(8/20) WKC Backyard Bash fundraiser featuring the Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms Country Band

Saturday, August 20
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performing at The WKC with a full 6-piece band, channel the spirit of legendary country duos in a contemporary blend of honky-tonk and traditional bluegrass.

This outdoor fundraising event includes a 5PM barbeque dinner and a 6PM concert (two-step dance lessons also included!)

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Community Classes, Open Mics and more at For-Do on Main Street, Delhi

Bushel’s neighbors at FOR-DO — Friends of Recovery of Otsego and Delaware Counties — host an ever-increasing number of community classes, workshops, and events including an Open Mic night several nights per month. Check out their calendar here (scroll down for Delhi’s chapter).

They also offer NARCAN training, which takes less than an hour and can save a life. And you can donate or volunteer your support here.

NO OD NY – Activists walk 350+ miles to raise funds for overdose prevention

From NO OD NY: Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) are sites where people may use illegal drugs under the supervision of trained staff in order to reduce the risk of death, disease, and incarceration. Governor Cuomo promised an activist coalition that he would greenlight OPCs in Ithaca and New York City in 2018. The pilot program remains unauthorized.

This July, Ryan Carson and a team of activists will walk more than 350 miles across New York state in order to pressure Governor Andrew Cuomo to authorize Safe Injection Facilities in New York state. Along the way, they will host town halls and other public events in order to foster dialogue about the opioid epidemic and raise awareness about the life-saving potential of Safe Injection Facilities. They will stop in cities across the state that have been hard hit by the opioid epidemic, connecting with New Yorkers whose lives have been forever changed by this crisis.

Learn more here, follow the walk here, and support the project by contributing to their GoFundMe here.

Community workshops at FOR-DO / The Turning Point in Delhi

FOR-DO’s The Turning Point is located just down the street from Bushel (next door to Bushel’s old space!), Standing for “Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego [Counties]”, FOR-DO affirms the power and possibility of recovery and accomplishes its mission by: 

  • Providing education and awareness activities in an effort to reduce stigma and discrimination related to Substance Use Disorder.
  • Advocating for legislation and services that support recovery from a Substance Use Disorder
  • Operating community recovery centers for those in recovery from Substance Use Disorders and their families, thereby improving quality of life, reducing the risk of relapse, and assisting the development of a sustained recovery through the provision of peer-based support, life skills education and other programs, social activities, informational resources and a place for mutual support meetings

Many of the workshops and programs — including writing workshops, open mic, book club, and meditation — are open to all members of the public whether or not they are participating in the center’s recovery-specific services.

They also offer NARCAN training for opioid overdose prevention, in-person or on Zoom.

See the full schedule of programming here: https://www.friendsofrecoverydo.org/calendar, where you can also see information about donating or volunteering with the center.

Book Announcement: The Petunias are Doing Amazing


The Petunias Are Doing Amazing: A Prison Journal and Plant Care Guide
Bushel hosts virtual monthly meetings of the Inside-Outside Study Group, co-founded by Bushel’s Thursday morning meditation facilitator Molly Yakusan Stevens. Inside-Outside fosters emotional and spiritual connections through prison walls. You can read about their doings here.  And definitely check out this book that has come out of the group: The Petunias Are Doing Amazing: A Prison Journal and Plant Care Guide, by Shane Pema Tenzin Marcantel. All proceeds go to the author’s reentry fund. 

Resources to support Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander lives [via The Poetry Project, NYC]

The following is a working list of organizations that work to advocate for, uplift, and protect Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander lives. Most of these resources were compiled from lists shared by: Jess X. Snow, RISE Indigenous, and Lisa Lowe. Recirculate freely and donate where possible.

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Support Texas residents

Here are some places to donate to mutual aid groups supporting Texas residents affected by storms, outages, and government neglect. These links are from this live doc, which is continually being updated.

W.I.D.E. #DinnerforaDifference Fundraiser!

WHO:  W.I.D.E is a local group of women promoting inclusivity, diversity and equity in our community through education, literature and the arts. Due to Covid, most of the funding is going to updating the local libraries and classrooms with modern literature that includes multicultural themes and minority voices.

