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Hello: This has been an incredibly difficult time in our country given incidents like the Black community members we lost in Buffalo, NY and the mostly Latino children we lost in Uvalde, TX following the devastation in the Ukraine and so so many other parts of our country and our world. At our grassroots, we are a community organization. So I can focus BRIDGE and our team's resources here, our sphere of influence here. We invite you to join us because the ripples of impact can be vast. This is what change looks like, it can be painful. It will be messy. Collective, intentional work can be positive. Incremental changes and large systemic disruption is necessary so there is a role for each and every one of us. BRIDGE has the specific honor, commitment and obligation of working on highlighting public health issues. We worked at lifting this up in partnership with UMASS Western Mass Public Health Equity Network in our Mosaic project focused on systemic racialized disparities and also amplifying Black Voices in partnering with locally born Brooklyn artist Delano Burrowes in his Great Barrington Project. We are stewarding land access and mutual aid for our most vulnerable populations who are our populations full of wisdom who believe and practice life in community, sovereignty and justice. We have land, gardens and shares and we are in open enrollment now. We are working on COVID Hesitancy with an HRiA grant because the education is necessary! The vigilance is still necessary. We are still in a pandemic. Everyone's health is in each other's hands. Period. Be Responsible. Understand science is catching up ( we couldn't plan for this) so take good care as you would a loved one with everyone in your communities. Mask, social distance, drink water, wash your hands, be outside when you can. We are focused on places in our hometowns that are welcoming, cooling and in our Great Barrington MVP Action Climate Action and Resilience Grant. So, I invite everyone to join BRIDGE in an effort, follow us on social media, and encourage everyone to take an extra moment to be kind, to see one another, and to listen. And then roll up your sleeves to get to work! Together. It was powerful to sit in a group breathing this past Sunday. Taking a collective inhale, exhale and sigh together. My best advice is to continue to find those quiet moments too. Listen deeply. Sit Still. and then Activate! Best, Gwendolyn and the BRIDGE team Some upcoming events to look out for:
Come see us at the Berkshire Pride Festival and Parade!
  And afterwards, join us at the Berkshire Pride Tea Dance
 Happiness Toolbox Summer Program
 Thank you all for being in community and don't forget to join our New Pathways Virtual Learning Hub! IDEA TRAINING Executive Leadership
 Mutual-Aid  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aaron Gouveia | Trustees PR Director| 857.328.0520 | [email protected] Trustees brings Pride events to Naumkeag on June 5th
STOCKBRIDGE, MA (May 24, 2022) – With generous sponsorship from Blue Q, and in partnership with the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, Naumkeag and The Trustees will hold a day of Pride activities on Sunday, June 5th, welcoming the LGTBQIA+ community and their allies to the historic home and gardens in Stockbridge.
The day will kick off with the “Berkshire Pride Family Picnic” with one show 10am – 12:30pm and a second show from 12:30 – 3pm, where families are invited to picnic on the grounds which will be decorated for Pride. Activities will include drag performances, games, and a kids’ cabaret sing-along, all of which will be age appropriate for children, yet fun for adults. Biggin’s Diggins BBQ will be on-site with its food truck serving throughout the day with gluten-free and vegetarian options available. At 4pm, Naumkeag will welcome DJ RuBot of Occupy the Disco, fresh from his Paradisco residency at LeBain at the Standard Highline in New York City, to host the first ever Berkshire Pride Tea Dance. This event will be 18 and over and will also include food provided by Biggin’s Diggins BBQ, plus full beverage services which will require identification for purchasing alcoholic beverages. While there will be limited parking on-site at Naumkeag, there will also be a free shuttle that will run from the public parking lot on 1st Street in Pittsfield, leaving at 3:30pm and then departing Naumkeag again at 7:15pm. Parking in Pittsfield will be free of charge. Tickets for the event can be purchased at thetrustees.org/naumkeag. Pride Family Picnic tickets are $17 for adults and $5 for children. Tea Dance tickets are $27 per person, with a $10 parking pass needed per car for on-site parking at Naumkeag. Guests are encouraged to carpool whenever possible or to please use the free shuttle provided to and from Pittsfield. Participants to both events can also purchase a $15 meal