WILPF ANNUAL RETREAT
Saturday, August 26, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at Donna Salwasser’s house. See additional information in article.
Next business meeting September 14 (2nd Thursday of each month), 7-9 p.m. at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness Ave. Meetings are open to all members.
WOMEN IN BLACK
September 6 (1st Wednesday of each month except July/August) at noon at the Fresno County Courthouse. Come at least once during this critical year, perhaps during the month in which your birthday falls. Wear black, bring a sign if you wish, and stand in silence for peace.
STIR IT UP – WILPF – ON KFCF 88.1 FM (LISTENER-SUPPORTED FREE SPEECH RADIO FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA)
August 23 (4th Wednesday of each month) at 3 p.m. Jean Hays conducts outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities. Let Jean know if you have ideas for a program. Tune in to 88.1!
RAGING GRANNIES
Meetings on selected Mondays at 7 p.m. Call Patty at (559) 999-9709 for details.
WILPF ANNUAL RETREAT AUGUST 26
Our annual retreat is scheduled for Saturday, August 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Donna Salwasser’s house. You are welcome if you are a WILPF member or if you are interested in any of WILPF’s work. This is our opportunity to review the accomplishments of the past year and set our priorities for the upcoming year.
Bring with you:
- A friend who may be interested in one or more of WILPF’s projects
- A dish to share at the potluck lunch
- Donations for immigrant children served by KIND: See the Library Committee report
- Your energy to take on a WILPF position: See the Nominating Committee report
- Your ideas for the upcoming year
Watch your listserv messages for the address, directions, and details, or call Patty Bennett at (559) 999-9709 with any questions. See you there.
NEWS FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
We are working to fill vacant positions plus add Co-Chairs for our 2017-18 year. We are a busy group, involved with the National Issues Committees as well as local issues, but we need and ask for more involvement from our community in these uncertain times. We hope to make our new board official at our August retreat, so if you would like to take on a vacant position (or nominate someone) please contact Teresa Castillo (559) 360-8054 or Ann Carruthers (559) 243-9390.
The following is our current list of positions:
Branch Co-Chairs: (2 or more positions) Teresa Castillo & vacant
Secretary: Leni Reeves
Treasurer: vacant (Jay Hubbell will train the new candidate who will take on the position fully effective January 2018)
Membership: Joyce Kauder & Co-Chair vacant
Intern Field Supervisors: Joan Poss & Lynn Jacobson
Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance: Leni Reeves
Building Beloved Community:
Homeless Advocates: Bev Fitzpatrick & Nancy Waidtlow
Library Committee: Ann Carruthers
Immigration: Patty Bennett
Legislative Committee: Jean Hays & Betty Sempadian
Earth Democracy: Jean Hays & Catherine Fowler
Middle East: Maureen Walsh
Disarm and Anti-War: vacant
Corporations vs Democracy: vacant
WILPF Stir It Up radio host, KFCF 88.1: Jean Hays
Women in Black: Joan Poss
Raging Grannies: Patty Bennett
Crafts Faire Chair: Jay Hubbell
Vendor Coordinator: Jay Hubbell
Publicity: vacant
Volunteer Coordinator for Set-Up and Clean-Up: vacant
Food/Refreshment Coordinator: vacant (Joyce Kauder will assist)
Listserv Manager: Kyla Mitchell
Facebook Manager: Sandra Iyall
Website Manager: vacant (set up of website needed)
Community Alliance Page Editor: Leni Reeves & Patty Bennett
Now is the time to get involved. We look forward to hearing from you!
AUGUST 6 HIROSHIMA DAY FILM AND DISCUSSION
On Sunday, August 6, (Hiroshima Day) a coalition of peace organizations will present the film Hibakusha: Our Life to Live. Hibakusha is the Japanese word for surviving victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The filmmaker, David Rothauser, brings the stories of Japanese, Korean, and American atomic bomb survivors into the 21st century. The 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki become our stories as the film traces the scientific, military, and political subterfuge that made the development of the atomic bomb and its use possible. Through the eyes of two children, one Japanese and one American, we follow their separate paths from the propaganda and war games of World War II into the futuristic bombings of the two major Japanese cities. It is here that the viewer will experience the penetrating effects of an atomic attack at ground level. These events are linked by the survivors’ stories, describing in graphic detail their loss of beauty and loved ones. “We tell our A-bomb experiences so our children and your children of generations to come will never have to know such terror.” There will be a group discussion after the film. We extend our thanks to the United Japanese Christian Church for hosting this event.
