Multicultural BRIDGE
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Join Us for Spring/Summer Fun

5/10/2023

 
Get ready for lots of fun and learning this Spring and Summer with Multicultural BRIDGE! We have amazing events coming up in May and June, so stay tuned for more info!

Congratulations to Florence Afanukoe!
Congratulations to Florence Afanukoe!

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Come share a meal with us and support the work we do!
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Save The Date for the opening of BRIDGE’s Solidarity Meeting House
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We are celebrating a full Solidarity Garden!


Want to join our team?
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JUN
06/01/23
  • Guest:  Gladys Rave and Dr, Laura Setti
  • Topic: Breast Cancer
  • Local:  Zoom


06/8/23
  • Guest:   Jean Clarke Mitchells
  • Topic: How Domestic Violence Affect in Teenagers Life
  • Local:  ZOOM


06/15/23
  • Guest:  Estervina and Silvia - W2W
  • Topic: Speak about Trip
  • Local:  Zoom


06/22/23
  • Guest:  Laura Manosalva
  • Topic:  ZUMBA
  • Local:  Lee Office

BRIDGE is a love story

2/2/2023

 
At BRIDGE we have just had a full month and I am looking forward to the richness coming ahead in 2023. Our honoring of Martin Luther King Jr and service was to gather for a 3-day strategic in-service retreat this year with staff, board, board/staff together and representatives that have contributed to BRIDGE’s story in the past, present and some who have recently committed to the future. We decided BRIDGE is a love story held within a beloved and embodied community. Stay tuned for the many insights and outputs and for now take a peek at what our staff and board have to say when they think about BRIDGE.
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We also launched our gala planning efforts. Please let us know if you have a skill you want to share or if your organization or family would like to sponsor our third quinquennial gala celebration. We have world-renowned scholars joining local and regional artists to honor the mission of BRIDGE at Jacob’s Pillow. Thank you to the Pillow, Berkshire Bank Foundation and Greylock Federal Credit Union for being our early bird sponsors. And thank you to Mass MoCA for the special announcement posted on our County Billboards…​

Be in touch if you want to be a part of this epic celebration of movement building for equity and justice.
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We want to welcome Florence back on our team as a Lead Engagement Coordinator in Community Health and Youth Leadership. Welcome to Delano as our Racial Justice Coordinator. Welcome back to Estervina as a Lead Engagement Coordinator in Outreach and Client Services.


Our BRIDGE team has renewed its commitment to our race analysis by 6 BRIDGE reps taking PISAB’s Undoing Racism. Join our Race Task Force and Towards Racial Justice this month as Delano steps in to Lead Racial Justice & Equity Coordinator. Join Stephanie and Delano this evening, Feb. 2nd on Zoom and join Florence and Delano Monday at 12:30 on Zoom. We hope to be in person in the Spring at our new site and other Berkshire locations!

Finally Gwendolyn had the honor of co-hosting the Trauma Research Foundation Social Justice Summit with CEO and Founder Licia Sky to discuss Race as Trauma in the Body and our collective path to healing. Global thinkers on somatics and racism gathered for three days and we offer a special shout out to our BRIDGE activists, allies and accomplices joined to hold care and accountability spaces as a part of the conference flow. Participants expressed joy, grief, rage and other resonances and processed in community for three days inspired by TRF, Dr. Bessel vanderKolk and thought leaders around the world.

I want to say Happy Black History Month and please know we will be celebrating all year highlighting and hosting Black Feminists throughout the year in presentations, book clubs and launches as well as our gala original performances and talks. Save the date for Elizabeth Freeman Day in Great Barrington as BRIDGE and other organizations collaboratively amplify Elizabeth Freeman starting in Sheffield and landing in Great Barrington at the Courthouse. Collaboratively, Du Bois Freedom Center, BRIDGE, NAACP, educators and others are arranging a beautiful event with activists and allies. This month, BRIDGE will be holding a Black History Month discussion with Berkshire Bank for its employees and co-hosting a concert at Simon’s Rock on Feb 26th with the Harlem Chamber Players.
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Keep an eye out for BRIDGE and Town of Great Barrington Du Bois Day celebrations! Earlier in the week, Delano Burrowes, will be the Du Bois speaker at Simon’s Rock on february 20.

