Posted by Joanna Wilson Phillips August 29, 2021 3:48 AM
"We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome."
Chilean-American writer whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre of "magical realism".
2014 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
There are a few new entries in this week's Update, friends. Take a moment, grab your calendar, and do your best to make a commitment to join an event or meeting listed below. Many hands make light work and we hope that you will consider lending your hands to work worth doing in Windham County. We hope to see you at an event soon!
A Covid 19 Reminder:
Please remember that Covid 19 is still very much present in Vermont and in our neighboring states. The VT Health Department reported 189 new infections Saturday, up from 141 on Thursday. Windham County had 17 new cases Saturday and 100 new cases in the last 14 days.* 33 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, including 8 in intensive care units. 15 people have died from Covid 19 this month in our state, more than double the projected total deaths by the Health Department+. Please verify the masking policy with the entity hosting the event you wish to attend, if it is in person. When in doubt: mask up, sanitize often, and keep your distance to limit the spread of Covid 19. Thank you!
Feeling ill, even if you're fully vaccinated? Get tested, it's free! Appointments are strongly recommended: https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/testing/where-get-tested
Need to get vaccinated? Choose your clinic on this statewide map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/17de00f700434fc8942fe1af6c36d12a
* https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/current-activity/vermont-dashboard
+ https://vtdigger.org/2021/08/26/vermont-far-exceeds-covid-death-predictions-for-august/
HAPPENING THIS WEEK: MONDAY, AUGUST 30th, 2021-SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th, 2021
Keeping Windham County Safe for Immigrant Communities
hosted by Migrant Justice and the No Mas Polimigra Campaign of Windham County
Monday, August 30th, 2021, Online. 6:30pm-8:30pm.
The event will be streamed on Zoom video/call-in. Register if you plan to attend so we can get you the Zoom link and phone number. Register HERE.
Join the No Más Polimigra campaign to close loopholes that allow local law enforcement to act as immigration enforcers. We've succeeded in Brattleboro, and we are working to have the Windham County Sheriff's Office follow suit.
We're holding a public information session to explain the statewide and local campaigns, talk together about how and why to be in community solidarity, and connect interested folks to the organizing in their town or county-wide.
The event will be streamed on Zoom video/call-in. Register if you plan to attend so we can get you the Zoom link and phone number.
Talk About Our Democracy: The Power Paradox, A Book Reading and Discussion
organized by wecelebratedemocracycivilrightsforall.org
Monday, August 30th, 2021, Online. 6:30pm.
Copies of The Power Paradox by UC Berkley psychologist Dacher Keltner are available to participants at a 10 % discount from Everyone's Books in Brattleboro. Thank you to Everyone's Books.
For info contact Woody: 802 258 7045, [email protected].
Take a deep look at power.
So often we gain power through our most creative and compassionate acts, but once feeling powerful we act in an arrogant and unethical fashion, This is the power paradox.... People who enjoy elevated power are more likely to eat impulsively and have sexual affairs, to violate the rules of the road, to lie and cheat, to shoplift, to take candy from children, and to communicate in rude, profane, and disrespectful ways.
Read the book and join me on Zoom for discussion.
Woody Bernhard is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: The Power Paradox
Time: Aug 30, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
To join the Zoom Meeting copy this URL into your search bar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81001486902?pwd=VnliMDJWMi9PMzVWTEpnYkVWQ082QT09
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdtqYWKC5o
Thursday, September 2nd, 2021, and every Thursday, at the Marlboro Community Center (524 South Road, Marlboro, VT, 05344). 4:30pm-5:30pm.
Thursday, September 2nd, 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].
Friday, September 3rd, 2021, Pliny Park (corner of High Street and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5pm-6pm. Please observe Covid 19 safety protocols and social distancing. Brattleboro Coalition contact: [email protected]
Saturday, September 4th, 2021, at 10 Christian Square, Putney, VT, 05346. 9am-10:30am.
a project of Edible Brattleboro
Sunday, September 5th, 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.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED: Call for Democracy
Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at Pliny Park (Corner of High Street and Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 5:30pm.
(Due to a lack of interest and the ongoing Covid threat)
NOTE: HOLIDAY DATE CHANGE
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 (due to Labor Day)
Monday, October 18th, 2021
Course for Educators: Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021-Friday, December 17th, 2021. Online, with Zoom and Moodle. 1pm-4pm.
Class will meet via Zoom on Sunday afternoons from 1–4 PM, from September 13 through November 22, 2021. Registration opens August 2021.
There is no class on the following Sundays: September 7, October 10, November 28, December 5, and December 12.
3 credits available through Castleton University. Tuition: $950 standard, $1400 with credit. For more information please contact Vera Sheehan at [email protected] or Elizabeth Lee at [email protected]
Music, history and archaeology, weaving, social justice issues, and heirloom plants . . .
Through a combination of lectures and experiential learning, Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and Abenaki Arts & Education Center scholars, historians, and culture bearers will present this vibrant regional culture that reaches back nearly 13,000 years and continues today.
The fifth annual Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom course will provide teachers and homeschool educators with a deeper understanding of how Indigenous culture continues into the 21st century. Sessions will include history and stereotypes; new resources being developed for use in classrooms and online; age-appropriate activities; and how teachers can better support Abenaki and other Native students while presenting American history and additional academic content areas. The program includes a virtual exploration of the exhibition Nebizun: Water is Life. This rich learning experience will provide educators in all settings with new resources and techniques to help students learn about Abenaki culture, and a forum to discuss the "Flexible Pathways" initiative.
Presented through a partnership between the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, Abenaki Arts & Education Center, and Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.
There is a required group reading and reflection that prepares participants for the first virtual meeting.
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
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kp8p6n8Ct
Thursday, September 9th, 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 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).
* 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.
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!
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!
5pm: Food and mingling
5:30pm: Community conversation
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and dedication to Justice in Windham County. Until next week...
Your Friendly WeCAN Editors,