RReNEW Collective Fundraiser at Wise Co Fall Fing! Oct 12, 2013

Come one and all to Wise County’s Annual Fall Fling! RReNEW Collective will have a table by the other non-profits (look for Upper Tennessee River Roundtable & The Clinch Coalition). 

RReNEW IS HAVING A FUNDRAISER!!!! 😀 

All proceeds go to funding the RReNEW Collective and our efforts! We support in our volunteer house interns giving their time to local organizations usually with social and environmental justice. We support in the house people in the region, around the country, and the world. With your help we can continue to support amazing interns who impact our local community and economy.  

We will be holding a silent auction at our booth for local items donated for a RReNEW Fundraiser! If you can’t make it or want to place a bid early, please email Andrea Rocchio (andrearocchio1@gmail.com) for more info. In the email please include:

Name

Address

Phone

Item name/number

Bid amount

You will be assigned a bidding number 

Winning bidders will be notified by the end of the event Sat. Oct 12. 

The starting bid will be indicated on the picture. If you have any questions, please email Andrea Rocchio or respond with a comment. 

Thanks and have a wonderful fall day! 😀 

-The RReNEW Collective

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#1) Blue & Multi-Colored Quilt Handmade- Donated by Alice Rogers and Family

Starting Bid $200

Valued at $750

 

 

#2) Autumn Quilt Handmade: Donated by Alice Rogers and Family

Starting Bid $100

Valued at $300

#3) The North Face Trucker Hat

Starting Bid $10

Valued at $25

#4) Handmade Wooden Bowl: Donated by artist in Knoxville, TN

Starting Bid $15

Valued at $60

#5) Purple Prayer Shawl: Donated by Alice Rogers and Family

Starting Bid $20

Valued at $75

#6) Multi-Color Prayer Shawl: Donated by Alice Rogers and Family 

Starting Bid $20

Valued at $72

#7) Iridescent Clay Vase: Donated by Fox Pottery (Jason Fox) 

Starting Bid $15

Valued at $30

#8) Pottery Bowl: Donated by Duncan Blount 

Starting Bid $7

Valued at $20

#9) Gift Card & Coffee for Zazzy’Z Coffee Shop (Abingdon): Gift Card Donated by Zazzy’s 

Starting Bid $5

Valued at $17

#10) Handmade Paper and Earrings: Donated by Carol Ingram Moore

Starting Bid $5

Valued at $20

#11) Bee Stuff Saves: Donated by Adam Malle of Bee Stuff 

Starting Bid $5

Valued at $20

#12) Thistle Ridge Soap Basket (3 soaps, two bath salts): Donated by Thistle Ridge Soap

Starting Bid $10

Valued at $30

#13) Set of Five Kitchen Dish Cloths (handmade): Donated by Alice Rogers and Family 

Starting Bid $10

Valued at $25 (total) 

#14) Hool-la-hoop: Donated by Friendly City Hoops (not pictured) Blue hoop with fun design

Starting Bid $8

Valued at $20

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RRENEW Work Party, July 20th-22nd! Y’all Come!

Hey friends and family of RRENEW!

As many of you know, our little collective abode on Henry St has been a home, strategizing center, office and a persistent project in and of itself. A few years ago, the amazing “Carpenter Dan” spent months at the house and performed the first major improvements on the space making it welcoming to many an intern and visitor. We have come a long way but the Henry St house could still use a bit of love. We continue to have a number of little projects and emergencies arise that we desperately need help with. This is where you come in!

We invite YOU to the…

RRENEW WORK WEEKEND!

WHEN Friday, July 20th – Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

WHERE The Henry St House (RRENEW Collective’s home)

                373 Henry St

                Appalachia, VA 24216

WHAT Big work projects in and around the house. We aren’t exactly sure what our budget will allow for just yet but you may be doing work on any/all of the following:

• installing a french drain around house
• raised beds building
• painting
• weatherization
• etc!

We would love to have you for any length of time you can join us. This is just a preliminary email so please mark the date on your calendar, spread this email around to your friendly networks, and let us now if you think you can join us for a spell.

Love.

The RRENEW Collective

Solidarity with Red Onion State Prison Hunger Strikers

We who work for environmental justice in Appalachia stand in solidarity with the hunger-striking prisoners at Red Onion State Prison, their families, friends and allies and all those who are held captive by the classist, racist, profit-driven prison system. Though the focus of our day-to-day activism is in confronting the many crimes of the coal industry, we recognize the striking prisoners at Red Onion and their supporters as our brothers and sisters in a broad and diverse struggle for justice. We recognize their liberation as being bound up in our own and we will hold solidarity with these brave individuals until justice is served.

We stand in solidarity with the striking prisoners at Red Onion because their cause is just. Their demands are simple: adequate nutrition, sanitation and medical care, the ability to seek recourse for grievances, an end to torture and brutality at the hands of corrupt prison officials and the presence of third party observers to evaluate the status of inmates’ human rights.

