June Newsletter
Happy June to you!
June is a big month! International Pride Month, Indigenous History Month here in Canada, and Juneteenth yesterday. It’s great to see all these communities celebrated.
First, we’d like to welcome our new members and subscribers! Thanks for being part of our growing community.
The Wild Embrace team has been busy and we’re excited to share what we’ve been up to!
Hannah has been volunteering at Farmers on 57th, so far it’s been a great opportunity to learn more about gardening and building a community around growing and distributing fresh food.
Our First Fundraising Campaign
We are making a colouring book to celebrate neurodivergence!
We’re collecting short stories (100-300 words) that highlight the lesser spoken-of joys of being Autistic, having ADHD, and other neurodiverse identities.
The stories will be illustrated and included in a book which will be available online or print. All proceeds will help us find a home for Wild Embrace to run services.
Some example story prompts include:
"I love being autistic because..."
"I feel seen by my friends when they..."
"My ADHD makes it so I can..."
Tell a story of a time you met an adult who you recognized as being like you.
Tell a story of a time you got to learn more about your special interest.
We need your help to make these books representative of the community, so please share with your friends and families, and click below to learn more!
The deadline for submissions is July 12th.
Searching for Board Members
We’re looking to grow our Board by 5 Members!
Joining the board is a 1 year volunteer commitment which can be renewed for as many terms as you want. We are asking that folks be willing and able to commit 3-8ish hours a month. We are looking to add 1 treasurer and 4 directors at large. Our governing documents are available on our website if you’d like to learn more.
Board member duties include:
Attending monthly meetings, giving input on policies and decisions.
Joining a committee to help with fundraising, grant writing, policy writing, marketing… whatever interests you.
Spreading the word about Wild Embrace Farm!
As our organization values equity, sustainability and inclusion, our priority is to add folks who are Black, Indigenous or Non-Black People of Colour, LGBTQIA2S+ folks, Persons with Disabilities, and folks from other equity-seeking groups.
Beyond that, we would love to welcome folks with backgrounds in relevant focus areas. Examples include education, child and youth care, support work, community services, therapy/occupational therapy/other therapeutic practices, human rights work, fundraising, gardening/urban-farming, accounting... There are so many helpful skills that could be considered relevant!
If you’re passionate about the cause and would like to join the Board, please let us know by replying to this email and we can give you more information.
Quote of the month
It’s Pride Month, and Juneteenth just passed, so who better to speak to us but Audre Lorde, a Black lesbian who spoke often of the intersectional challenges she faced.
Without community, there is no liberation… but community must not mean shedding of our differences, not the pathetic pretence that these differences do not exist.
To continue on the above quote, she also said:
“Difference is that raw and powerful connection from which our personal power is forged... We have been taught to either ignore our differences or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change. Without community, there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression... Survival is learning to take our difference and make them strengths.”
May you celebrate your differences, and be surrounded by those who see them as strengths.
- Hannah