Finally, thank you to all of our donors! We met our FY22 fundraising goals and thank you to those who have contributed to our Solidarity Meeting House and Kitchen Pantry. We have our new lease at 965 So. Main St in Great Barrington for our dedicated program site. Thank you to those who made it to Brava to see the plans for the site!

And on closing…
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This has been a devastating week and I offer these two images for mediation because sometimes there are no words and as a mother of a Black Trans daughter, a Black biracial son, a sister of a Black man and most simply a human I have none. But both Tyre Nichols and Basquiat in their artistry invite me to sit with my breath and find spaces of grief, healing and interrogation all at once..​

This Basquiat print hangs in my home office:
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Share any thoughts you have here in our virtual hub.

See below notes from our BRIDGE team!​

In solidarity together,
Gwendolyn

Racial Justice

Women to Women

TRJ
February 2nd 2023
6:30 PM
Zoom: (click here)​

Race Task Force
February 6th, 2023
12:30 PM
Zoom: (click here)

White Accomplices for Racial Justice
February 23rd, 2023
7:00 PM
Zoom: (click here)
In February, W2W celebrates the day of Love and Friendship. Please contact Silvia Soria or Estervina Davis for more information.

02/02/23
Topic: Zumba with Laura Manosalva

02/09/23
Valentine Day Celebration
Guest: Carmen Baker with the Topic Self Control

02/16/23
Topic: Knowing BRIDGE by Gwendolyn Vansant
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02/23/23
Topic: Mexican Heroina by Julia Antunez

Mutual Aid

Winter is a time for reflecting, assessing, celebrating, and planning. BRIDGE's Mutual Aid program began in 2020 as a response to the community's needs in the face of Covid. The program has continued to expand and grow stronger throughout the years. Here is some of what we accomplished in 2022, by the numbers:
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BRIDGE in the Fall

11/2/2022

 
Hello:
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I want to thank all the many hands that have made a beautiful Fall Season at BRIDGE. We have been around the community at BCC, Great Barrington Courthouse, Great Barrington Farmers Market, Mass MoCA Berkshire-Based gala, Great Barrington Fairgrounds with our BRIDGE Solidarity Garden and Farm with our Fish Fry and Harvest Festival and Pig Roast. 

We have been launching our Trauma Survivors program and associated services. Please be in touch if you have questions about our culturally specific victim assistance. 

Winter is on its way here and our mutual aid shifts from CSA shares to groceries and we could use your support! We want to thank Kate Bailey for the service she provided for this first season of land access, along with Stephanie Wright and many, many of our long-time BRIDGE participants. BRIDGE can process fuel assistance applications for BCAC in Spanish and English– let us know if you want to connect with our Engagement Team. 

Also, a special thank you for raising $3110 for Gwendolyn's Birthday SJIA and Lily’s SJIA at $715! This is our annual appeal season, and we are off to a good start!

BRIDGE - 
We are a collective, movement-building community across workplace and community spaces catalyzing change and integration
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We want to hear from you as we plan our activities for next year!
Submit your feedback

BRIDGE is a Racial Justice & Equity Organization 
Survivors of Trauma Program
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  • Towards Racial Justice & Equity in the Berkshires
    • Thursday, November 3rd 
    • 6:30 PM
    • Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vcOmhrT8tEt1MV9cANuNVzelQDd6JXCdl 

  • Race Task Force with Lori Kiely of Berkshire Bank discussing finance and race equity. Learn about CRAs and CDFIs in our community.
    • Monday, November 7th
    • 12:30 PM
    • Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqdOmsrjopGtZf_q4hFAb0-uPy-XH3Hfok

BRIDGE is a Food Sovereignty and Land Access Program
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A special thank you to our partner farmers this third season summer:
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Sweet Freedom Farm; Three Sisters; Full Well Farm; MumBett Freedom Farm; Off the Shelf Farm and Gould Farm (and Random Harvest and BCAC and our individual donors!)

