Thank you for the info, Sister Carol! From John Lipscomb: This film took us 4 years to make but it's finally done! It was received well at the Woodstock Film Festival here in the Hudson Valley a few weeks ago and the next screenings are coming up soon in New York City...
Demand Zero Waste in 2026 Westchester County budget
Dear environmental allies, As Westchester County government prepares its budget for 2026, it still has not completed its ongoing waste reduction study, which we hope will recommend Zero Waste solutions instead of continuing to burn trash. This is disappointing,...
Government Funding Update
From Mark Schlosberg: Dear colleague, Thank you for signing on to the letter we circulated in August and September urging senators to take strong stand against partisan rescissions. I’m writing to provide an update. Senate Democrats are under increasing pressure...
Tsunami of E-Waste Exports to Asia
Following the Smoke: Investigation of Ten U.S. Companies Points to a Hidden Tsunami of e-Waste Exports to Asia Basel Action Network (BAN) releases startling exposé “Brokers of Shame” SEATTLE, WA, October 22, 2025 - Today, the Basel Action Network (BAN), released a...
Correctional Association of NY releases findings
**For Immediate Release** October 9, 2025 Contact: [email protected] Correctional Association of New York Releases Monitoring Findings at Two State Prisons Reports on Gouverneur and Cayuga Correctional Facilities Find Significant...
Congo Week October 19th
Peace NadaI trust that all is well with you. I am reaching out to let you know that Friends of the Congo has Congo Week and Congo in Harlem coming up from October 19 - 25. We would love to WESPAC participation. It could be encouraging your network...
A Short Course on Palestine with Rashid Khalidi
https://peoplesforum.org/events/guest-course-a-short-course-on-palestine-with-rashid-khalidi/
Jump Start Cooperative Development Hudson Valley
Dear neighbors, this is special edition newsletter is an invitation for you to check out JUMPSTART—a hands-on co-op development lab for local Hudson Valley co-op dreamers. If you or other co-conspirators you know are curious about joining this Fall’s cohort, check out...
WESPAC as fiscal sponsor of Advocacy Video Project
Hello everyone, The below gifted video via NY Times is a must see here. WESPAC has proudly served as the fiscal sponsor of this initiative since its inception. You can learn more about it here It is a project of Transforming Lives...
From Amnesty International
7-Day Challenge to Help Stop Starvation in Gaza Palestinians in Gaza are facing extreme starvation while Israel's militarized aid system, backed by the U.S., has turned distribution sites into death traps. Hundreds have been killed trying to access aid. Amnesty...
WESPAC on Facebook
Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters,In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley. You can donate at wespac.org/donate
Dear WESPAC Members, Friends, and Supporters, @followers In these extraordinarily challenging times, strong and independent community organizations are more important than ever. We invite you to renew your WESPAC membership—or to become a member for the first time—and help sustain our shared work for justice, peace, and meaningful social change.As we celebrate WESPAC’s 52nd anniversary, we remain inspired by our rich history and deeply grateful for the community that has sustained us. WESPAC continues to serve a unique and essential role as a hub for progressive organizing in Westchester County and throughout the Lower Hudson Valley.With the support of our members, WESPAC:• Brings people together through community meetings, solidarity gatherings, educational programs, and public events;• Works with local high school and college students, providing meaningful internships and volunteer opportunities;• Organizes the annual Westchester Social Forum, where organizations and activists from Westchester, Rockland, and neighboring communities share skills, strengthen relationships, and build collective strategies;• Supports organizing for climate justice, affordable housing, immigrant defense, food sovereignty, racial and economic justice, public banking, and worker-owned cooperatives;• Advocates for investment in communities rather than cages, and for a clean and safe transition away from fossil fuels;• Calls upon our federal representatives to invest our tax dollars in schools, affordable housing, healthcare, and meaningful job creation—not war and endless killing overseas;• Provides affordable office and meeting space to like-minded organizations working for a more just, equitable, and peaceful world; and• Honors outstanding local justice advocates at our annual awards ceremony, a cherished highlight of Westchester’s social justice calendar.Annual membership dues are $100 per person, and $50 for students and people living on fixed incomes. Sustaining contributions above that amount are warmly welcomed. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds, and volunteer hours may be arranged in lieu of payment.Please renew or join today by mailing a check to:WESPAC Foundation77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2WWhite Plains, NY 10607You may also contribute securely online at wespac.org/donate. To arrange volunteer hours or discuss another way of supporting WESPAC, please call us at 914-449-6514.We hope to see you at our upcoming events, including our September 10 author talk with Brian Barber about Gaza and our September 16 Community Partners gathering featuring Common Cause New York on election integrity. Details are available at wespac.org.Thank you for standing with WESPAC. Your membership is not simply a contribution—it is an affirmation that principled, locally rooted organizing matters. Together, we can continue building the relationships and movements needed to create a more just and peaceful world.With gratitude and determination,Steven Rabinowitz, Board Chair and Nada Khader, Executive DirectorContributions to WESPAC Foundation are tax-deductible.
Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence.This year, that vision takes physical form. They are renovating two barns—one at Rock Steady which will winterize the barns, expand the cold storage three fold for aggregation, build much larger wash-pack space with new equipment, a retail store and new CSA pick-up, Rock Steady staff space and workplace kitchen, short term housing for all the trainees and facilitators and so much more. The barn at Wildseed will be home to a gorgeous event space, and an added value commercial kitchen. Sweet Freedom Farm will be stewarding grain processes equipment and grain processing space that has been a significant need of small to mid-sized grain producers in the area.This shared processing infrastructure will expand the capacity of over a dozen BIPOC- and LGBTQ+-led farms to wash, store, and process food year-round. It's an investment in a more resilient future where farmers across the region can enter a food system designed for their success.The Elias Foundation is kindly subsidizing the cost of the dinner so that more of the proceeds can support the farmers' fund! @followers
Friday, October 9th at 6pm at the Barn at Vassar College! RSVPs required at [email protected]. Contributions for the farm collective can be made ahead of time. We can also arrange car pools.The WEBATUCK VALLEY FARM COLLABORATIVE (WVFC), established in 2023, is a regional food sovereignty and farm cooperative development initiative rooted in a larger movement for cultural reclamation, economic & racial justice, and community healing. Rock Steady Farm, Sweet Freedom Farm, and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village leveraged a ten-year partnership to transform local farming, economic opportunity, and food access. They aim to remove barriers to entry for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ beginning farmers in ways that support the prosperity of our communities and the future of our planet.The current food system is built on exploited labor and land, leaving many hungry and malnourished despite excess and waste. WVFC works with communities within, against, and beyond this broken system to build resilient local economies. Their organizations collaboratively support New York State farmers through land access, training and apprenticeships, shared infrastructure, equipment and product aggregation, advocacy, community events, and employment. They advance land-based liberation by training young land stewards, supporting beginning farmers with land access, growing nutrient-dense and culturally relevant food and medicine, and distributing their harvests to families impacted by food scarcity or state violence.