Dear 350VT Community,

We’re writing to you in uncertain times for our planet as well as our community– the COVID-19 pandemic is serious, and the 350VT Staff Collective is addressing it with the care and caution it warrants. 

• As of March 16, 2020, we are cancelling all in-person events and gatherings, both indoor and outdoor. We will also not endorse any such gatherings. This will remain in effect until at least April 30, 2020. This will include Earth Week +50 events. Many of our events will be moved to online platforms.
• Our Burlington office is closed. You can still reach us by email, social media, and phone.

Relationships are at the heart of everything we do. Right now, the best ways we can protect one another are to stay connected (virtually) and take preventative measures to keep each other safe and to flatten the curve, which in most cases means staying home.

350VT’s focus will still be, as always, climate justice. We will persevere, working tirelessly to shut down dirty energy projects; we will continue to find power in building a more equitable and sustainable world. But in this moment, the “justice” part of our mission is that much more evident: those who are impacted the most by climate change and the oppressive systems at its roots are the same folx who are being impacted most heavily by this crisis: our elders, the immunocompromised, people without means, BIPOC, and people with marginalized identities.

In these uncertain times, please remember to be gentle with one another, ask for help when you need it, and offer mutual aid if and when you are able. We will do what we can to uplift voices and provide support— and of course, act in solidarity with all of you.

With heart,

Abby, Jaiel, Julie, Lily, and Sonia

PS: We’ve found solace and wisdom in these words by healer Dori Midnight: “it is time / to care for one another / to pray over water / to wash away fear / every time we wash our hands.” Read the full poem here.