Windham County Action Network (WeCAN)

“A library is a place that is a repository of information and gives every citizen equal access to it. That includes health information. And mental health information. It's a community space. It's a place of safety, a haven from the world.”
Neil Gaiman
English author and winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals

     Happy Sunday, WeCAN friends and family, and welcome to May, otherwise known as Mental Health Awareness Month. In each Weekly Email Update this May we will explore an aspect of Mental Health; if you have a particular issue you’d like us to explore, please send us suggestions at [email protected]. This week we’d like to pass along some key takeaway points from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the American Heart Association on Stress*. 
     Everyone experiences stress. Sometimes it can help you focus and get the task at hand done, but when stress is frequent and intense, it can strain your body and make it impossible to function. Finding effective ways (coping mechanisms) to deal is crucial to living well.
How Stress Affects You Stress affects your entire body, mentally as well as physically. Some common signs include:
- Frequent headaches             - Changes in appetite
- Trouble sleeping                   - Frequent mood swings
- Jaw pain                              - Difficulty concentrating                           
- Feeling overwhelmed
When experiencing long-term stress, your brain is exposed to increased levels of a hormone called cortisol. This exposure weakens your immune system, making it easier for you to get sick. Stress can contribute to worsening symptoms of a mental health condition. For example, in schizophrenia, it can encourage hallucinations and delusions, while in bipolar disorder, it can trigger episodes of both mania and depression. Knowing what situations cause it is the first step in coping with this very common experience.
When You Are Most Vulnerable to Stress People are most susceptible to stress when they are:
- Not getting enough sleep
- Not having a network of support
- Experiencing a major life change such as moving, the death of a loved one, starting a new job, having a child or getting married
- Experiencing poor physical health
- Not eating well
Everyone has their own threshold. Certain things that may upset you out might not even make one of your friends raise an eyebrow. Some people are affected when they experience large crowds and noisy environments, while others react to silence and free time.
Ways to Reduce Stress: Developing a personalized approach to reducing stress can help you manage your mental health and improve your quality of life. Once you've learned what your triggers are, experiment with coping strategies. Some common ones include
- Accept your needs. Recognize what your triggers are. What situations make you feel physically and mentally agitated? Once you know this, you can avoid them when it's reasonable to, and to cope when you can't.
- Manage your time. Prioritizing your activities can help you use your time well. Making a day-to-day schedule helps ensure you don't feel overwhelmed by everyday tasks and deadlines.
- Practice relaxation. Deep breathing, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation are good ways to calm yourself. Taking a break to refocus can have benefits beyond the immediate moment.
- Exercise daily. Schedule time to walk outside, bike or join a dance class. Whatever you do, make sure it's fun. Daily exercise naturally produces stress-relieving hormones in your body and improves your overall physical health.
- Set aside time for yourself. Schedule something that makes you feel good. It might be reading a book, going to the movies, getting a massage or taking your dog for a walk.
- Eat well. Eating unprocessed foods, like whole grains, vegetables, and fresh fruit is the foundation for a healthy body and mind. Eating well can also help stabilize your mood and blood sugar. 
- Get enough sleep. Symptoms of some mental health conditions, like mania in bipolar disorder, can be triggered by getting too little sleep.
- Dedicate time for prayer and meditation. If faith is important to you, schedule time for prayer and meditation.
- Talk to someone. Whether to friends, family, a faith leader, a counselor or a support group, airing out and talking can help. Consider attending a NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group.
Getting Help
If the steps you've taken aren't working, it may be time to share with a mental health professional. He, she, or they can help you pinpoint specific events that trigger you and help you create an action plan to change them.

     In addition, take a look at some tips from the American Heart Association to help 'Stop Stress in Its Tracks':

+

*https://www.nami.org/getattachment/Extranet/NAMI-State-Organization-and-NAMI-Affiliate-Leaders/Awareness/AKA/Mental-Health-Fact-Sheets/AKA-NAMI-Managing-Stress.pdf
+https://www.heart.org/-/media/aha/h4gm/pdf-files/stopstress_smaller.pdf?la=en&hash=01EEB091A858FC6ED7A6A3ADFAAACF6112426712

HOUSEKEEPING NOTE: The Weekly Email Update Submission Guidelines can now be found here: About Us/Weekly Email Update Submission Guidelines. Please review them before you send in your submissions and remember these vital points: please submit by Friday at 10pm, please submit all images in JPEG form (no exceptions), emails with images only (no written text) may not be able to be published, and donation solicitations will not be added to the Weekly Email. Thank you for your ongoing support! 

