop the destruction of our world, to build new life-sustaining practices and ways of being, and to shift our collective consciousness. We especially wish to engage young parents in this vital discussion of how we can make positive changes to protect our planet for our children's future.

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Share the Harvest Stand
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, September 12th, 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

Honk & Wave for Healthcare
hosted by the VT Workers’ Center and the Nonviolent Medicaid Army
Monday, September 13th, 2021 at the Exit 3 Roundabout (near the Urgent Care building at 1154 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 4pm-6pm.
Questions or more info: [email protected] or (802) 257-4436.
Join Windham County members of the Vermont Workers’ Center to rally for the human right to healthcare! The Nonviolent Medicaid Army is taking action in Vermont and across the country demanding our human right to health care. We’ll be chanting & waving signs near the Urgent Care facility to call attention to the need for a universal public system that puts people before profits. Bring your own signs if you’d like, or grab one of ours!

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Just Transition Community Conversation
hosted by 350 Brattleboro, 350 Vermont, and the Vermont Renews Coalition 
Tuesday, September 14th, 2021, at the Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 5pm-7pm.
More info at https://350vermont.org/just-transition-campaign/. Questions? Contact [email protected] or [email protected]
Join 350 Brattleboro, 350VT, and members of the Vermont Renews Coalition to discuss our new Just Transition campaign and support a People's Climate Action Plan.
Currently, the Vermont Climate Council is developing a roadmap that will shape Vermont’s energy future. We need to work together to ensure a People’s Climate Action Plan, not a Climate Action Plan for Corporations.
Big thanks to The Retreat Farm for sharing their space with us free of charge!
Agenda:
5pm: Food and mingling
5:30pm: Community conversation

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Queer Dance Party and Cabaret
hosted by The Stone Church and Brattleboro Queer Dance Parties
Friday, September 17th, 2021 at The Stone Church (Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9pm-1am.
Tickets are now available on a sliding scale from $5-$15. Please go here https://stonechurchvt.com/#/events?event_id=43126 to purchase tickets.
More info to come! 

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Red Cross Blood Drive at the Winston Prouty Campus
Saturday, September 25th, 2021
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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Triumph Over Trauma: Safe Place 2nd Annual 5k
hosted by Windham County Safe Place Child Advocacy Center and SUSI
Saturday, October 2nd, 2021 at Harris Hill Ski Jump (Cedar Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9:30am. Please go HERE for more information. 
All runners welcome, virtual option, too! Register: email [email protected]
This race is presented to you by Safe Place! We are raising funds to offer therapeutic support groups to child + adult survivors of sexual and physical violence. For full details about our agency, what we do and our intentions for this fundraiser, please visit our website! www.safeplacecac.net Thank you so much for your support and helping us to help others!
Your "registration" cost will be covered by your merchandise purchase. Shirts are available for purchase until 9/17. Shipping for all items is a flat rate of $5, so feel free to purchase even if you aren't running! If you are running with us on race day you'll receive your bib and medal that day. Virtual attendees will receive a bib and medal with their shirts via mail! Use the virtual option at check out!
To make a donation without purchase, choose the amount you'd like to donate and choose "donation only" at check out!    
Orders will be printed after the sale date ends on 09/17/21.

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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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Window Dressers Community Build
presented by the Guilford and Brattleboro Energy Committees, in conjunction with Window Dressers
Friday, October 29th, 2021- Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021 at Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development (209 Austine Dr, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 5pm.
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.

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COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES

VT Temporary Broadband Subsidy Program
The New Vermont Temporary Broadband Subsidy Program that provides eligible Vermont households with up to a $40 monthly credit March through December 2021 to assist with Internet service subscriptions, has opened.  Applicants must have an active broadband account and self-attest to one of the following COVID-19 economic hardships:

• Laid off from employment 
• Salary or hourly reduction of 20%
• In need of assistance with childcare duties or home care due to closures of childcare facility or assisted facility or infirmity of household or family member
• Closure of schools
• COVID-19 health related impacts to self, a member of the household, or family member requiring quarantine, hospital assistance, or hospice care by the utility service account holder

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Rural QTBIPOC/LGBTQ+ Mutual Aid Fund Available Through August
Out in the Open has reopened our Rural QTBIPOC/LGBTQ+ Mutual Aid Fund to support our rural LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, +) community, prioritizing applicants who are QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) in rural Northern New England.
Through August, folks can request up to $250 for: Groceries, supplies, housing support, medical support, and other thriving and survival needs. 
Request funds, want more information, or want to donate to support the fund? Visit: weareoutintheopen.org/mutual-aid-fund. 
100% of your funds will be distributed to rural QTBIPOC/LGBTQ+ community members experiencing hardship in this time. 
We all need each other to thrive. Mutual aid allows us to support each other, knowing that asking for support can also mean you can give support in other ways. 

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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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     Thank you, as always, for your continued support and dedication to Justice in Windham County. Until next week...

Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,

Joanna and Sam