We are of course happy to launch our own Solidarity Garden and Farm at Great Barrington Fairgrounds

BRIDGE is a Training and Education Program via the New Pathways platform
IDEA Tuesdays
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Online Training: Executive Leadership Cohort 2022 (starting Nov. 15th)
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Online Training: Inclusive Leadership Cohort 2023 (enrollment open Dec. 15th for Feb/March launch)

Cultural Competence Foundations (online)
  • Foundation Fridays (facilitated training returning January 2023) with Systems of Oppression
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Women To Women
  • NOVEMBER
    • Date: 11/3/2022
      • Guest: Catheryn Chacon |  Latinas 413
      • Topic: Vote question #4
      • Location: Zoom
    • Date: 11/10/2022
      • Guest: Carmen Baker
      • Topic: "Be Grateful"
      • Location: Person
    • Date: 11/17/2022
      • Guest: grupo
      • Topic: Acción de dar gracias
      • Location: Zoom

Veterans Spotlight of Keyshuna Cole
(BRIDGE's Online Business Manager & Scheduler)
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Keyshuna is a Native of Mississippi and joined the United States Army at 17. There she worked in a dual role as a Healthcare Specialist and Human Resources Specialist. In her 11 year career, she received numerous awards and achievements. Keyshuna contributes her work ethic, sense of duty, and organization to her time in the military.

Thank you, Keyshuna, for your service!

Volunteers Needed
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  • Reception
  • Drivers and food/resource packers for mutual aid
  • Movers 
 
In Solidarity,
Gwendolyn and the BRIDGE Team

The Long Game of Catalyzing Change for Integration

9/8/2022

 
Dear BRIDGE community:

It has been an exciting time for us at BRIDGE as we launch in to funding our projects that are recognized culturally centric with new funding partners who are joining the choir of those embracing the equity approach with centering the experience and voices of those we intend to serve!
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We are proud recipients of MOVA VOCA Funding at $200,000 for two years for victims of crime and violence that provides fresh and healthy food, access to wellness and culturally specific counseling, emergency and crisis support and more! (See announcement.)

We are also proud recipients of a Community Development Block Grant - CARES Act to build out the infrastructure of our mutual aid program at $200,000. Our mutual aid program is in its third year of consecutive universal basic income at a nominal amount that supports gas, pharmacy and grocery monthly at local vendors, emergency grant assistance when available, access to garden and farming space, business development, farm shares of fresh veggies and chicken, COVID Resources and information.

We continue to support COVID education, access to tests, PPE equipment through our HRiA grant.

Have fun scrolling through photos, our new Happiness Toolbox video and news clips that capture our last month. 

At Happiness Toolbox and Real Talk with our BRIDGE youth, our youth had fun enriching opportunities advocating for and celebrating the Crown Act to prevent discrimination against African American Hair Styles as a Massachusetts policy. We celebrated with our second Mawu Hair Salon and our summer program youth reflected in interviews in the evening news! 

Also, we celebrated the installation of the Elizabeth Freeman Monument and our youth voices at the table to speak of its impact! Please read the powerful essay winners on the Sheffield Historical Site! It was a privilege to contribute to the essay launch with representatives from our entire BRIDGE community of youth leaders, board, donors, volunteers and staff! 

Next month keep an eye out for our Racial Justice Schedule and our Women to Women meetings. We also have a few Social Justice in Action events for you including one this Labor Day weekend! 

Serving it Forward in Community,
Gwendolyn

Happiness TOolbox 2022

Toolbox Promo from Gwendolyn VanSant on Vimeo.


​We seek to provide leadership opportunities for them while providing healing spaces filled with joy, peer support, and also tools/strategies to recognize their internal strengths, affirm their cultural identity and pride, and develop their own pathways to success and thriving.

Elizabeth Freeman

BRIDGE unveils a new vision of equity, inclusion, and justice for the Berkshires | Hannah Van Sickle | Berkshire Edge

Congrats to the winners! 
Winners:
1st prize Anouk Bizalion
2nd prize Kota Rinaldi
3rd prize Jessica Yauri Cambi


BRIDGE Honorable Mentions & Speakers:
Armando Bautista Cruz
Jaziyah Forte (Read Her Remarks Here)

Thanks to our essay committee
Committee chair: Gwendolyn VanSant and Jesse Carpenter, Principal of Mt. Everett

Committee Reviewers:
Florence Afanukoe
Sonali Anderson
Dr. Gail Bouknight-Davis
Tessa Climo
Maya Hampton VanSant
Julianne Harwood
Dr. John Horan
Rev. Sloan Letman IV
Jeff Lowenstein
Dr. Dan Nielson
Ashni Sunder
Stephanie Wright
Click here to read Gwendolyn's remarks