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HAPPENING TODAY, SUNDAY, MAY 5th, 2019

Awaken Our Gardens
hosted by Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, May 5th, 2019 in the Brattleboro Co-op Rear Parking Lot, Along the Whetstone Brook (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 1pm-4pm. Fresh veggie snacks for all plus a seed planting activity for children. Co-op shareholders (working at Co-op garden) and Brattleboro Time Traders can earn hours!
Many hands make light work… Edible Brattleboro is getting ready for growing! Come to say hi or to help out on either (or both) day(s). We'll be there from 1pm-4pm, but you can come and go as you please.
If you do come to help out, be sure to dress appropriately including a hat and garden gloves. We'll have tools and some extra gloves on hand.
Some of the tasks at each garden include: tidy up and pile debris/trash for hauling, renew compost and soil layers on the sheet-mulched beds, lay down wood chips on the paths, replenish several container gardens, hand out brochures, and sign up new volunteers.

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Putney Huddle: Candidates for Windham Southeast School District Board
Sunday, May 5th, 2019 at the Putney Public Library (55 Main Street, Putney, VT, 05346). 1:30-pm-3:30pm. All are welcome. 
The Putney Huddle invites you to meet with the Putney candidates for the two available director positions on the newly formed Windham Southeast School District Board. One seat is contested. All candidates will be there to answer questions and chat. Local legislatures and town officials including the town clerk will also attend to answer questions and discuss this important process. We will also have a Love Brigade and Sister District activity for folks to partake in. We hope to see you there!

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Merged School Board Election Candidate Forum
Sunday, May 5th, 2019 at the Brattleboro Area Middle School (109 Sunny Acres, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the BAMS Multipurpose Room. 4pm-6pm. All are welcome to attend and ask questions.
The Transition Board of the Windham Southeast School District is hosting a candidate forum so that voters from Guilford, Brattleboro, Dummerston, and Putney can hear from the candidates running for the new merged board on their values, and reason for running.    
The candidate forum this coming Sunday is in preparation for the election, to be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.  Polls will be open in each town 8am-7pm. Registered voters in each of the four towns will cast ballots to select school board members for all four towns.  At this time each town will have two voting members on the merged board. Merged board members from the four towns will represent everyone in the merged district. Early voting begins May 1st, 2019.    
You will also be able to watch the forum online at the BCTV, Brattleboro Community Television website, pathway to video - “Watch” tab, “School Board Meeting” tab, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Tab.  It will be posted on Tuesday, May 7th.
The Sample Ballot with all candidate names can be found here at the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Website under Windham Southeast School District's Information Section, all candidates have been invited.
Each candidate will get three minutes to share their values and reason for running for the new merged board. There will be Q&A at the end from the voters.

(Editor's Note: Additional pages of the sample ballot can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Psxs_YcUqS2MHwu5BWaVkZ4psOtTBKGo/view.)

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK, MONDAY, MAY 6th, 2019-SUNDAY, MAY 12th, 2019

Coffee with Coffey
Monday, May 6th, 2019 at the Guilford Country Store (475 Calvin Coolidge Memorial Highway, Guilford, VT). 5:30pm-6:30pm.
This spring, State Representative Sara Coffey will continue to host “Coffee with Coffey” hours. We have had great attendance and great discussions among neighbors. Please come at the time that works for you:
Mondays in Guilford: April 1st and May 6th at 5:30 at the Guilford Country Store
Saturdays in Vernon, April 6th and May 4th at 9:30 at the Vernon Free Library.
It’s been nice to have some Vernon folks join on Mondays in Guilford, and Guilford folks joining us on Saturdays at the Library in Vernon. If you can’t come feel free to be in touch via email: [email protected].

