Seeking Justice and Building Community in June

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.

• 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

Come join us at the Berkshire Pride Family Picnic

• Sunday, June 5, 2022 10am-12:30pm and 12:30pm-3pm

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! 

• 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 ​

Re-Enrollment Link English ​

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