Hibakusha: Our Life to Live
Sunday, August 6, 7 p.m.
United Japanese Christian Church
136 N. Villa, Clovis, CA.
Co-sponsors of this event include WILPF, United Japanese Christian Church of Clovis, Veterans for Peace, Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Peace Fresno, UU Church of Fresno Social Justice Committee, Reedley Peace Center, and the Human Rights Coalition.
AUCTION AND RAFFLE ITEMS NEEDED FOR CONCERT AUGUST 12
WILPF member Patricia Wells extends an invitation to a concert, Canciones de Mis Maestros: Songs of My Teachers, Saturday, August 12 at 3 p.m., Alfonso Hernandez Youth Center, 1515 Divisadero Street, Fresno. The concert will feature Agustin Lira & Patricia Wells, Generaciones Project, and Merlinda Espinosa performing Latin American Folklore, Nuevo Canto, Chicano Music, and more! Suggested donation is $7 for show and agua fresca, or $13 for the show, agua fresca, and mole Oaxaqueno chicken plate (pre-order for dinner). The show is free for children 9 and under, $3 for ages 10-13, and $5 for students/seniors.
The concert, plus a silent auction and raffle, is a fund-raiser for Teatro de la Tierra’s Generaciones Project, providing musical and cultural instruction to children. Donations are needed for the auction and raffle to help raise the funds needed to support this important project. Call Patricia at (559) 485-8558 with donations or to pre-order dinner and concert tickets.
LIBRARY COMMITTEE UPDATE
Last month the Library Committee made its third trip to the Malaga/Arriaga Community Center, bringing some 100 gently used books to add to the Center’s library collection. Donna, Janet, and Ann visited during the Sheriff’s Activities program where some 35 children (3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students) were participating. Director Romana Campos spoke about the upcoming remodel of the Center’s Teen Room where the library will be housed.
WILPF Fresno has joined REFORMA de FRESNO!
Our Fresno Branch has recently become an organization member of REFORMA (reforma.org), a national organization that promotes Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking. There is a Fresno chapter of Reforma and already the WILPF Library Committee has been working with this organization in carrying out our mission to support reading and literacy and to partner with other library-related organizations.
We have learned about REFORMA’s connection to KIND (Kids in Need of Defense, www.supportkind.org), an organization that protects unaccompanied minors coming to the US alone and provides lawyers to represent them in their immigration proceedings. These children come mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and are fleeing from violent gangs, narco-traffickers and other criminal groups. Children placed in the Central Valley need many resources, according to America Hernandez, KIND Social Services Coordinator, speaking to a recent WILPF Fresno meeting. REFORMA’s Children in Crisis program supplies books in Spanish to child refugees. WILPF can become involved in helping these children in other ways, such as donations.
HELP THESE UNACCOMPANIED MINORS by donating backpacks (neutral colors), school supplies, journals, toiletries, gift cards for clothing, and yes, even soccer balls. Bring your donations to the WILPF Retreat on August 26 or phone Ann Carruthers at 559-243-9390 to have your donations picked up.
SAVE THE DATE! PEACE CRAFTS FAIRE DECEMBER 2
This year’s annual Peace Crafts Faire will be on the first Saturday in December, December 2, at the Fresno City College cafeteria complex. The fee schedule will remain the same as last year. Around the first of September, application forms will be sent out to previous vendors, who will have the first call on choice of booth location. For more information or to request an application contact Jay Hubbell via iPhone at (559) 903-7904 or jayfresno@icloud.com.
REPORT FROM EARTH DEMOCRACY EVENT
On June 27 at the Woodward Park Regional Library WILPF, in collaboration with Friends of Temperance Flat, Tehipite Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Fresnans Against Fracking, presented a screening of Water and Power: The California Water Heist. This was originally shown on cable TV but it was not well-publicized, so it was no surprise that a standing-room-only crowd filled the room. Narrated in part by Mark Arax, we are taken on a journey into Stuart Resnick’s vast Paramount Farms land holdings and control of water deliveries. The Kern Water Bank, a public entity, has its main office inside the Paramount Farms headquarters — just one example of misuse of power and our precious environment.
The audience at the film screening was extremely knowledgeable. During the q & a period, led by Lloyd Carter, many important statements were made by audience participants. It was a truly rewarding and informative evening. Energy and ideas in the room led to the conclusion that it is, indeed, time for another Water Forum!