ticket in advance which will cover the cost of a main dish and two sides from Biggin’s Diggins BBQ. Food can also be purchased ala carte on site on the day of the event. All proceeds from both the Berkshire Pride Family Picnic and Tea Dance will go to support Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition, Berkshire Pride, and the Berkshire Pride Parade. For financial assistance to attend either event, please contact [email protected]. The Trustees is ensuring our properties are welcoming, accessible, and inclusive places where everyone can feel a sense of belonging this June, and every other month as well. Celebrating Pride month provides an opportunity to invite and welcome all members of the LGBTQ+ community onto our properties and engagement events, which can be viewed here: thetrustees.org/program/lgbtq-events/. About The Trustees Founded by landscape architect Charles Eliot in 1891, The Trustees has, for more than 130 years, been a catalyst for important ideas, endeavors, and progress in Massachusetts. As a steward of distinctive and dynamic places of both historic and cultural value, The Trustees is the nation’s first preservation and conservation organization, and its landscapes and landmarks continue to inspire discussion, innovation, and action today as they did in the past. We are a nonprofit, supported by members, friends and donors and our 123 sites are destinations for residents, members, and visitors alike, welcoming millions of guests annually. thetrustees.org. Dear BRIDGE community: We are enjoying the start to Spring and have had some impactful events this year so far. Just yesterday we had an event that integrated Climate Resilience, Food Sovereignty and Land Access and Public Health in collaboration with the Public Health Institute in Giggle Park in the Town of Great Barrington. We are proud of co-hosting the film, Mosaic, that looked at the intersection of systemic racism and public health and having some of our BRIDGE community members represented. We hope you have engaged in our social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram (@bridge413) with our insights on Climate Action with the Town of Great Barrington MVP Action, Grant CARE GB. Yesterday we received a new parks brochure and these past weeks the town launched a website about the parks. Our collaboration wanted to highlight open spaces that are welcoming and hubs for cooling on hot days and community year round! Thank you to our BRIDGE youth, Women to Women and Racial Justice participants for participating and sharing your voices! It made a difference and has ripples of positive impact. Thanks to our partners, CHP, with free take home tests and available vaccines, Greylock Federal Credit Union with impact reports and books for kids and UMASS Western Mass Public Health Equity Network with their powerful message of recognizing community as public health experts in their own lives. As always the Mahaiwe was a gracious partner. To read about the event, read here. The film will be available soon through the network to share. Email us for more details. Thank you all for being in community and don't forget to join our New Pathways Virtual Learning Hub. We would love our BRIDGE community to know that we have opened up our Solidarity Gardens at the Great Barrington Fairgrounds in collaboration with World Farmers. We are so glad to reach across the state and in our region in equitable food access and sovereignty with conversations and actions in land access live and growing! Have a beautiful weekend and Happy Mother’s Day! Best, Gwendolyn  IDEA Training for Executive Leadership: New Training offering for BRIDGE clients, members, and partners! We begin with a refresher on core BRIDGE courses in Cultural humility, bias, Equity and systems of oppression followed by a 3-part IDEA training focused on organizational leadership in Equity and Inclusion with a gender, race and poverty analysis. We center on organizational strengths building capacity and strategy for leaders, administrators and decision-makers in their respective coalitions, organizations and corporations. This 2022 training session is guided by best practices in justice and equity as well as cultural competence. Over the sessions, we are building cross-sector and interdepartmental connections speaking to accountability in a confidential learning environment. As you look to engage successfully with vendors, partners, and new employees of underrepresented groups in your workplace or sector, this will be a useful tool and continued resource hub. If you would like to participate, please email [email protected] with the subject line: RSVP for IDEA Training for Executive Leadership. 2022 May Engagements with BRIDGE:
 Mutual Aid:
 New volunteers are welcome; please take a moment to complete the BRIDGE Volunteer Form if you haven't already.  |
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