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Citizens Silent Vigil and Meditative Protest Against F-35A in Vermont
Thursday, May 9th, 2019 at the Whetstone Path at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301 for GPS directions). 4pm-5pm. Please do not park in the Brattleboro Food Coop parking lot. For further information, contact Tim Stevenson, [email protected] or 802.869.2141
A group of concerned Windham Country area citizens will conduct a Silent Vigil & Meditation on the Whetstone Path at the Brattleboro Food Co-op on Thursday May 9, between 4:00-5:00 PM to protest the basing of the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Bomber at Burlington’s International Airport next year.
This local action is in solidarity with a state action on May 9th in Montpelier that will include a 24 Hour Meditation Protest for Peace, culminating with a one-hour meditation for all to join from 2pm-3pm on the Statehouse Lawn.
Participants who join us are encouraged to either stand silently, holding signs, or to join those who will be meditating. Please bring your own chair or cushion
The F-35A, a stealth bomber, is designed to carry a nuclear payload, thus making it an offensive, not a defensive weapon. This exposes Burlington, and the entire state of Vermont, to being a first-strike target.
The stationing of the F-35s with nuclear capability in Burlington means that the City becomes a first strike or a retaliatory target by foreign powers to take out the nuclear weapons and the F-35s to prevent a counterstrike.
Immediate consequences of an accident involving a nuclear weapon will be catastrophic beyond human imagination. Any accident of the F-35, even without nuclear weapons on board, will devastate the greater Burlington area due to the toxicity of the materials with which the plane is constructed; producing fire not extinguishable by conventional means.

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Protest Vigil at TD Bank
sponsored by Post Oil Solutions
Friday, May 10th, 2019 (and every Friday) at TD Bank Brattleboro (215 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT). In front of the building. 12pm-1pm. Signs will be provided
TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. What You Can Do (besides attending the vigils): If you’re a TD depositor, change banks! 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 in this era of global warming and climate change to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society.

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Exploring the Green New Deal: A Brattleboro Town Hall Meeting
part of the Sunrise Movement’s Road to the Green New Deal
Tuesday, May 7th, 2019 at 118 Elliot Gallery (118 Elliot Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6pm-7:30pm. Dr. Erickson will speak from 6pm to 6:30pm and lead a discussion until 7:30pm. Doors open at 5:30pm  Light refreshments will be served. 118 Elliot Gallery is fully accessible.
As part of the Sunrise Movement's Road to the Green New Deal, 118 Elliot is hosting a town hall event on Tuesday, May 7th at 6pm to discuss climate policy and the Green New Deal. Join us for a conversation at the crossroads of economy, society, and environment with ecological economist and UVM professor Jon Erickson. We invite local organizations and residents to bring their perspectives to the table as we explore what a Green New Deal could look like in Vermont and beyond—and how to get there.
How do we break our dependence on fossil fuels while safeguarding our economy? What is driving unprecedented wealth and income inequality? Can we turn the tide on climate change? These questions are related, urgent, and framing a national conversation under the rubric of ‘Green New Deal’ legislation introduced this year in Congress. The answers will define the viability of our economy, character of our democracy, and obligations to our children.
While the meeting is intended as an informational gathering for ordinary citizens to learn more, a variety of local climate, social justice, and community organizations will attend to bring their perspectives to the discussion as we explore what a Green New Deal could look like in Vermont and beyond as part of the youth climate activism Sunrise Movement’s national effort to spark public participation and debate around the Green New Deal’s viability and goals. The companion bills, HR 109 and S 59, ‘Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal’, have today respectively garnered 92 and 12 cosponsors.
Jon Erickson is the David Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. He has published widely on energy & climate change policy, land conservation, watershed planning, environmental public health, and the theory and practice of ecological economics, and he is also an Emmy award-winning producer of films such as the four-part PBS series Bloom on sources and solutions to nutrient pollution in Lake Champlain.
Sunrise Movement is a youth-led movement working to prioritize combating climate change across America. In 2018 Sunrise leaders pushed the promise of a Green New Deal into the mainstream, and now they are launching the Road to the Green New Deal: 8 tour stops and over 100 town halls across the US to bring Americans together around the future of our communities and our planet.

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The Pentagon, The Green New Deal, and Taxes with Nick Biddle
part of the Brattleboro Democracy Forum and sponsored by We Celebrate Democracy / Civil Rights For All
Wednesday May 8th, 2019 at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden (157 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 12pm-1pm.
What is money and where does it come from? 
What is the Pentagon’s black budget and who pays for it? 
What is the Green New Deal and is it feasible? 
These three questions will be addressed with a focus on demonstrating how answers to them overlap. The perspective of the talk is that the Green New Deal is essentially mandatory for the environment, democracy, and perhaps even human survival. That said, the presentation seeks to carve out a strategy for implementing the Green New Deal within the current political context.  Come and join the conversation. 
Nick Biddle, PhD: Nick is a retired professor of history and co-owner of ArtRageUs1 on Elliot Street in Brattleboro.
We Celebrate Democracy / Civil Rights For All: positive nonviolent public action for democracy and equal civil rights for all people.