​Meet Elizabeth Freeman | A play by Teresa Miller, starring Wanda Houston

The Monument Unveiling

The CROWN Act

Berkshire County Residents react to the Crown Act Being Signed Into Law
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Solidarity Garden & Farm

Despite the drought and heat, the Solidarity Garden and Farm is a beautiful and thriving place to be this summer. As summer turns towards fall, we are enjoying a wild abundance of tomatoes, potatoes, beans, gladiolus, and nicotiana. We are growing in all 27 garden beds this summer and 4 farm plots and are looking to build more beds next spring. Let us know if you're interested in getting involved! [email protected]
New volunteers are welcome; please take a moment to complete the BRIDGE Volunteer Form if you haven't already.
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​DA AND SHERIFF FORUM


Racial Justice mtg Schedule

TRJ meeting postponed to September 29th.

September 12
Race Task Force | Housing Presentation By Construct

12:30pm - 2pm
Zoom or in-Person at the Ralph Froio Center

September 29
TRJ: White Accomplices for Racial Justice Accountability Forum

Social Justice in Action

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We have deployed $5800 in to our mutual aid families to use at farmers markets, farms and local vendors. 

BRIDGE & BerkShares: David Fix Article–on Berkshire Edge
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Women-To-Women September dates

09/01/22 | ZOOM
Topic:  Domestic Violence in children
Guest: Estervina Davis

09/08/22 | ZOOM
Topic: Bicultural Benefits
Guest: Carmen Baker

09/15/22 | Zoom
Topic: Community Support Option
Guest:  Maria Mejia
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09/22/22 | ZOOM
Topic: Dreaming your future
Guest: Silvia Soria and Estervina Davis

Marching Into July

7/4/2022

 
Dear all:

I hope you have been enjoying Late Spring and Early Summer weather. We have been busy here this month. Florence and Julianne kicked off our Real Talk youth training for our summer mentors and youth workers! We covered diversity and justice issues, positive education, mindfulness, neurodevelopment, character strengths and goal setting with experts within and new to our BRIDGE ecosystem. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth as an organizing member of the Collaborative with NAACP. Florence and Stephanie brought our Cultural and youth activities like Strawberry Soda and African clothed stress balls to the table!

Our Foundations Fridays are ready this Fall starting this upcoming Friday in 2 hr blocks from 9 AM -11AM. Join our volunteers, staff, BRIDGE clients and partners in this session. We ask that everyone that engages with BRIDGE prioritize their cultural competence training. You can register below and see us if you need any tuition waivers.

Please engage with our monthly racial justice meetings as we talk, learn and engage from a community and cultural humility perspective. A core practice is calling each other in to accountability around inclusive and collective leadership. There is no time like now to assess our resources of time and energy and focus. The reversal of Roe v. Wade reminds us of that. If you missed the Tyringham for Racial Justice panel with leaders, Shirley Edgerton, Dennis Powell, Leticia Haynes and AJ Enchill, Please find my moderator remarks here and the article here.

Many of you know BRIDGE has been working at the intersection of gender and race issues crossing climate resilience and COVID. We are happy to announce a two year grant with MOVA to increase our capacity to meet the needs of women facing violence at all levels (workplace, race-based & domestic) and we also continue to educate around COVID awareness for all of our vulnerable communities.

Lastly, we are in year 3 of mutual aid. Please know we have secured land access for food sovereignty and economic stability for historically marginalized or vulnerable groups with limited or no access to land. We have partnered with World Farmers and Great Barrington Fairgrounds and are offering up the Solidarity Farm as land for community members to make use of it with TA in starting a business selling crops or feeding their communities. In addition we have raised beds in our community garden and we will welcome you to celebrate in the Fall what we have built in our Solidarity Garden space at the Fairgrounds! So many hands and farmers across generations have made this possible! Keep an eye out in our New Pathways portal and our social media channels as we begin to shout out our partners and share progress. Already we are harvesting green beans, chamomile, mustard greens, collard greens, and radishes!
In hope and solidarity,
Gwendolyn

