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Doña
Ana
Communities United
October 2019
Newsletter
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Happy October to our supporters and friends! We wish you good health in the coming winter.
In this newsletter we celebrate the selection of our new timebank name, share important staffing updates, invite you to join our Giving Tuesday campaign, and share about our recent caminata along Elks Drive. Of course you'll also hear about the guests who appeared on
Just Community
this month.
Many thanks for all you do to make our work--and our world--wonderful! It is a joy building community with all of you.
In good health,
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Upcoming DACU Events
Timebank Orientation
November 6, 5:30 - 7 PM (DACU office)
For those who wish to join the timebank.
If you are already a member,
refer a friend who joins and you will receive three hour credits!
Story Circle
November 13, 5:30 - 7:30 PM (Desert Sunrise Studio: 537 North Alameda)
Create stories from your lived experiences through writing and share with others.
Timebank Get-together: Potluck
November 15, 5:30 - 7:30 PM (DACU office)
All timebank members are invited. Bring a dish to share!
This is Mairead's final event with us. Help us send her off!
Pen Pal Orientation
November 17, 1 - 3 PM (DACU office)
Interested in connecting incarcerated people to the timebank and earning time credits?
Be part of our inaugural group of pen pals!
November 21, 11 AM - 1 PM (DACU office)
Everyone is welcome at these every-other-month meetings. Learn about the breadth of work DACU does in the county and connect with new people!
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Mesilla Valley Timebank
We are excited to report that 77 timebank members gained experience with ranked choice voting by participating in the recent election to select our new timebank name. After three rounds, the name "Mesilla Valley Timebank" came out on top. Effective immediately, it replaces our old name, "Doña Ana hOurTime."
We are so excited to have a new name and we want to thank all of you for brainstorming name ideas and for voting. Now that you're a pro at ranked choice voting, don't forget to exercise your right by voting in the municipal elections on November 5th!
Read on to see how the different rounds of voting were automatically calculated to determine our new name. Ranked choice voting works!
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Farewell, Enrique!
Many of you know by now that Enrique Solis, a great team member and friend, has ended his AmeriCorps VISTA service year a few months early. He remains a member of the timebank and looks forward to continuing to connect with all of you.
Enrique has been an amazing asset to DACU, working with our social equity mappers in the Nevada Neighborhood and Doña Ana and at the Community of Hope, as well as educating about alternatives to pesticides. We will miss Enrique's infectious laugh and easygoing nature and wish him all the best in his future endeavors!
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Enrique showed up on his birthday to grill at DACU's May celebration!
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Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is a worldwide initiative encouraging donations to the social sector with the aim of building a more just and generous world. DACU participated for the first time last year, with great success!
We raised $2,290 towards hiring a new AmeriCorps VISTA position to coordinate our social equity mapping work. Thank you to all who supported us last year, and continue to support us.
This year, Giving Tuesday falls on December 3rd. We hope you'll consider supporting DACU to fund the $4,500 VISTA position that coordinates the timebank. We invite you to donate to our cause (online or in person) November 26th through December 3rd. As an incentive to give, Kari has pledged to shave her head if we beat our 2018 campaign total!
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Caminata in Doña Ana
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Residents show where they think an extension to the future trail should go.
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On a warm Saturday in October, we gathered at
Doña Ana Park to scout out the prospective construction of the Elks Drive multi-use trail all the way to Columbia Elementary School. Joined by neighbors, bike enthusiasts, and historians, we walked the mile-long route and provided feedback to county planner, Sam Paz.
On our walk, we noticed speeding cars with no protection for pedestrians, places where flooding had occurred, and very little shade. We also found lots of native vegetation and gourds growing, friendly neighbors exercising, and great views.
The county has secured funding for the Elks Drive trail, and plans to begin construction in 2021. If you live near the proposed trail and would like to provide input, there's still time. Please
contact us directly to do so!
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Kari continues to host
Just Community
on KTAL-LP every Thursday morning from 8 to 9
AM.
The show focuses on social equity and features voices not often heard in our community. Locally, tune your dial to 101.5 FM, or listen online from anywhere in the world.
You can dial 575-526-5825 to visit with her and her guest on the air.
These guests and topics were featured in September:
- Miriam Medellin Myers (rediscovering Latinx heritage)
- Arif Khan (American by choice)
- Christopher Robin Consaul (two shows: tent city and autism, custody and trauma)
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| Miriam was ecstatic to be invited! |
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Arif relaxes after the show. |
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| Christopher Robin bravely shared on air. |
You can listen to archived shows here. If you know someone who would be an interesting guest, please
contact
Kari.
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Directions to Our Office
151 South Walnut Street, Unit B13
DACU is based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. You'll find us at the corner of Walnut and Griggs in the Walnut Business Park.
Please call before you come by as we may be out and about in the community!
We are just a few blocks away from several bus routes: Route 6 (stops 16 and 17), Route 7 (stop 20), and
Route 8 (stop 5).
For more information, visit
the
Roadrunner Transit webpage.
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Our Mission:
Doña Ana Communities United (DACU) creates welcoming spaces for all people, especially those whose voices and stories go unheard. We build genuine relationships, carry out uplifting projects, and engage with local government.
Our Initiatives:
(1) Social equity mapping: Undervalued community members explore their neighborhoods and work with local decision makers to implement policies and projects that advance health equity. Current efforts focus on the Community of Hope, Gallagher Park, and the Nevada Neighborhood in Las Cruces; Elks Drive in Doña Ana; and Lisa Drive in Chaparral.
(2) Mesilla Valley Timebank: Members build social cohesion and practice an equitable form of alternative economics by exchanging
services.
(3)
Just Community radio show: Residents with lived experience of social inequities share their insights into how we can work together to advance equity in our county.
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