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Healthcare Jamboree
sponsored by the Vermont Workers’ Center
Thursday, May 9th, 2019, Brattleboro Savings & Loan Community Room (221 Main St., Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm-8pm. Program starts at 6pm. Please use the rear entrance. Free and open to the public. Childcare provided. For more info or to request a ride or interpretation contact [email protected] or (802) 257-4436. This building is disability accessible. 
Concerned about the cost of healthcare? Unable to get care you need? Want to preserve & expand Medicaid? Join us for an evening of information & action
Agenda:
5:30pm: Refreshments and resources
6pm: Program, “How we are impacted by the healthcare system & how we can take action for healthcare justice”
7:15pm: Resources & Activities, art making, postcards, photo stories, healthcare resources
The healthcare navigator from SEVCA will be there to help anyone with questions or problems with health insurance. There will also be a member of the Inclusion Center with information about their drop-in activity center, along with other health related resources. 

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Stand Up, Fight Back!
sponsored by the Spark Teacher Education Institute, Indigo Radio, and Brattleboro Solidarity
Friday, May 10th, 2019-Saturday, May 11th, 2019 at the Windham Regional Career Center (80 Atwood Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Cusick Room. 9:30am-6pm. Entrance behind BUHS. All events are free and open to the public. Childcare available. 
Join the Spark Teacher Education Institute, Indigo Radio, & Brattleboro Solidarity  for a day of workshops, speakers, panels, and community conversations - to share, learn, think, and organize for a better world. This year we have witnessed teacher strikes in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Colorado, LA and beyond. These teachers courageously took to the streets to fight for higher wages, improvements to teaching environments, and bettering students’ learning conditions. As educators in Vermont, we too fight for better conditions in our school, the strengthening of public education, and the overall health and well being of our students. We push to create classrooms engaged in critical thought about the major struggles in the world around us, always connecting these issues to the lives of our students and our Vermont community.  
The struggles of today - including perpetual war, increased privatization, environmental degradation, the building of walls, criminalization of the poor, and the separation of families - must be met with urgency, resiliency, and hope.  Connections must be made between the killing of children by U.S. made bombs to the inadequate nutrition, lack of safe housing, and poverty many of our students face. We must come together to investigate how we build a human community, one that stands opposed to the enormous profits of the few on the backs of many.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: 
Friday, May 10th, 2019: Workshop and Concert
5pm-6:30pm Workshop: "Hip Hop vs. Neoliberalism” with Rebel Diaz in the Cusick Room.
Rebel Diaz is a political hip hop duo out of the Bronx, New York and Chicago, IL consisting of the Chilean brothers Rodrigo Venegas (known as RodStarz) and Gonzalo Venegas (known as G1). Rebel Diaz uses their music as an organizing tool and to spread knowledge about injustice. 

8pm Concert at Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). Free and child friendly.
Saturday, May 11th, 2019: Conference  in the Cusick Room. 9:30am - 6:00pm.
9:30am Opening Presentation: Mesoamérica Resiste, artwork Beehive Collective - created as an education tool.   
Mesoamérica Resiste explores the legacy of colonialism and the impacts of free trade policies and resource extraction on communities and ecosystems throughout Mesoamerica. The stories and perspectives in Mesoamerica Resiste allow us to make connections between the struggles for justice in our own communities and those that are happening all over the world.

11am-12pm Keynote Speech: "Consequences of the Capitalist System: Toward a Vision of Collective Emancipation” with Fred Magdoff
Fred Magdoff is Emeritus Professor of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont. His interests range from soil science to agriculture and food (science, production, economics, policy) to the environment to the U.S. economy. His university research was on ways to improve the soil fertility, especially focusing on the critical role of soil organic matter. Recent books include What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism (written with John Bellamy Foster) and Creating an Ecological Society (written with Chris Williams).