FOUNDATION FRIDAYS
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  • July 8, 2022
  • Location: Zoom
  • Please join us if you are a volunteer, staff, consultant, or in BRIDGE community of clients or members.
  • Register here: https://forms.clickup.com/36022488/f/12ba6r-11387/TCHZYFUXI1ED8MS3Q

EXECUTIVE IDEA LEADERSHIP TRAINING
  • Postponed to September
  • 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 2-4 PM
  • Zoom or BRIDGE Office Conference Room
  • Due to challenges with COVID for many, we have postponed the Exec Leadership Training and we will deliver this program over 8 weeks in 2 hour blocks on Tuesdays in the Fall! This gives time to complete or refresh your Foundations and Systems Training.
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HAPPINESS TOOLBOX
  • Please consider sponsoring a summer scholarship! Email us if you can support summer learning and fun!

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Monthly Meetings
  • Race Task Force
    • Date: July 11, 2022
    • Location-Hybrid Ralph J. Froio Senior Center 330 North St, Pittsfield
    • Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdOuurT4uHt2CLAOOMP8xHqOylsjxO4Zq
    • Topic: We will have our working groups and update on work and BRIDGE will share its movement building. We also will discuss the upcoming elections and forums.
  • TRJ
    • Date: July 7, 2022
    • Location
    • Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vcOmhrT8tEt1MV9cANuNVzelQDd6JXCdl
    • Topic - Accountability
      • Our TRJ Topic is accountability. It is a core practice in justice work as well as in any role where you hold responsibilities to yourself and your values and your institutions its mission, purpose and values. BRIDGE also employs it as a matter of governance. This session will run as a learning workshop for all engaged in Racial Justice Work. We will employ an equity analysis and review models of collective, inclusive leadership and discuss the Elizabeth Freeman Statue and other key initiatives in our community.
  • Conscious Masculinity With TRJ
    • Date: July 28, 2022 @7 PM
    • We are looking for new facilitators and for increased engagement as we move through third-quarter transitions! In light of the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the challenges women leaders face locally and regionally across racial identity, this is an important aspect of our accountability work!
  • Women-to-Women.
    • We will have our regularly scheduled empowerment and learning W2W meetings. Silvia has been away on leave and will share topics throughout the month. Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to join the mailing list for this group.
    • Dates:
      • Jul 7 @TRJ: We will have designated Spanish-speaking bilingual community members and breakout groups in Spanish. The main space will be in English with a Summary in Spanish
      • Jul 14: tbd
      • Jul 21: We will look to have an in-person gathering at the Solidarity Garden. Weather permitting!
      • Jul 28 tbd

Action, Resilience, and Community Care: Join us in June

6/14/2022

 
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Hello BRIDGE staff, board families, youth leaders, 

BRIDGE has been partnered with Town of Great Barrington (and the State) on community engagement and cultural awareness/equity and inclusion as it relates to Climate Action and resilience for Vulnerable Populations.

We need your voices here. Stipends are available if you send us a receipt/confirmation of attendance and/or the survey. Many of you participated in our GB  focus groups on vulnerable communities and climate change and food sovereignty. Now the State wants to hear our voices and have us join in discussion. 

Please attend a session and do a survey and let BRIDGE know ([email protected]) and also let them know you heard about it from BRIDGE. Participation stipends available.

We have to take care of our Earth and our communities.

Details below — 

Peace,
Gwendolyn

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Greetings,
You are invited to join a statewide conversation on how the impacts of climate change affect you and your community. This conversation will inform the 2022 Massachusetts Climate Change Assessment and builds on the meetings that the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs held in March. We are seeking your input to prioritize climate impacts based on your experiences and concerns for the future.
There are two ways to participate:
  • Complete a brief survey on the climate impacts most important to you (takes up to 10 minutes). This survey is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Arabic and Cape Verdean Kriolu. Go to the survey.
  • Join us by registering for one of the four discussions (up to 90 minutes each). Simultaneous interpretation services for languages other than English are available upon request–requests must be made at least 48 hours before the session you plan to attend.
    • Conversation 1: June 13 at 11:00 AM
    • Conversation 2: June 15 at 10:30 AM
    • Conversation 3: June 15 at 6:30 PM
    • Conversation 4: June 18 at 1:00 PM
Agenda
During the meeting we will provide an update on the priority climate impacts agreed upon by public and state government stakeholders to be assessed in this study, and then hear your experiences and concerns. An agenda is provided below. Due to COVID safety considerations, the conversations will be held via Zoom. A call-in number will also be provided (if needed).

