WILPF – October 2017

WILPF – October 2017

WILPF BUSINESS MEETING

October 12 (2nd Thursday of each month), 7 p.m.–9 p.m. at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness Ave. Meetings are open to all members and those interested in WILPF membership.

WOMEN IN BLACK

October 4 (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, in solidarity with a worldwide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to war, militarism, and other forms of violence.

STIR IT UP–WILPF ON KFCF 88.1 FM

(listener-supported free speech radio for Central California)

October 25 (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.

 

NEWS FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

We are working to fill vacant positions for the 2017–18 year. We are a busy group, involved with the WILPF’s National Issues Committees as well as local issues, but we need and ask for more involvement from our community in these uncertain times. If you would like to volunteer or to nominate someone for a position, please contact Teresa Castillo at 559-360-8054 or Ann Carruthers at 559-243-9390.

We are currently searching for people who would be interested in the following roles in our organization:

Branch Co-Chair: Teresa Castillo and Jan Slagter have agreed to serve as co-chairs for this year. They would be glad to share the role with a third person.

Treasurer: Jay Hubbell has been serving in the dual roles of treasurer and chair of the Crafts Faire, and the workload is too much for a single person. The new treasurer will work with Jay for the remainder of 2017 and take over the position fully in January 2018.

Corporations v Democracy Chair: Our branch does not currently have a local committee working on this important issue. From the WILPF-US Web site: “The Corporations v Democracy Committee educates and activates WILPF members and others around the issue of unchecked corporate power as a threat to our promised self-governance and free speech.”

Web Site Manager: We have a Facebook page but no Web site. We need someone to research options for creating a Web site, help launch it and then keep it up to date.

Crafts Faire Positions: Jay Hubbell is the chair of the annual Crafts Faire, and he is already in communication with vendors. As the December date draws nearer, we need people to take on the following positions: Publicity Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator for Setup and Cleanup and Food/Refreshment Coordinator.

Now is the time to get involved. We look forward to hearing from you!


 

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT

The annual remembrance for victims of sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and stalking will be held Tuesday, October 24, in the Peace Garden area at Fresno State from 4:30 p.m.–9 p.m. Our Raging Grannies will sing, there will be speakers, a brief march around campus and an open mike for survivors to speak.

Antiviolence community organizations will be tabling from 4:30 p.m., and the program begins at 5 p.m. For information, call the Center for Gender and Culture at 559-278-4435.


 

WILPF TRIENNIAL CONGRESS

Fresno branch co-chairs Teresa Castillo and Jan Slagter attended WILPF’s 33rd National Congress in Chicago in late July. The opening plenary featured distinguished peace and social justice activists Kathy Kelly, Phyllis Bennis and Leah Bolger.

With the theme “Revolt, Remember, Reclaim, Reimagine,” the conference focused on the range of topics WILPF has always addressed along with important new ones. There were workshops and issue roundtables on ending stolen elections and protecting voting rights; disarmament, particularly total nuclear disarmament; global climate change, food sovereignty and regenerative agriculture; confronting racism and developing antiracist praxis; effective lobbying and creative communication; our bodies and human rights: aging, disabilities and reproductive justice; Middle East issues; Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance; Corporations v. Democracy and Earth Democracy; immigration, migration, refugees and human trafficking; and moving the money from a war to a peace economy.

There were speakers on Illinois labor history and local Chicago activists described their work on stopping toxins being deposited in the Chicago River and on conducting nonviolence training.

Participants toured Hull House and learned about the astounding research, educational, cultural, legislative and artistic projects designed and conducted by Jane Addams, Ellen Gates Starr and the other female radical social workers based there.


 

THANK YOU LETTER FROM KIND

At our annual retreat on Aug. 26 we collected donations for KIND (Kids in Need of Defense). The donations included four large bags of school supplies and backpacks and $100 in cash and gift cards. We received the following thank you letter from America Hernandez and Alejandra Tovar of KIND:

On behalf of KIND, I would like to thank you and the members of WILPF for your generous donation of school supplies, backpacks and gift card, received on 09/12/17.

Unprecedented numbers of children have come alone to the U.S. in recent years seeking protection. Many have survived severe abuse, including sexual and physical violence, trafficking, and persecution. More than 160,000 arrived in the past three years, and the numbers continue to rise. These children are in need of legal representation. With a lawyer by their side, they are five times more likely to gain protection and immigration relief.

Thanks to the generosity of partners like you, we are able to provide more children with pro bono legal representation, and their best chance for a hopeful future. Humans will always migrate, and unaccompanied children will be among them, pushed by abuse and violence—and pulled by hope. KIND believes that no child should stand alone in immigration court.

On behalf of the children we serve every day, we thank you for all that you do.

Contact Ann Carruthers at acarruthers@earthlink.net for information about donating to KIND.

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  • Community Alliance

    The Community Alliance is a monthly newspaper that has been published in Fresno, California, since 1996. The purpose of the newspaper is to help build a progressive movement for social and economic justice.

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