12pm - 1pm LUNCH (provided)

1pm-4:30pm Panels: Speakers include educators and activists from California, Vermont, New York, Western MA and more!  
1pm: Education as Liberation:  In the Classrooms and on the Streets
2:15pm: Profit over People and the Privatization of Human Rights:  Housing, Healthcare, Education and Food for All
3:30pm: Solidarity in the Struggle - Resisting Occupation

Closing 4:45pm-6pm: Discussion, Music, Performance 

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How are Racial Justice and Climate Justice Connected? 
facilitated by Phoebe Gooding and Abby Mnookin
Saturday, May 11th, 2019 at The Winston Prouty Center (20 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in Holton Hall on the 4th Floor. 1pm-5pm. Note: For this workshop, it's important to be there for the whole time, 1pm-5pm. Questions? Email Sonia at [email protected].  Admission by sliding scale donation, $0 to $50. Register for the event here, with link to payment from registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHFre1pBDkqDBxjFa_2oR_1ed_kEvYihQXhGMg9RyPE1GkdQ/viewform?usp=sf_link. This 350Vermont workshop is designed to support individuals and groups to dig into the roots of the climate crisis and explore how and why working for climate justice necessitates the dismantling of racism and white supremacy culture.  Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences and consider next steps to support their own learning and concrete actions they can take within their own activism.

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NEW GROUP FORMING:
Climate Change Support Anonymous (CCSA)
Saturday, May 11th, 2019 at Brattleboro Commons Sense (16 Washington Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) in the Meeting Room. 2pm. All are welcome, contact Andrew at 802-490-4180 for more information, 
The State of the world seems unmanageable and often chaotic. For those of us paying attention, awareness of our systemic issues is confusing and painful. You may feel pulled to act but don't know how to do so...
-Do you feel an urge to protect ecosystems and biodiversity?
-Do you yearn to preserve the best parts of being alive and pass them on to future generations?
-Do you feel the need to protect the voiceless?
-Do you feel the rights of animals and plants are unrecognized?
-Do you want to transform the status quo so it protects the rights of the majority of folks?
-Are you growing impatient, and concerned with the governments ability to take on climate change?
-Are you unsure of your skills and how you can use them to help the environment and the community?
You are not alone! We want these things too- in fact we know we need them. The old paradigm is failing and we want to usher in a new one - one based in genuine love and respect for the environment and humans. And united in the fight against over-consumption. 
Join us for the first meeting of CCSA, Climate Change Support Anonymous. We believe that lessons from what WORKS in drug and alcohol recovery, can be applied to helping us as individuals TAKE ACTION to fight climate change. Spiritual growth through small group meetings, where we discuss the frustrations we face, the guilt and denial, but also to share the positive steps we’re taking, and our hope for the planet and humanity. A safe place where people can share their concerns and make connections with like minded people. This is not a 12 step program, though it could become one! This is the first meeting, so if you think were on the right track, come help us make this group something special! If the government is frozen in inaction, we as individuals don't have to be! Group rules and format will be discussed at the start of the group.

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Pete Seeger's 100th Birthday Sing-a-long Celebration
Sunday, May 12th, 2019 at All Soul’s Church (29 South Street, West Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 7pm. Tickets are available at Everyones’ Books on Elliot Street in Brattleboro and online at www.riseupandsing.org/events/petes-100th-brattleboro. For more information about the concert, contact George Carvill at 802-490-2052 or [email protected]. 
Folk singer, activist, musical conscience for the U.S., Pete Seeger, would have been 100 this year. All Souls Church, 29 South Street, will host a singalong concert on Sunday, May 12, at 7 p.m. to celebrate Seeger’s music and his life-long efforts on behalf of peace, justice, and the earth.
The concert will feature well-known performers with deep connections to Seeger, including Sally Rogers, Emma’s Revolution, Peter Siegel, Annie Patterson and Peter Blood.
Those who attend the tribute concert will have the chance to sing together using a new songbook containing fifty classic songs Pete Seeger led throughout his life. Publishers Peter Blood and Annie Patterson of Rise Up Singing fame designed this new book for the Seeger centennial.
Seeger passionately believed that singing together not only built community but could help heal our planet. Towards the end of his life he liked to say that if there’s still a world a hundred years from now it would be in large part because of people singing with each other. 
The performers at the concert are both terrific song leaders and activists who use their music to promote change, and who worked closely with Pete Seeger during his life.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Camp for a Common Cause
Friday, May 17th, 2019-Saturday, May 18th, 2019 on the Brattleboro Common (intersection of Park Place, Route 5 and Route 30 in Brattleboro, VT, 05301). Pitch tents starting at 5pm Friday; we must vacate by 10am Saturday after a light breakfast. No alcohol and no fires please. Dogs are welcome, but must remain on a leash at all times. Contact Julianne with questions or to make a reservation: 802.490.2951, email [email protected], or go to GroundworksVT.org.
Join us for this year’s overnight campout where we will raise awareness about homelessness in our community and raise funds to support Groundworks' efforts to house our neighbors experiencing homelessness.
The fun starts on Friday with live music and a community barbecue! Unable to camp overnight?  No problem! Join us for food and music! You can support Groundworks with a donation, and/or purchase a tent for a neighbor in need.
Fundraising: Teams and individuals are asked to fundraise a suggested minimum of $100 per person to support Groundworks.  PLEASE NOTE - all contributions are welcome and it costs nothing to camp.  We ask participants to try to raise some money on our behalf.  All contributions are tax deductible.
Register Online at https://groundworks.rallybound.org/Camp2018 and ask your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family for contributions to support your campout.

