A Benefit for We Are Seneca Lake Nov. 8, 2015

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Nov 032015
 

A Benefit for We Are Seneca Lake

Sunday, Nov 8, 2015 (3:00-7:00 pm)

The Rongovian Embassy

One W. Main St, Trumansburg, NY 14886

  • Get updates on We Are Seneca Lake
  • Learn how to use the You Are Here map to connect with the larger movement against fracking infrastructure buildout in the Northeast
  • Hear great music by Colleen Kattau & Dos XX, winners of Grassroots Festival’s band contest of 2013. Put on your dancin’ shoes!
  • Leave with great Raffle prizes or Silent Auction items (great for holiday gifts!)
  • $20 at the door gets you a raffle ticket. This is a suggested donation; no one will be turned away.
  • All proceeds go to We Are Seneca Lake’s legal defense fund

3:00-4:30 pm: “The Big Picture: Seneca Lake Gas Storage & Fracking Infrastructure”

Find out what other groups are doing across NY and PA to fight buildout of new pipelines, compressor stations, expanded storage and increased transportation of fossil fuels.

Don’t miss this lively, interactive presentation including a slideshow and skills-building workshop. Maps can be a powerful tool for communicating the “big picture” of gas buildout. Sane Energy Project and Clean Air Council are teaming up to offer Train the Trainers so everyone can use the “You Are Here” map as a communication tool to connect our communities. That way, we can build our great movement from the bottom up for genuine system change to a community-owned renewable economy.

 Presenters:

4:30-4:45 pm: Updates on We Are Seneca Lake

4:45-6:55 pm: Music by Colleen Kattau & Dos XX

  • Colleen Kattau combines music and activism. Pete Seeger said of her, “She’s a great singer and organizer at the same time.” Colleen’s bio: colleenkattau.com
  • Dos XX offer Gringa grooves from the heart. The band is a Latin-fem-folk fusion of trilingual originals and songs in Spanish, French, and English. The fusion combines Zell’s blues bent with Walters’s and Kattau’s passion for world music rhythms to create music that leaps out of the ordinary and gets audiences moving. Winners of the Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance band contest in 2013, they’ve been featured performers at the PanAfrican Village State Fair Stage, and perform throughout the Northeast.

6:55-7:00 pm: Closing remarks

 

Why do we need to fundraise?

October 23, 2015 marked the first anniversary of We Are Seneca Lake!  Thanks to you, we’ve accomplished a lot. We have:

  • Expanded our movement to include thousands of supporters
  • Maintained a presence at Crestwood’s gates, regardless of the weather, for nearly a year
  • 400 citizen arrests, resulting in over 100 dismissals “in the interests of justice,” so far
  • Attracted consistent regional and national press
  • Targeted our elected officials through banners at the gates, social media, online petitioning and thousands of letters

Now we’re asking for your help to keep our campaign going. We Are Seneca Lake consists of activists, supporters, steering members, and pro-bono attorneys. All are volunteers, with one exception: Sujata Gibson’s paralegal, Guillaume Phillippe, processes legal documents and correspondence for hundreds of Defenders. Since January, we’ve paid $3,000 a month to support Guillaume’s work for WASL. In addition, 284 cases are still pending, so we expect this expense to continue for at least six more months — even longer as we generate new cases. All Defenders who put their bodies on the line to protect Seneca Lake incur a potential financial risk of up to $375, should they be found guilty. Accordingly, we set aside a portion of our funds to help those who may not be able to pay the full cost of their fines. Other expenses we have include materials for blockade banners; WASL T-shirts and buttons; brochure printing; photocopying form letters to elected officials; and supporting brave Defenders who stand for hours at Crestwood’s gates with nourishment and hand and foot warmers.

Here’s how you can help us continue our historic campaign to keep Seneca Lake free of gas storage:

  • Click the “Donate” button (top right on home page of wearesenecalake.com) or send a check to: We Are Seneca Lake, PO Box 914, Trumansburg, NY 14886
  • Ask your friends to donate, then “join us” (new tab!) on our website
  • Attend our fundraiser with family and friends on Sunday, November 8th
  • Forward our Announcement to your circles; share the event on social media
  • Can you donate an item to our Silent Auction? Ask your friends to do the same! Contact Margie Rodgers <margierodgers@gmail.com>.
  • Volunteer to help promote our fundraiser; put up posters in your town; set up, clean up, etc. Contact Jan Quarles <janq99@gmail.com>.

We Are Seneca Lake is a unique campaign. Whereas the typical direct action is short-lived, we have kept our voices raised for a whole year. It’s a citizens’ movement, and it belongs to the community, so it can only succeed if everyone participates. All of your contributions — large and small — will keep us going. And together, we will WIN.  Thank you, in advance, for your support.

 

In friendship and solidarity,

Jan Quarles and Margie Rodgers, for the steering committee of We Are Seneca Lake

 

We Are Seneca Lake is a registered non-profit, non-charitable organization in NY State. Due to the nature of its civil disobedience campaign, donations are not tax-deductible.

 Posted by at 2:40 am