Survey: We’d Like to Know What You Think
No doubt, you’ve got a lot on your mind right now, so here’s a chance to vent a little, at least in terms of what OVEC’s work should look like going forward.

Since before the election, we’ve planned to survey you, because OVEC’s reviewing our program work and updating our strategic plan for carrying out that work.  

If you haven’t done so already, will you take about five minutes to answer our survey? Your answers to the survey questions will help shape our work over the coming years. 

There are 15 questions in the survey, and it should only take about five minutes to complete. There’s room for making comments, so you can take a little more time to tell us more, if you like.

Please take time right now to complete the survey. If you can’t fill out the survey right now, please do so by November 28.

Note: A few folks have reported problems completing the survey online. If you encounter problems, try a different browser or a different device. If you continue to have problems, e-mail info@ohvec.org and request a print version of the survey. Your response on paper may not be counted in our first round of analysis, but we will count it.

Thanks so much!  

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VISTA Position Open with OVEC; Deadline to Apply Dec. 7
OVEC is recruiting applicants now for an AmeriCorps VISTA position we have open. The deadline to apply is December 7. Applications must be made at this link. The position begins on January 30 and lasts one year. More details here.

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Let Worry Dissolve Into Thankfulness, Action
Lots of folks are still processing the 2016 election, and the processing is likely to go on and on. 

What will become of progressive issues, of our collective work on environmental and social justice issues, of work on racial injustice, women’s issues, immigrant issues…?

Judging from conversations we’re having, e-mails we’re receiving, and articles folks are sharing with one another, many are feeling the need to drastically deepen cooperation among citizen groups working on different issues, build broader coalitions that lift up empathy and love over hate, work smarter, and keep at all that with kindness, deep gratitude and thankfulness for one another.

That was certainly a theme of Facing Race: A National Conference, organized by Race Forward, and attended by 2,300 people from November 10-12, including an OVEC staff person. 

In closing the conference, Riku Sen, Race Forward’s Executive Director, said, “You and I have to build from a vision of love, of justice, of unity. We have to be builders of new coalitions, of innovations, of solutions. We have to be builders of a multiracial, mass movement for all kinds of justice—led by people of color, led by queer people, led by poor people, led by women—led by people who have a stake.”

Post-conference, writing for The Nation, in an article titled, “Trump Reminds Us the Racial Justice Movement Is Growing; Backlash only exists when we are making progress, so let’s keep going,” Ms. Sen says:   

This election cycle revealed the depth of the backlash against the progress of all our social justice movements… social change isn’t a linear process in which the trajectory goes consistently up. There are sideways moves, and there are dips.

…Backlash only exists when we are making progress—there is no need for backlash when we aren’t. We’ve made enormous progress in small and large chunks over hundreds of years, and we have not come anywhere close to the end of that progress. In truth, we are just at the beginning. In the course of human history, a country the age of the United States is a baby. It’s a giant, angry, selfish baby, to be sure, but a baby that can grow into responsible adulthood with the pushing and pulling of our village. 

As we reflect upon all this, we are filled with humble gratitude and thankfulness for you!

Just days after the election, on November 15, about 200 people came out on November 15 for Appalachia Stands with Standing Rock in Opposition to Dakota Access Pipeline! #NoDAPL Solidarity Action, held outside the Army Corps of Engineers building in Huntington, WV. The rally was part of an international day of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and all who are standing up to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.  

We are so thankful for everyone who showed up, and to everyone who helped make the art for the rally. Thanks to the event organizers, the speakers, individuals and everyone who helped spread the word about the rally. Thanks to Chad Carpenter for the photo above.

Your showing up in big numbers and linking the #NoDAPL struggles with our own really underscores the level of resolve across the country and globe.

A luta continua, vitória é certa. (The struggle continues, victory is certain.) 

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#GivingTuesday is November 29
Whether you partake in the frenzy that is Black Friday or observe Buy Nothing Day, and whether or not you are into CyberMonday, you can be part of a beautiful worldwide celebration on #GivingTuesday. Refocus on the deeper traditions of the holiday season by joining in #GivingTuesday, a global 14-hour campaign, in which people around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. Give your time by volunteering, give a donation to one or more of your favorite non-profits, or give your energy by giving a helping hand.

OVEC has a modest fundraising goal for #GivingTuesday. If we can raise $424 on #GivingTuesday, then we can fully fund the current needs for our Gardening and Healthy Eating Project, which we carry out with the Huntington Boys and Girls Club, Huntington’s Kitchen and the WV State Extension Office. 

Learn more: Your Donations to OVEC on #GivingTuesday Will Keep on Giving

If you think you won’t remember to make a donation on #GivingTuesday, you don’t have to wait. Just be sure to tag your donation with “#GivingTuesday” in the “notes” section at the bottom of this form. You can also donate via PayPal or check, but do make certain sure your donation is earmarked “#GivingTuesday.” Thank you!

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