La Vida Veeta

Celebrate A New Fridge with Seattle Community Fridge (Seattle)

Heyo!! If you’re in Seattle and looking for a nice way to enjoy the weather (and yes I am psychic and know that the weather in Seattle today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 64 and by that I mean thanks theweathernetwork.com) look no further than today’s Pantry Party! I mentioned a few weeks ago that Seattle Community Fridge fixed up and added a new pantry onto one of the fridges they maintain in north Capitol Hill. Well guess what- they’ve added some sick new art to it and are hosting an unveiling party today! Come on by today any time between 12:30 and 2:30 to check out the new digs, meet some folks in the org (and maybe even Deacon Steve, the amazing purple-haired deacon for St. Joseph Parish who has been instrumental in helping get this project off the ground), stock up some food and enjoy the beautiful new art on the pantry courtesy of Irene (who I think may also be there??) If you swing by, let them know that Matt sent you and hopefully they won’t throw you out! Hehe I kid, I kid. But seriously- if you’re looking to get involved locally in mutual aid orgs, this would be a great way to start networking (even if you don’t want to be involved directly with this org, folks in the community know other groups and can help get you connected!) The fridge is located behind Saint Joseph Catholic Church on 19th (across from Macrina, by the bus stop).

350 Washington Civic Action Team (Seattle)

While I’ve mentioned 350 Seattle before (the Seattle-focused local version of the overall 350 Movement) I’ve never mentioned 350 WA here on the blog before. While the Seattle group is focused on climate activism at the city and local level, 350 WA is focused on advocacy at the state level. Washington State is lucky in that it has many climate-conscience policies enshrined at the state level, however as we have all seen with the federal government: NOTHING IS SAFE. We cannot become complacent. To keep advocating for climate justice in the State Legislature, 350 WA has a Civic Action Team (CAT) which is a volunteer group made up of everyday people like you and me who maybe don’t have any political (or even organizing) background but who care deeply about our planet, and want to do something about it. During the Washington state legislative session in January-March, 350 WA will send two emails per week with actions you can take to push for essential climate legislation in Washington. CAT volunteers will send the most essential action alerts, tailored with options for how much time you have available (5-20 minutes per week). Every email includes clear information about where important climate bills are in the legislative process, instructions and templates for how to contact legislators about specific bills at critical moments, and optional opportunities to meet with your legislators to take advocacy further. While you can sign up to receive those emails at the link here (which yes, you absolutely should) you can also volunteer to be a volunteer with the team and be involved with disseminating this information to folks who have signed up. If interested, I highly recommend you check out their kickoff New Volunteer Welcome event which will be tomorrow (October 6th) from 6-7 PM (PST) on Zoom. To join, please register here.

Restoring Our Outdoors Together with Urban Ecology Center (Milwaukee)

Urban Ecology Center (UEC) has a simple mission: We connect people in cities to nature and each other. This can be through a number of pathways, including volunteering with removal of invasives and native species planting, educational programming with local schools on topics like science, nature, and sustainability, and connecting city-dwellers with the amazing nature right in their backyards. So many kids don’t have the ability to explore nature, whether it be lack of access to transportation, time/financial constraints, or simply not knowing how or where to go! Organizations like UEC are essential in helping build a lifelong relationship between folks and their natural surroundings. Not only can nature provide some serious mental and physical health benefits, but having a healthy environment means we have access to higher quality resources like water, air, produce, and soil. I don’t think I’m saying anything we don’t already know, but the truth is that SO MANY PEOPLE AREN’T EXPOSED TO THIS. That’s where UEC comes in. If you’re in the Milwaukee area and interested in volunteering for several programs (including their Restoring Our Outdoors Together – ROOT Program) it’s easy to sign up! Simply register as a volunteer here and then check out their calendar of events here. I’m going to be signing up for the Menomonee Valley ROOTS event next Saturday (10/11) which you can check out here.