Registration and Accessibility. Once you sign up, you will receive an email confirming your registration. During registration, please request reasonable accommodations for a disability or interpreter services in a language other than English, so that you can participate in the conversation. You must make interpretation requests at least 48 hours before the session you plan to attend. We will do our best to accommodate these needs to allow community members to participate as fully as possible.

Questions. Please contact Carolyn Meklenburg ([email protected]) or Hannah Stroud ([email protected]) with any questions about the agenda or logistics. 
We hope you will consider participating!
 
Kind regards,
 
Carolyn Meklenburg
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program Regional Coordinator
MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
 
Mia Mansfield
Director of Climate Adaptation and Resilience
MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs


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Hello BRIDGE Family,
We are inviting you and your family to march in the streets of DC to fight against poverty and low wages in America. The march will be held on June 18, 2022, there will be buses (free of charge) to take families or anyone interested in being a part of this march to DC. Children, 5-14 years of age are welcome however they must be accompanied by a guardian who will be responsible for them. You will also need proof of vaccination to enter the bus and must wear a mask at all times unless you are eating. Seats are very limited so if you are interested please sign up with the link below ASAP. We will need to know who is attending by June 15, 2022.
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The pickup location for the bus will be at 1 Columbus Ave in Pittsfield (Greyhound Bus Terminal). The bus will leave Pittsfield on June 18th at 12:39 AM and arrive in Washington DC at 8:30 AM. We are expecting to arrive back in Pittsfield by 11:35 PM.

Please bring provisions;  It will be hot in WashingtonDC, Sunscreen, Water

Sign up for the Pittsfield bus at https://rally.co/booking/115578/1698/trips  To access the no-costs seats, after choosing "add 1 ride", then clicking either creating an account or "checkout as a guest", you'll see  "do you have a promo code?" appear in the middle left of the page. There you can enter PPCMASS100, which will reduce the total owed to $0. 

Stipends for food will be provided and the bus will be stopping at an eating establishment along the way, both going to Washington, DC, and returning to Pittsfield

Medical:
There will be tents for people to take a rest
There will be a Medical Tent available - We Got This
EMTs and Physicians will be nearby 

About the Poor People's Campaign March:
In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values” in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor and impacted communities across the country. Their name was a direct cry from the underside of history: The Poor People’s Campaign. 

Today, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has picked up this unfinished work. From Alaska to Arkansas, the Bronx to the border, people are coming together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. We understand that as a nation we are at a critical juncture that we need a movement that will shift the moral narrative, impact policies and elections at every level of government, and build lasting power for poor and impacted people. This march is not a celebration but to mourn and fight for people suffering from the effects of poverty and low wages in America.

Please fill out this link if you are attending the trip.

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Join us for Happiness Toolbox this Summer.
For More Information:
[email protected]

Disease, illnesses, and pandemics have been prevalent since the beginning of time.
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They become more prevalent with larger cities, larger population, and increased global trade.

Watch this YouTube link https://youtu.be/_uL0ZgV6POc that breaks down the history of pandemics
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Seeking Justice and Building Community in June

5/26/2022

 
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:
  • Next month we will be involved in the Juneteenth Celebration with NAACP as part of a Collaborative group of Black leaders.
  • We will be with Tyringham for Justice for Juneteenth on a panel.
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  • We will celebrate Pride Month with Berkshire Pride and Berkshire Stonewall! (See Below)
  • Join our Racial Justice Groups(see below!).
  • Visit our New Pathways virtual hub. Feel free to start a conversation
  • Visit our website.
  • Consider making a contribution by texting Justice to 1-844-3-UNITY-1. Or Scan this code! 
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Come see us at the Berkshire Pride Festival and Parade!
  • June 4, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
  • First Street Common, Pittsfield, MA
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Come join us at the Berkshire Pride Family Picnic
  • Sunday, June 5, 2022 10am-12:30pm and 12:30pm-3pm
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And afterwards, join us at the Berkshire Pride Tea Dance
  • Sunday, June 5, 2022, 4PM - 7PM
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Happiness Toolbox Summer Program
  • Happiness Toolbox is a summer education program rooted in positive education and was co-designed by BRIDGE founding staff trained in positive psychology, holistic psychology, and diversity leadership. This year's theme is Celebrating Cultural Diversity/Around the world.
  • July 25th - August 5th
  • The Mount, 2 Plunket St, Lenox MA 01240
  • Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
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Thank you all for being in community and don't forget to join our New Pathways Virtual Learning Hub!
​IDEA TRAINING Executive Leadership
  • June 7, June 14th, June 27th | 1pm - 5PM
  • New Training offering for BRIDGE clients, members and partners! 
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  • 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.