We refuse to accept the dehumanising of those whom the government has deemed to be criminals. We recognize that the vast majority of the United States prison population are serving sentences for non-violent offenses, that black men are seven times more likely to be imprisoned than white men [1], and that the costly and cumbersome process of navigating the judicial system prevents working class people from ever experiencing true due process. Meanwhile white collar criminals such as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and former Massey Coal chief executive Don Blankenship wallow in their riches, never being held accountable for the pain and suffering that their greed has caused for so many. To put it simply, we challenge the legitimacy of the law enforcement and judicial processes that have pronounced these men to be undeserving of basic human rights and dignity.

Mountain Justice Spring Break Virginia 2012

Hello!

We are excited to announce that for the second year in a row the RReNEW Collective and SAMS will be hosting Virginia Mountain Justice Spring Break from March 3-11, 2012 in the town of Appalachia, VA. During this weeklong event we will hear  frontline stories from the death cycle of coal, we will meet and support the folks working to build a better future for Appalachia, we will build our own skills as organizers and change agents, and along the way we’ll have fun, go hiking and put a little elbow grease into local service projects!

Registration fees are on a sliding scale from $50-$500, with a contribution of at least $150 greatly encouraged. We provide meals and lodging for the week. Please contact us if you want to come, but need to defer the registration fee.

Visit mjsb2012.wordpress.com to register for the event, and read more about the kinds of workshops and activities offered throughout the week, as well as information on logistics and registration fees. If you would like to know more about Mountain Justice, check out the website, and while you’re there make sure to also check out RReNEW and the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, both additional sponsors for the event.

We hope we see you in Appalachia this Spring!

–MJSB Va Planning Collective

Register now for Virginia Mountain Justice Spring Break

Register today. Click here to register for Virginia Mountain Justice Spring Break, March 3-11, 2012! See the earlier post for more information.

Virginia Mountain Spring Break

Every year, the Mountain Justice Spring Break Planning Collective (MJSB PC) brings hundreds of young people face to face with the impacts of mountaintop removal and coal industry abuse.  As our reach has spread, many regional Spring Breaks, like our second annual Va spring break, have formed.  Through education, community service, speakers, hiking, music, poetry, direct action and more, we learn from and stand with Appalachian communities in the struggle to maintain their land and culture. Past MJSBs have been planned with or supported by Coal River Mountain Watch (WV), Ohio Valley Environmental Coaliton (WV), Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (VA), Meigs Citizens Action Now! (OH), United Mountain Defense (TN), Southern Energy Network, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace, and the Energy Justice Network.

Following in the tradition of Mountain Justice Spring Break, the week long camp will bring you face to face with the impacts of mountaintop removal and coal industry abuse — and give you the skills and knowledge you need to fight back!

Please come and share your spring break with us in the breathtaking Southwest Virginia coalfields, March 3-11, cultivating the skills and visions needed to abolish Mountaintop Removal and replace it with vibrant, healthy, self-reliant communities. Come and bring your friends. We are gonna learn a lot, get involved with putting an end to mountaintop removal, and have a whole bunch of fun!

What? Virginia Mountain Spring Break
Who? You and a carload of your best friends
When? March 3-11
Where? Southwest Virginia
Why? Because it’s time to tell King Coal that his reign is coming to an end!

We are currently looking for campus coordinators who can organize a crew of people from your school or community. You are strongly encouraged to contact us for more information and resources to help you bring your school’s spirit to our community!

Questions? Ready to register? Wondering what you can do to help?
Contact us by sending an email to:

Marley: Green.marley@gmail.com
Susanna: sronaldshann@gmail.com

Or by calling us at:
703-409-6993

Look for updates at: https://rrenewcollective.wordpress.com/news/

Thanks, and we’ll see you in the Mountains!

Host RReNEW MTR Workshop on your Campus

This fall the RReNEW Collective is going barn storming, and we want to storm a barn near you!

Now growing into its second year, RReNEW is ready to travel to your community and bring the stories of Southern Appalachia to you. We offer interactive presentations on Mountaintop Removal and Environmental Justice. We offer workshops on community and campus organizing to help you and your group build the skills you need to make change in your community. This Fall we bring the fight for Justice being waged in Appalachia to your town, build your skills, and connect you to the broader movement for a better tomorrow, today!

Are you interested in bringing RReNEW to do a presentation near you? From October 24th to November 4th we will be traveling up the East Coast, and we would love to visit your school, church, community or neighborhood! Contact us today by email at rrenew.collective@gmail.com, or by phone at 276 565 2073.

Presenation – Interactive, popular education based presentations on Mountaintop Removal and Surface Coal Mining, Environmental Justice in the Coalfields, Watershed Health or Social and Environmental History of Appalachia

Campus and Community Organizing Skills – We can offer a Community Organizing Day Long Retreat, or a number of 1-3 hour long workshops on basic organizing skills like:
Working with the Media, Campaign and Strategic Planning, Event Planning, Coalition Building, Non-Violent Civil Disobedience/Direct Action, Running an Effective Meeting, Meeting with Decision Makers, Anti-Oppression and Collective Liberations, others of your choosing, or a combination of the above. We are also able and willing to help you troubleshoot or plan your own campaigns in strategy sessions your group.

