WISE is a grassroots movement led by women in poverty. We work to address
the causal link between policy and poverty, educate people about the effects
of poverty on the health and wellbeing of citizens and their communities,
and support one another in introducing and implementing inexpensive and
innovative solutions at the local level.  

The following is an update on WISE activities and a request for assistance:

1. In mid-June, WISE gratefully received funding from Status of Women Canada
in support of our Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Scarlet Letter
Campaign. The project officially kicked off July 1st and will run for 18
months. We will be hosting free half-day workshops on Vancouver Island and
the BC southern coastal mainland to encourage and help empower women in
poverty to take action on the attitudes and policies that affect their
well-being. More information on the workshops is available from the link below.

That the current campaign is restricted to a small geographic area is due to
monetary constraints. We'd love to run Scarlet Letter workshops in
communities across Canada and would be pleased to hold a workshop in
conjunction with another event if your organization would like to help make
that happen. As an example, one or two representatives of WISE may be in
Toronto for a conference next April. If the possiblity of WISE facilitating
a Scarlet Letter workshop in the Toronto area during that month interests
you, please contact me, Ocean, at cocean(at)wise-bc(dot)org.

2. In anticipation of the Scarlet Letter Campaign, WISE has introduced new
participation options. In brief, we're accepting applications for new
Members (free), Associate Members ($25) and WISE Friends (a donation
program). Since these options were added to our website in mid-July, we've
received membership applications from across the country. We'd like to
receive very many more, since one of the objectives of our campaign is to
spread the WISE movement and form new WISE groups in communities from coast
to coast to coast. 

3. Please extend WISE your support. You can help our efforts in any of four
ways: 

	a) If you are a woman in poverty (see definition on website), sign up to
become a Member of WISE. If you are acquainted with women in poverty, tell
them of this opportunity to be directly involved in WISE. It is from this
membership group that newcomers to the Gaia circle - our core advisory and
organizing team - are drawn.
	b) Sign up to become an Associate Member - it costs just $25 a year and is
open to anyone, male or female, of any income.
	c) Meet the challenge of one Windsor, Ontario academic - become a WISE
Friend (donate $50 or more annually). 
	d) Buy a copy of WISE's acclaimed book "Policies of Exclusion, Poverty &
Health: Stories from the Front" ($25, plus S & H).

Each is important. Without a vibrant membership of women in poverty, we've
no clear moral authority to continue what we're doing. Without Associate
Members helping to dispel it, there's the potential to feel increasingly
alone in the struggle and think in terms of 'us vs them'. WISE receives no
core funding - has, in fact, only ever received two project grants.
Dependent on money we can generate ourselves, only sales of our book have
kept us going. We hope to generate more income with the new participation
options. 

Anything you can do to help, including spreading the word about our Scarlet
Letter Campaign, would be greatly appreciated. Links to information on the
Scarlet Letter Campaign, our new participation options, the latest WISE
Notes (newsletter), and our book are directly accessible from the home page
of our website.


Ocean
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chrystal Ocean, Coordinator
Wellbeing through Inclusion Socially & Economically
http://www.wise-bc.org/
250-748-8093

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