    For more information, please email [email protected] with the subject line IDEA Training for Executive Leadership.
Register here
  • Foundations Training
    • Building cultural competency is a foundational journey that organizational employees take, because the end result is a more inclusive, connected, and effective organization through developing awareness, tools, and resources for professional education, sector, and professional bias awareness and cultural knowledge.

      Rooted in cultural humility, ​BRIDGE’s award-winning, transformational and interactive training has been designed to support businesses and nonprofits in proactively developing a diverse, integrated positive workplace environment that allows your organization to thrive

  • IDEA Institute: Cultural Competence Foundations (Cost: $240)
    • 1st Session: July 8th 9AM - 11AM
    • 2nd Session: July 15th 9AM - 11AM
    • 3rd Session: July 22nd 9AM-11AM
    • 4th Session: July 29th 9AM-11AM
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Mutual-Aid ​
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Re-Enrollment Link English ​
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Enclave de reinscripcion espanól
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  • Race Task Force
    • Monday June 6th 2022 | 12:30PM - 2:00PM
    • Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pdOuurT4uHt2CLAOOMP8xHqOylsjxO4Zq
  • Towards Racial Justice
    • Thursday, June 2nd 2022 | 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
    • Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/w/89270934789?tk=Hn2NTxjVQnKGa6AMvQQKUmTKccnCcagzmfdceSv
  • Conscious Masculinity in Racial Justice
    • TBA
  • White Accomplice
    • Thursday, June 23rd | 7pm - 9pm
  • Women2Women
    • In order to register for Women to Women, email [email protected].
      Si hay preguntas, escribe [email protected].
    • June 3rd
      • Topic: Social Justice
      • Guest: Gwendolyn VanSant
    • June 10th
      • Topic: Superación Personal
      • Guest: Carmen Baker
    • June 17th
      • Topic: VIM  - Benedicta
      • Guest: Marcela Urrea
    • June 24th
      • Topic: Rumba Terapia
      • Guest:  Laura Manosalva

Trustees brings Pride events to Naumkeag on June 5th

5/24/2022

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Aaron Gouveia | Trustees PR Director| 857.328.0520 | [email protected] 
Trustees brings Pride events to Naumkeag on June 5th
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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. 
Pride Family Picnic Tickets
Berkshire Pride Tea Dance Tickets

Happy Spring and Mother's Day From BRIDGE

5/7/2022

 
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
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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:
  • Conscious Masculinity in Racial Justice
    • Monday, May 26, 2022  | 7:00pm - 9:00 PM
  • Race Task Force for Racial Justice (RTF)
    • Monday, June 6, 2022 | 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Towards Racial Justice- South County Meeting (TRJ)
    • Thursday, June 2, 2022 | 6:30 - 9:00 PM
  • Women to Women (W2W):    
    • May Activities for W2W
    • May 12
      • Guest: Carmen Baker
      • Topic: Practical Self Efficacy
    • May 19
      • Guest: Ana Villavicencio-  Holistic Dr.
      • Topic:  Facial Yoga
    • May 26 
      • Guest: Maria Lopez
      • Topic: Craft Art
Youth Leadership/Happiness Toolbox
  • Youth Leadership Training, July 2nd 
  • Happiness Toolbox, July 25th- August 6th
Register at [email protected]
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Mutual Aid:
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Enclave de reinscripcion espanól
Re-Enrollment Link English
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New volunteers are welcome; please take a moment to complete the BRIDGE Volunteer Form  if you haven't already.
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MOSAIC Pre-Screening Events

5/5/2022

 
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