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Rootskills Spring Workshop
Saturday, May 18th, 2019 at the School for International Training (SIT 1 Kipling Rd, Brattleboro, VT 05301). 8am-6:30pm.
Find out more about schedule, registration, scholarships etc on our website: https://grassrootsfund.org/tools/2019-workshops
The Grassroots Fund's RootSkills workshops are day-long gatherings where grassroots organizers, colleagues and supporters convene to network, share stories and dig into both issue- and process-based skills-building sessions. We work with a planning committee ahead of each event to ensure a broad range of lived experiences and perspectives weigh in as we set agendas, select workshop topics and invite speakers. 
This event's theme will focus on racial and economic disparities as we discuss in/equity in rural, New England communities.

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Be Here Now: Civil Rights for All Banner Raising at the Brattleboro Food Coop
sponsored by We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All
hosted by the Brattleboro Food Coop
Tuesday, May 21st, 2019 at the Brattleboro Food Coop (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5pm-6pm. All who attend agree to behave nonviolently in word and deed. For info and to help: [email protected] or call 802-.257.0236.
Stand with the banner for a David Shaw Postcard Photo Shoot! Join We Celebrate Democracy/Civil Rights for All and Southern Vermont Samba as we raise the banner under the Coop sign. We need help to set this up so please volunteer. We will gather under the banner. We will act-out/ham-up-dance our support for civil rights for all people as we pose for photographer David Shaw’s camera. Southern Vermont Samba will join us on the 21st. This is an opportunity for us to be photographed for posterity standing with the banner. 
We will make a postcard from the photograph and the postcard will be available at the Brattleboro Food Coop and to participants who signed up for it. We also plan to make it a wall calendar for 2020 which will include the postcard photo. We also hope to get our picture in the Reformer and Commons. We are dedicated to positive nonviolent public action for democracy and civil rights for all people. Join us! 

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Pride Family Picnic
hosted by Green Mountain Crossroads
Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 at Living Memorial Park (61 Guilford Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) at the Kiwani’s Pavilion at the top of the hill. 11am-2pm.
The much anticipated PRIDE FAMILY PICNIC hosted by Green Mountain Crossroads is back! One of the only events each year in southern Vermont where LGBTQ parents and kids (of all ages!) come together and get to celebrate the community, visibility, knowledge, and power of LGBTQIA+ people with their families. Bring a dish to share! GMC will provide watermelon, drinks (kid-friendly), hot dogs (meat, turkey, and tofu), buns, and condiments. Find us all the way at the top of Living Memorial Park!  

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SUMMER CAMPS

Farm to Ballet Performance Camp for Kids at Retreat Farm
presented by Ballet Vermont and Retreat Farm
Monday, July 15th, 2019-Friday, July 19th, 2019 at Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-3:30*pm. *Paid aftercare option of 3:30pm-4:30pm for an additional $50. Please go to www.balletvermont.org for performance tickets.
Your camper can dance on the big stage with Farm to Ballet! Campers who participate in this camp will perform the choreography they learn at camp as the pre-show to Farm to Ballet's Retreat Farm show. Camp week will include daily ballet class, farm and garden exploration, activities, and craft. Dancers will work on choreography and craft costumes in addition to other activities to prepare for the big Farm to Ballet performance. 

