Author: POWER

Poverty Scholars Visit Olympia!
Willie Baptist & John Wessel-McCoy
Friday, March 23rd
Olympia Center, Room 103
222 Columbia St. NW

On Friday, March 23rd, two Poverty Scholars will visit Olympia from
the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Willie Baptist is the Poverty Initiative’s Scholar-in-Residence, a
formerly homeless father with over 40 years of experience organizing
among the poor. John Wessel-McCoy is a project organizer with the
Poverty Initiative, which is dedicated to raising up generations of
religious and community leaders committed to building a movement to
end poverty, led by the poor (http://www.povertyinitiative.org/).

Join us from 1:00pm – 2:00pm for a special potluck lunch meeting with Willie Baptist and John Wessel-McCoy where we will discuss our poor people’s movement in Olympia. This event will be specifically for POWER members because we want to hear from you what you think is important in this community!

From 2:30pm – 4:00pm, Willie and John will be giving a talk on the
book, “Pedagogy of the Poor” (http://pedagogyofthepoor.org/).

Join us at the Olympia Center, located at 222 Columbia St. NW, Room
103. This event is free and open to the public, but donations are
welcome to help cover the cost of airfare for Willie and John.

Childcare provided by the Olympia Childcare Collective at the POWER
Office, 309 5th Ave SE.
We hope to see you there!

For more information on POWER and this event, contact
info@mamapower.org or 360-352-9716.

The sun will come out…… to support POWER!

Saturday, February 18th 2pm

Capitol Theatre * 206 5th Ave. SE Olympia

$10 suggested donation, pay what you can but keep in mind that it is a fundraiser!

The film will screen at 2:30 and will be a sing-a-long, join us at 2:00 for a costume parade, to learn more about the work that POWER does and to have your picture taken as Orphan Annie!

Proceeds benefit Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights, which advocates for a strong social safety net while working toward a world where children and caregiving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated. If you would like to volunteer, contact Sfirah at 360-352-9716 or by email at sfirah@mamapower.org.

Know Your Rights with Child Protective Services

Monday, February 6th
5:30pm – 6pm Potluck * 6pm – 8pm Presentation
Darby’s Cafe * 211 5th Ave. SE, downtown Olympia
Childcare provided by the Olympia Childcare Collective

Child Protective Services was created to protect children from abuse, but nearly 90% of dependency cases these days are established due to “neglect”, which is vaguely defined. These policies allow for children to often be placed in foster care because their parents are poor or because a report is made by someone who does not understand the family’s culture.

Sharon Amamilo, an attorney who works with parents who are involved in CPS dependency cases will present information for parents who want to know what their rights are, what to do if CPS comes to your door or your child’s school, and what resources are available for parents and children to prevent a dependency case from being opened in the first place. 

For more information, contact Sfirah at 360-352-9716 or at info@mamapower.org.

Rights and Resources for Pregnancy & Childbirth

 Monday, March 5^th

5:30p – 6p Potluck * 6p – 8p Presentation

Darby’s Café * 211 5^th Ave. SE, Downtown Olympia

From the moment you find out you are pregnant and throughout your pregnancy and birth, you have choices no matter who you are. Come and share what you know and learn more about the resources that are available in this community so that everyone can welcome their children to the world in the way they want to.

For more information, contact Sfirah at 360-352-9716 or info@mamapower.org

Childcare provided by the Olympia Childcare Collective, Wheelchair accessible

Join us for January’s POWER Outage: 

Alternatives for Living in a New Economy

The declining economy, the rate of foreclosures, and changing family demographics have led us to think differently about the way we live as a household unit. This POWER Outage will be focused on how we can think outside of the single-family dwelling unit and create ways for us to live together in order to survive together. Members of La Casa de Hueso, Olympia’s Family Collective, will bring information on diverse collaborative households from across the world. The house members have direct experience in collaborative living, travel and touring experience, and advanced research in the field of collaborative living. The event will be in a world café setting, meaning active participation from the guest, realizing their dream of living in a new economy and steps to make it happen.

Darby’s Cafe, 211 5th Ave SE, Olympia, WA

Potluck from 5:30p – 6p * Discussion from 6p – 8p

Wheelchair accessible and childcare provided by The Olympia Childcare Collective.

Join us for ArtPOWER!

POWER will be hosting ArtPOWER, our annual arts and crafts sale, Saturday, December 3rd from noon ’til six!

Come support local artists! 50% of proceeds go to artists; the other goes to POWER in our work toward a world where children and caregiving are truly valued and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated.

Musical performances by Vince Brown and Quinn Russell!

We’re still looking for arts and crafts donations! Please contact us if interested at 360-352-9716 or poweroutletplugin@gmail.com

“Upcycled” Gifts

Recycled gift ideas for the holiday season!

Join us for this month’s POWER Outage while we make gifts using “upcycled” materials! We will have materials available to demonstrate creative and cost effective gift ideas for the holiday season.

Monday, December 5th at Darby’s Cafe, 211 5th Ave in Downtown Olympia. Potluck from 5:30pm – 6:00pm * Discussion from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.

Wheelchair accessible and childcare provided by The Olympia Childcare Collective.

Reproductive Justice is a concept linking reproductive health and social justice. The movement emerged out of the fierce and courageous work of women of color who were left out of the white/feminist-dominated reproductive rights movement. The movement persists, holding a vision that all people will one day have the social, political, and economic power to make healthy and autonomous decisions about their gender, bodies, sexuality, families, and communities. To do this, we must transform power inequities by organizing at intersections of identity and by building leadership from within the communities most affected by reproductive oppression. 

Contact Sfirah at poweroutletplugin@gmail.com or 360-742-9995 for more information on the current book and meeting times. All meetings are held at the POWER Office downtown, at 309 5th Ave. SE Olympia. Let us know if you have any accessibility needs or if childcare is a barrier to your participation.

Join Seattle POWER, Tuesday, October 18th from 6pm – 8pm, for a panel presentation and discussion about preparing for the winter in the face of this year’s budget cuts and a discussion of resistance strategies. The Outage will be held at the Community of Christ Church, 4820 South Morgan Street, Seattle, WA

The panel will include: 

Selene Barnes, longtime welfare rights activist
Mary Dell Williams, welfare rights and prison abolition activist
Christal Wood, radical lawyer and welfare rights activist
Rebecca Echeverria, queer, youth and welfare rights activist

Agenda:
6pm – 6:30pm: Dinner!
6:30pm – 6:40pm: Introductions
6:45pm – 7:30pm: Panel – What worked last year? What steps should we take this year?
7:30pm – 8pm: What do folks want to do this year and what are you prepared to work on?

Free dinner (bring a dish to share if you would like), wheelchair accessible, and, as always, childcare will be provided. Bring your friends!

Check out the Facebook event page or call our office at 206-455-9983 for more information!

 

Every first Monday of the month, POWER holds a POWER Outage. POWER Outages are an opportunity to get together to share a meal and share ideas.

For more information, check out the Facebook page, contact us at welfarerights@riseup.net, or call 360-352-9716.