RReNEW is looking for new INTERNS!

The RReNEW Collective is currently accepting applications for short term and long term interns at our campaign house in the mountain town of Appalachia Virginia. The RReNEW Collective is a group of young, mostly Virginian organizers working hard locally in the fight to end Mountain Top Removal and to promote a sustainable, diverse, and just economy in Appalachia(the town and region). We spend our time working on various projects, from canvassing with resident members of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards to keep coal dust from blanketing the community, to attending community meetings on building a sustainable and just economy, supporting the organizing of campus environmental groups. Interns also find ways to bring their unique skills into local projects like web design, grant writing, and knowledge of labor history, geography, biology, etc. You can check out the current and planned campaign work here.

Community organizing is all about building strong relationships, so the RReNEW Collective is most excited about taking on interns who can make long term commitments (6 months and longer) but we can put people to work on specific projects over summer or winter break as well. We realize its difficult for most people to pick up their lives and move, so we’re excited to work with folks in the region to set up regular days to come out and lend a hand. We aren’t experts, and we aren’t holding out for any either. We’re glad to teach you what you need to know to be an effective part of the collective, we’re all participating in a learning process and expect to leave RReNEW as more effective organizers ready to fight for justice in other communities.

In looking for interns, we want to prioritize people from coal counties, Appalachia, and Appalachian states. People who grew up in the region have a more intimate understanding of the culture and history which is always important when doing community organizing. We also know that Appalachians frequently get the short end of the stick, so we’re hoping to not replicate that in our search for new interns. Similarly, we know that certain groups of people in our world tend to get preferential treatment across the board, and so we will take that into account in our selection process and prioritize people who frequently don’t have exciting opportunities like this made available to them.

Intern positions are, for now, unpaid. We provide free housing and food, and can reimburse interns for many expenses such as travel and supplies. We are always in the process of finding intern stipends because we know many RReNEW interns have had difficulty in paying bills and debts while they dedicated their time to the movement. We, like so many other small groups, are funded almost entirely through grassroots fundraising so if you can’t intern you should consider throwing us a fundraiser in your community so that we can better support our interns.

Some specific internships that are open are:
Student Organizing Intern – working with local highschool students and regional college students to bring Appalachian youth into the movement against MTR.  Interns in this program should be able to stay for a minimum of an entire semester, but interns who can spend an entire school year are strongly encouraged to apply.
Dust Campaign Intern – working closely with SAMS members in their fight to control the coal dust blanketing their communities.  This work involves supporting communities to develop community based water and dust monitoring systems, pressuring regulatory agencies, and much more.
Sustainable Economic Development Intern – working with local working people and small business owners to promote a sustainable economy that is good for workers and communities in Appalachia.
Ison Rock Ridge Intern – working on the, thus far successful, campaign to protect Ison Rock Ridge from being destroyed.  This campaign is in a crucial stage right now.
Fundraising Intern – Grassroots organizing takes money, help fund the work of SAMS and RReNEW and learn important skills for sustaining environmental justice organizing.
House Sustainability Intern – we want to model the world we want to see in our actions today, so this work would be making the house as sustainable as possible.

We’re always open to finding ways to put your skills to use in our campaigns, so apply even if you don’t see how you could immediately fit in.

If you are interested in an internship, or have any questions, please contact us at rrenew.collective@gmail.com. You can also fill out an application.

Support Grassroots Sustainable Economic Development in the Coalfields!

I’m writing to ask you to take a step today that can help break King Coal’s economic stranglehold on coalfield communities in Southwest Virginia. By a few simple, digital steps, and three votes, you can help jump start grass roots efforts at sustainable economic development in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Heard enough? Great. Go to Brighter Planet and vote for the Wise Energy and Sustainable Economic Development and Diversification Project. Need to know more? Read on.

WE SEDD, Green Jobs Now!
For years, communities in Central Appalachia, in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, have been standing up to defend their quality of life, the quality of their environment and the prospects for a brighter and better tomorrow for their children and grandchildren. For over a century, the coal industry has maintained a mono-economic stranglehold on many places in Appalachia, a stranglehold that has held the coalfields captive to the destructive whims of King Coal.

Thanks Aurora Lights!

Aurora Lights is happy to announce that the second grant from the proceeds of Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home has been given to support the RRENEW Collective in Appalachia, Va.

The RRENEW Collective was created in the Summer of 2009 in the spirit of facilitating the placement of volunteers with organizations working for a sustainable Appalachia in the coal dependent region of Southwest Virginia. The Collective operates a volunteer house in Appalachia, Va, where volunteers can live and work together with local organizations for a more sustainable, healthy and just Appalachia–the town and the region.

The collective house/residence will also serve as a space to demonstrate and learn sustainable living practices that can be employed throughout the coal field regions of Appalachia. The grant will be used to purchase materials to finish the last bedroom in the collective and allow space for 6 long term, full time volunteers.

Thank you to everyone who has helped to sell the benefit CD. Since its release, Still Moving Mountains has been on CNN, CMT, FolkWax, Elmore Magazine and more. Let’s keep sellin’ ’em so more grants can go out.