WHAT:  #DinnerforaDifference is an Italian style dinner created by local Chef Deanna D’Angelo (ChefDeanna.com) with food donations by Catskill Regional Harvest. Suggested donation is $25 per plate and features a Farm Fresh Salad, Home Made Manicotti and Meatballs, and Garlic bread.  There is a vegetarian option without the meatballs. There will also be baked goods to buy at pick up to satisfy your sweet tooth, again, by donation.

While the suggested donation is $25/plate, any amount is happily accepted and dinners can also be sponsored. One can pay for a dinner and we will get it to a family in need.

WHEN:  Order today for pick up on Wednesday, January 20th from 4-6PM

WHERE: Two convenient pickup locations in Delhi and Bovina.

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People’s Wellness Initiative

The People’s Wellness Initiative is a network of Catskill, Hudson-Valley and New York City based herbalists offering direct wellness support to individuals and families in Black and Brown communities. Learn more and participate in their GoFundMe campaign here!

From the organizers:

Did you know that :
1 in 920 Black Americans has died of Covid-19 (108.4 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,110 Indigenous Americans has died of CV-19 (or 90.0 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,360 Latino Americans has died of CV-19 (or 73.5 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,450 Pacific Islander Americans has died (or 68.9 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 1,840 White Americans has died of CV-19 (or 54.4 deaths per 100,000)
1 in 2,200 Asian Americans has died (or 45.4 deaths per 100,000)

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Gifts from the Heart Store at Heart of the Catskills Humane Society Reopens

From Heart of the Catskills:
We’ve been busy giving the upscale thrift store a face lift and new look for our reopening! Due to the size of our wonderful little store and for a safer shopping experience, masks are required during your visit and we will be limiting the number of customers allowed in the store at one time. Please be patient if you are asked to wait to enter while another customer shops and checks out at the counter.

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Black Hills Legal Defense Fund

From the Black Hills Legal Defense Fund Website:

“On July 3rd, 2020 Indigenous People and our allies were arrested in the process of defending our sacred lands in the Black Hills. Acts of courage and civil disobedience resulted in arrests and criminal charges … As a group of Indigenous people and our allies we made a stand against Donald Trump the President of the United States who made a decision to come to Oceti Sakowin Territory without the free prior and informed consent of the Tribal Nations of the region…At a time of social and racial reckoning in this country Trump has perpetuated a White Supremacist narrative that has further divided the country. As a group of Indigenous People and our allies we are committed to the dismantling of White Supremacy and systemic racism in this country.”

Donate at https://bhlegalfund.org/

Support local Food Justice programs from The 607 CSA

Our partners at the607csa* have just launched three food-justice programs — one to subsidize CSA shares, one to support local food pantries, and one to donate to NYC programs that support healthy food for the city’s BIPOC communities. To read more and donate: https://www.the607csa.com/programs *Bushel is a pick-up location for the CSA, but upstate residents who are not CSA members may order food from the a la carte menu at any time to pick up at Bushel the following Wednesday. Visit the website for more details:  https://www.the607csa.com/

VOIX NOIRE: COVID-19 Relief for Black and Indigenous communities

Direct your support to Capitol Region-organized Voix Noire. From the website:

“If you are a Black or Indigenous person experiencing hardship during this pandemic, send an email to RonaRationsVoix@gmail.com and include a social media profile link, zip code, delivery address for food/groceries and Cash App or Venmo links. Asks are fulfilled on a first-come first-serve basis and dependent on the resources available through community donations made.

If you are able to donate to the pool for COVID-19 relief you may give to our COVID FundFood Security Pool, or direct cash to Creighton’s Cash App or Venmo. Since March 29, 2020 we have distributed over $26,000 in relief to those affected by COVID-19. Your financial donations are needed to continue the work.”

Read more here: https://voixnoire.com/

COVID Worker Care Network: mental / spiritual health volunteer network

If you or someone you know is an “essential” worker, you can get free mental / spiritual care through the NYC COVID Worker Care Network.  If you are you are a therapist, counselor, life coach, spiritual care provider, healer, organizer, or trained crisis line volunteer and are willing to donate some time to support essential workers and their families, please consider donating time. You do not need to be located in NYC to receive or give help. (more…)