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UPRISE Youth Activism Camp (Ages 13-19)
Sunday, July 28th, 2019-Sunday, August 4th, 2019 in Marshfield, VT. For more information please go here: https://www.uprisecampvt.org.
We're inviting youth ages 13-19 to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for one amazing week of teen empowerment, creativity, action, and friendship -- all while strategizing for our collective future. As mentors with a broad spectrum of skills, we are passionate about empowering teens as organizers, change makers, and allies in our rapidly changing world. 
The cost of the camp is $450 for the week, but please feel more than welcome to ask us about scholarships. Bring your hopes and fears for the future, your unique style and skills, your passion and ideas -- but most of all, bring yourself, just as you are -- and join us!
Youth interested in attending Uprise! are asked to go through a short application form process. The application will give us an idea of who’s interested in the camp and help our team make this camp accessible and awesome for everyone. There are financial aid questions at the end of the application. You can find information on the application process here.

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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 were reminded of the Rapid Response text alerts system as President Trump moves towards firing Mueller. In the event Mueller is fired, MoveOn is planning a nation-wide simultaneous protest. The trick will be to get the word out fast if/when the time comes. We are grateful to Song and Solidarity for providing this service.

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COMMUNITY MESSAGES

A Message from Lean Left, VT
Lean Left VT provides opportunities and training for Vermont volunteers to support the election of Democrats and Progressives in other states at state level as well as Congressional races.  
If you are interested in or have been supporting campaigns and candidates in other states, either to flip seats or hold vulnerable seats, we would like to hear about your interests! The purpose of the following survey is to gather information in order to make more opportunities available to you.  You can find the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9NcaB-huaExZxZRaoRG3J5jfD5LffV-OhhMKoOsQ_4uWxjA/viewform.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
The Koch Brothers have a long term strategy to control the judiciary across the country. This year’s battle is the WI Supreme Court, where they hope to elect Scott Walker’s former legal counsel on April 2.
You can fight back by donating to Lisa Neubauer: https://judgeneubauer.com/contribute/ 
Read more on the Koch Bros plans: https://americansforprosperity.org/afp-scale-efforts-courts-2018/
Read more on the WI race: http://votingmatters.blog/2019/03/kochs-buying-judiciary/

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STANDING REGULAR MEETINGS  

Brattleboro State Representatives’ Updates and Community Conversation
First Saturday of the Month, alternating between 10am and 4pm (2.2.19 was at 10am). Location information to follow. Childcare available upon request by contacting [email protected].
As promised, all three of your Brattleboro State Representatives, Mollie Burke, Emilie Kornheiser, and Tristan Toleno, will gather in Brattleboro to host a community conversation and share updates from the first few weeks of the legislative session. Our series of monthly conversations— scheduled for the first Saturday of the month— will alternate between 10am and 4pm. 

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Women Veterans Weekly Coffee and Tea Social
Thursday Mornings at Brattleboro Legion Post 5 Inc. (32 Linden Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 9am-10am.
All female veterans are invited to join in the Women Veterans group coffee held at the American Legion.  All women veterans are welcome. You do not need to be a Legion member.

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Lost River Racial Justice, Black Lives Matter-South, and People Of Color Caucus Regular Meeting
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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Youth 4 Change
Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month from 5:30pm-8pm. 
For more information please contact Youth 4 Change at [email protected].
Agenda:
5:30pm: Drop in homework time and art making
6:00pm: Food
6:30pm: Meeting and Organizing
Youth 4 Change is for local-area youth 12-22 interested in political organizing around local/state/national social justice issues that are important to them. Brattleboro area advocates and educators are holding a space, and assisting youth in building a strong personal tool kit to organize for change.  Using a variety of creative methods, we aim to enable youth with tools for resilience, courage and compassion, while fostering their ability to speak up about issues that matter to them, and to take action in the name of love and liberation for all people.  Come explore issues of racial, economic and gender justice through art, movement, first-hand accounts and contemplative practices. Connect with area youth around the issues that matter to you and strengthen your tool kit for action! 

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Windham County NAACP Regular Meetings
Monthly community meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at The Root Center for Social Justice (The Whetstone Studio for the Arts, 28 Williams Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301) on the First Floor from 6pm-7pm. Upcoming Meetings: 3/21/19; 4/18/19; 5/16/19. For more information please email [email protected]. All are welcome.
The meetings are open to anyone interested in racial justice. The Mission of the NAACP is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

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ONGOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING 

Indigo Radio
Sundays at 12pm on Brattleboro Community Radio 107.7FMTo 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, fellow Vermonters, for all your hard work this weekend Greening Up our beautiful state. Your efforts are noticeable and so vital to our state's ecosystems. Your community appreciates all that you do! 


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