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Advocacy

Rally: Families Belong Together

Date: 
Saturday, June 30, 2018 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: 
Houdini Plaza, Downtown Appleton

Families Belong Together Banner

One of over 700 events around the country on June 30 where, together, we will raise our voices loud and clear and call for an end to family separations and to the suspension of due process at the border.

People of good conscience from across the country and across the political spectrum agree on this: Families belong together. We've got to make this clear to our government: Reunite families. Close family prison camps. And hold the abusers accountable.

People are welcome to speak about their experiences and share their thoughts. Please wear white to signify solidarity.

Sponsored by Forward Fox Valley

More information on the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/198849477618962/

Voter Engagement Canvass

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Date: 
Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: 
Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 740 E College Ave, Appleton

ESTHER is looking for volunteers to participate in our second voter engagement canvass in Appleton.

Integrated Voter Engagement LogoIntegrated Voter Engagement (IVE) is a nonpartisan, volunteer-driven, direct voter contact program. It reaches out to those who feel most overlooked in our society and to working families typically ignored by partisan politics to say, “Your lives matter. Your vote matters.” It is among the most effec­tive ways to increase voter turnout. IVE groups like ESTHER train community members to reach out to their peers in a continuous, ongoing effort that increases the number of voters and leads to policy changes. The most effective IVE organizations add new people to the voter registration rolls, educate voters about election issues, make sure new and unlikely voters actually cast their ballots, and ensure that misinformation and intimidation don’t inhibit people from voting. In addition, IVE has a long-term impact by developing local leaders and involving people in shaping the public policy decisions that affect their lives.

I Want to Help

Like a similar canvass in November, this one will be conducted in Appleton’s Aldermanic District 2 (Ward 3 and a small part of Ward 1) near Edison School. We will gather at Emmanuel United Methodist Church at 5:30 for orientation and training, then fan out into the neighborhood from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

“Hands Around the Courthouse” for Children

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Date: 
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - 4:45pm - 5:30pm
Location: 
Outagamie County Administration Building, 410 S Walnut St, Appleton

Open hands cradling green paper heartLink hands with others from the Fox Cities in symbolic solidarity against child abuse and neglect. The event is a project of CASA Fox Cities (“Court-Appointed Special Advocates”), to mark National Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month. CASA Fox Cities provides a voice for abused or neglected children in the Fox Cities.

Because of construction at the Outagamie County Court House and Justice Center this year, the event will be held at the “Old Courthouse” (now county administration building).

More information on the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1687242941364239/

The Power of Grace: Play and Discussion

Date: 
Saturday, January 27, 2018 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: 
Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2600 E Phillip Ln, Appleton

Power of Grace

A group of women formerly incarcerated in Illinois will share their thoughts and feelings about being incarcerated when a play called “The Power of Grace” is presented by ESTHER-Fox Valley and Fox Cities EXPO (Ex-Prisoners Organizing). The presentation is supported by a Bright Idea Fund grant from the Community Foundation and will be follow by a panel discussion.

The short theatrical piece was created from poetry written by the women. The script communicates the story of incarcerated women to the general public in order to break down stereotypes and encourage awareness regarding the U.S. criminal justice system. Presented from the prisoner’s point of view, the play is a window into the personal experience of incarceration, and represents a ritual of self-liberation.

For the soul of a nation, NO deportation

Date: 
Sunday, January 28, 2018 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Location: 
Fox Valley UU Fellowship, 2600 E. Phillip Lane, Appleton

For the soul of a nation,
NO deportation

Is tearing families apart and turning away talented individuals the solution to our broken immigration system? What are we going to miss if we are not ALL here?

Join us for an interfaith community event as we come together to hear the stories of DACA recipients, discuss the future of the program, and learn now to advocate for the passage of a clean DREAM ACT. Stand in solidarity with our dreamers, friends, and neighbors.

Presented by ESTHER, Unidos Por Un Futuro Mejor, and Winnebago Worship Group Religious Society of Friends.

