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Juneteenth

Date: 
Sunday, June 11, 2017 - 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: 
City Park, Appleton

Juneteenth posterJuneteenth is the oldest national program commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. We are delighted that the Fox Cities is home to such a memorable freedom program.

Join ESTHER and many other community organizations based in the Fox Cities and beyond in City Park on June 11 for presentations, music, food, community spirit! Perfect for all ages. Free!

  • Health, community information, retail booths
  • Food, clothing & jewelry vendors
  • Giveaways
  • Storytelling, arts & crafts, dancing
  • Balloon-twisting
  • Inflatables

More information at http://www.africanheritageinc.org/events/juneteenth-2017/

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.

 

Treatment Instead of Incarceration for OWI: A Forum

Date: 
Monday, May 8, 2017 - 5:00pm - 6:15pm
Location: 
St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 140 South Green Bay Road, Neenah

Inmate in CellCome hear State Representative Michael Schraa present his WISGREAT plan—an intensive alcoholism treatment pilot project directed at those who are facing incarceration after a fourth or higher OWI conviction. The plan would address alcohol addiction, reduce recidivism, keep families connected, and make communities safer and healthier for all. Presenters include Rep. Michael Schraa, Winnebago County Public Health and ESTHER Treatment Instead of Prison Task Force.

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!

Restoring Our Communities in Wisconsin Presentation

Date: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: 
Appleton Public Library, 225 North Oneida St., Appleton

Restoring Our Communities in Wisconsin

Presentation on Prison Reform

Wednesday, April 5, 2017
6:30-8:30 pm

inmate in cell


Appleton Public Library, Room A
225 N. Oneida St, Appleton

Free and Open to the Public

A Fox Valley Conversation on Children and Poverty

Date: 
Thursday, April 6, 2017 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: 
Appleton Public Library, 225 North Oneida St., Appleton

The Raising of America posterFollowing the screening of “Episode 4: Wounded Places” from the documentary The Raising of America, information will be shared about childhood poverty in the Fox Valley, and the Faithful Citizenship Campaign to reduce childhood poverty in Wisconsin will be introduced. Questions and discussion will follow. Too many American children, especially children of color living neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, have endured trauma and show symptoms that look very much like PTSD—except there is no “post.” Come to learn more about the impact of poverty on America’s children and what can be done about it.

World Hijab Day Events in the Fox Cities

Woman in hijabTo mark World Hijab Day in the Fox Valley, a series of events are being held in the month of February:

February 1 in Oshkosh and Neenah, and on Facebook Live:

Pick up your hijab at one of three Oshkosh or Neenah locations, then view the Facebook Live stream from 6:30-8:30 pm

February 11 at the Appleton Public Library

1:00-3:00 pm - Hijab Celebration (meeting rooms A/B/C). Learn how to wear hijab and why it is an important tradition for Muslim women. There will be time to talk, ask questions, enjoy amazing free food! Meet new friends and celebrate diversity in our community!

World Interfaith Harmony Week Celebration 2017

World Interfaith Harmony Week Celebration

February 2, 2017, 7:00-8:30 PM
St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
140 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah, WI

Plate of bread being passedCome explore the dimensions of compassion in an innovative event that combines music, discussion and breaking bread together.  Join friends, neighbors and family in this promotion of harmony and tolerance among all religions, faiths and beliefs. Join the thousands of people around the world who accept the challenge to kindle compassion and extend kindness, respect and civility to everyone in our community. The need for people to come together has never been greater.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Events in the Fox Valley

Fox Cities MLK Day LogoLeonard Pitts, Jr.In Appleton, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day celebration will be held on Monday, January 16, at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel starting at 6:30 pm. Leonard Pitts, syndicated columnist with the Miami Herald will give the keynote address, speaking on “Refusing to be a Bystander to Racism and Injustice.” For more information, visit the Fox Cities MLK Day Facebook page.

Dr. Vicki CrawfordIn Oshkosh, the 22nd annual MLK Day celebration will be held at the UW-Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center, 625 Pearl Avenue, from 4:00-6:00 pm. The event theme is “The Dream: The Legacy Through the Eyes of Our Youth,” with special performances by Liamani Segura, age 7, from Racine, and Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem Jackson, age 5, from Chicago. The keynote speaker will by Dr. Vicki Crawford, director of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. The attached flyer provides more information about the event.

ESTHER Publishes Statement of Witness

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Statement As PublishedThis Is a Time that Tries Our Souls….

In the light of concerns about the climate of religious and racial prejudice and harrassment growing out of the Presidential election, the ESTHER Leadership Board, with support from ESTHER members and friends, adopted and published a statement of witness in the Appleton Post-Crescent on Sunday, December 4, 2016. The statement lifts up ESTHER’s hallmark values of inclusiveness, neighborliness, compassion, fair treatment, commitment to community, and the practice of hope.

Thank you to the 207 members and friends of ESTHER who added their names and provided the financial support to make publication possible. Click on the image to read the statement as published.

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