April is My Favourite Month! A Push and a Prompt for Women and 'The Big One' This April!
Do something different! Learn something new! Support women in rebuilding their Lives! #Croydon #London #XR #HelpEmpowerWomen
Dear Human of Planet Earth,
I’m here once again to give you a push and a prompt!
April’s my birthday month and therefore my favourite! I don’t celebrate all month long. In fact, I barely celebrate at all.
For my birthday this year I’ll treat myself to some indulgent dessert and watch Netflix all day. I won’t be persuaded to go out for a meal on my birthday weekend and I certainly won’t cook. I’m gifting myself that rare thing: time to be idle and alone.
But what does April mean for everyone else? (Besides UK energy bills going up yet again?)
Maybe you can give a few minutes of your time and/or some spare change this month, and get hours of fun with XR activists and other concerned citizens in return?
Preparing For April 21st-24th, The Big One
This is a London event but if you live elsewhere, perhaps reading about it will inspire you, or trigger your interest in Extinction Rebellion events near you!
Sadly, I missed last week’s XR session on Citizen’s Assemblies.
It clashed with a Labour Party meeting - one I’m glad I attended, because a lead volunteer was telling us about the valuable work of Croydon Nightwatch in supporting the homeless and vulnerable.
But with the Rebellion Academy UK, I can catch up on what I missed! That’s reassuring.
Have you tip-toed over to the XR website yet? Let me make it easy for you: here’s a list of training and educational events running between now and the Big One: Click here to check them out and sign up!
I’ve been considering the steward training myself but I have no sense of direction. Should I be a steward anyway and build some new brain circuits? Or should I just turn up with a notebook and camera phone, and make notes for to report back to you lovely readers here on Substack, who don’t live close enough in London to be there yourselves?
What will you be doing this April? It’s only just begun!
Supporting Women: Creative Re-Imaginings and Upcycling with Domestic Abuse Survivors
Deborah Worrell is raising funds for the One’s of a Kind Workshop. She plans to use upcycling as part of her work supporting domestic abuse survivors to move on with their lives. Psychiatrists might call it occupational therapy. The rest of us might call it creative therapy.
The Workshop will be held at the Wellness Centre at Whitgift Shopping Centre in Croydon. In Deborah’s own words:
My journey through domestic abuse was a challenging one that left me struggling with dysfunction for years. The impact of the abuse was profound, causing depression, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence. However, I refused to be defined by my experiences and dedicated time to heal from the abuse. I emerged stronger and determined to help other women who have faced similar challenges to rise above their circumstances….
…I have merged my passion for supporting women with my love for fashion and sustainability, to create another project called One's Of A Kind. The concept behind the workshop is taking something old, unwanted, discarded, useless and turn it into something new, vibrant, beautiful, useful and wanted. Many of the women that have experienced Domestic Abuse feel useless, unwanted, hopeless and discarded. Our mission is to inspire these women to take action and believe in themselves. If they can take action to transform items of clothing we believe they have the ability to take action to transform their lives too and we are here to support them on that journey. - Source
You can see from her Crowdfunder site that the project is still far from its target.
Can you spare anything at all? A fiver? A tenner? A hundred pounds or dollars or euros or what have you?
The funds we raise will be used to promote and provide workshops and pay for a tutor, build a website, purchase materials, refreshments and equipment, and create a permanent safe and supportive space for women to come together and learn. Our vision is to empower women to become self-sufficient, confident independent women by providing them with the tools and skills they need for employment, become business owner and to succeed in life. - Source
Sometimes it’s one conversation, one friend, one community, one day, one intervention, that helps a person find their feet and steer a new course.
Deborah’s going to find a way to facilitate workshops for survivors of domestic violence. If you can help, even a little, please do. Here’s the link for the fundraiser: Upcycle Clothes to Empower Domestic Abuse Survivor - a Community crowdfunding project in United Kingdom by Deborah Worrell (crowdfunder.co.uk)(crowdfunder.co.uk)
And spread the word.
Edited on April 6th to make the link to the fundraiser easier to find! My apologies to earlier readers for not remembering to place the link somewhere more obvious than under the Source for the quotes!
With Love,
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Radical,
Croydon,
London,
That patch of earth known today as the United Kingdom
Lat +51.51 Long, -0.118
PS want to join Croydon XR for The Big One? Direct Message me on Twitter and I can add you to our organising group