 

27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

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Date: 
Monday, January 15, 2018 - 6:30pm - 7:45pm
Location: 
Lawrence University Memorial Chapel, Appleton

Aly Wane speaking at a rally“Those Who Have Been Left Out”

The 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration is sponsored by Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities, African Heritage, Inc. and the Lawrence University Diversity Center. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend. The keynote speaker for this year's event will be Aly Wane, s noted speaker, activist, and organizer originally from Senegal. Mr. Wane has worked with various human rights groups including the Syracuse Peace Council, American Friends Service Committee, and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

See also the Facebook event for this celebration.

Knocking on Doors for Voter Engagement - October 14

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“Voting according to values makes a huge difference in the process of policy change”

ESTHER is participating in a statewide WISDOM action on October 14 with a goal of knocking on 600 doors. This Integrated Voter Engagement project is focused on reaching out to those who are traditionally left out of the process – renters, people of color, women, students and low-income workers.

We are in need of volunteers to be a part of this outreach effort. Will you help?

EVENT: Integrated Voter Engagement
WHEN: October 14, 2017
  9:30 am: Orientation
10:00 am–noon: Canvassing
WHERE: Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 740 E College Ave, Appleton
TO VOLUNTEER: Register online at https://esther-foxvalley.org/canvass or contact the ESTHER office at office@esther-foxvalley.org. An orientation will be provided, including script and materials to leave at the door.

Volunteers will have brief conversations with selected individuals at their doorstep, asking them about their issues and concerns and also seeking support for an ESTHER priority, The Faithful Citizenship Campaign (click on ‘Attachments’ below, or view/download here). The Faithful Citizenship petition asks our Wisconsin legislators to commit to cutting poverty in half over the next ten years and to reducing the racial disparities existing in childhood poverty.

Volunteers will be visiting portions of Appleton’s first and second wards near Columbus Elementary School. Additional rounds of volunteers will revisit this same neighborhood twice more in the coming year.

Can you help? Register online at https://esther-foxvalley.org/canvass or contact the ESTHER office (office@esther-foxvalley.org) to let us know!

“ESTHER is knocking to listen to our community”

Community Column: "Let's Fight Social Injustice in the Fox Cities"

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Bill Van Lopik, ESTHER OrganizerESTHER Organizer Bill Van Lopik has recently started a term as a Community Columnist for the Post-Crescent. In his inaugural column, which appeared on April 1 (no fooling!), he writes with passion and conviction about some “dominant narratives” that cause fear and suspicion and can blind us to the truth about our communities and our neighbors. He testifies to the power of a different approach, in which we work

… to build relationships among people from various ethnic backgrounds, economic status, race, cultures and religions. It is through these relationships that we understand that there are other stories, other realities and other narratives. It is easy to live in a bubble and only interact with people who look like us, act like us, talk like us and believe the same things we do. However, if we hope to build a community which values dignity and respect we are going to have to be a lot more curious and courageous about who we see as our neighbors.

 

Madison Action Day - March 30

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Walking to the Capitol“Our State, Our Budget, Our Voice”

Join over 800 WISDOM leaders from across Wisconsin at the state capitol to advocate and educate legislators and departments about issues in the proposed state budget, including criminal justice, environmental justice, public health, education and public transit!

Thursday, March 30, 2017
9:00 am–4:00 pm. Breakfast and networking at 8:00
Bethel Lutheran Church
312 Wisconsin Ave, Madison, WI

Featuring keynote speakers:

  • Rev. Alex Gee, pastor of Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Madison.
  • Ms. Lisa Graves, Executive Director, Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a national watchdog group, investigating and exposing the undue influence of corporations in public policy.

Cost: $25.00 - includes lunch, materials, and bus transportation. Scholarships are available.

Buses to/from Fox Cities locations the day of the event.

REGISTER TODAY!

Budget Action Workshop for Northeast Wisconsin - February 25

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Save the date clip art SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, February 25, 2017

NE Wisconsin
Budget Action Workshop

9:30 am-2:30 pm
Plumbers and Steamfitters UA Local 400
2700 Northridge Drive, Kaukauna

Join your Fox Valley friends for a fun, social and informative day as we learn together about the Wisconsin budget process and how to present our budget concerns effectively to our state representatives. A project of the Wisconsin Leadership Development Project (WiLD). Click 'Read more' for a flyer and a link to online registration.

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