FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019
Contacts: Abby Mnookin, Mother Up! Coordinator, [email protected], 802-490-6393, Brattleboro, VT.
Give The Planet Some Love! - Valentines Day with Mother Up! at the State House
On Thursday February 14th Mother Up! held its third Annual Action Day. Parents and families from across Vermont came together to speak to legislators about climate change, which they said was their top priority. They were joined by Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman for a press conference and afterwards presented to the Climate Solutions Caucus. Later in the day the group was recognized on the House floor for the work that it is doing to raise climate issues.
“Over the last three years, Mother Up! parents and children have learned that when we speak up about what is important to us, legislators listen. For us, it is critical that we act, it is all too clear that our children are counting on us,” said Mother Up! Coordinator Abby Mnookin. “We are engaging parents to take action in their own communities, as well as those most affected by the fossil fuel industry,” she said.
Géraldine Vatan, an organizer with Mother Up!, said that “Parents are powerful voices in fighting for the health and safety of our collective future. Mother Up! builds community resilience by creating connections between families, by growing a strong community of parents dedicated to climate action, and by fostering the next generation of activists.”
Monthly meet-ups in Brattleboro, Burlington, Middlebury, and Montpelier bring families together for open discussion of stories and concerns about the climate, for planning and organizing meaningful actions, and for learning opportunities about the underpinnings of the climate crisis. Meet-ups include childcare and a homemade vegetarian meal, as well as tips for self-care to prevent activist burnout. The project works to create family-friendly organizing spaces for parents and children to share stories with one another and to find ways to take climate action.
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For more info, contact Abby Mnookin, Mother Up! Coordinator, at [email protected] or 802-490-6393.
ABOUT 350VERMONT & MOTHER UP:
Mother Up! is a project of 350VT bringing together families to talk about the tough realities of climate change and to participate in the transition to a healthier and safer world. 350Vermont is a statewide organization in Vermont working to build a grassroots movement to reverse climate change. 350Vermont’s mission is to organize, educate, and support people in Vermont to work together for climate justice – resisting fossil fuels, building momentum for alternatives, and transforming our communities toward justice and resilience. Although we are an affiliated group of 350.org with a similar mission, 350VT is an independent organization, with local campaigns to bring about solutions to climate change, advocate for a carbon pollution tax, and stop any expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. www.350vermont.org