Future Economy Collective is hosting a community potluck, two bookish events, and our monthly mutual aid distro. Interested in hosting your own public or private event at our space? Reply to this email or read on for more info.
Future Economy Collective is hosting a variety of events at our new space, located on the second floor of 700 N. Main St, Suite E, Blacksburg VA, above Mill Mountain Coffee and across the hallway from the Brow Bar. The space facilitates our mutual aid work, community-building, and overall capacity-building.
You can expect future installments of this newsletter once or twice a month, and find more info at our website: FutureEconomyCollective.org
March Events
Characterization through Setting: A Generative Fiction Writing Workshop. Sunday March 1st 12:30pm-2:30pm at the FEC Space. Sliding scale suggested donation of $5-$25 with 100% of funds going to support our mutual aid efforts. No one turned away for lack of funds. There will be plenty of time to write, and everyone will walk away with a few original excerpts. Please bring something to write with.
Community Potluck Sunday March 8th 1pm-3pm at the FEC space. Join us for a community potluck before our weekly planning meeting. Everyone is welcome, dish optional.
Mutual Aid Distribution: Sunday, March 15th from 2pm-3pm behind the North Main Laundromat at 1003 N. Main St, Blacksburg. Take what you need, leave what you can. Food, toiletries, and household supplies are available at no cost and with no questions asked. Interested volunteers should dress warmly. Future distros will be held every third Sunday of the month from 2pm-3pm.
Book Swap: Wednesday March 18th, 6:30pm-8pm at the FEC Space. Are your bookshelves too empty or too full? Whatever your problem is, the book swap will help solve it. Bring any books that could use a new home, and take home some new books to add to your collection. We will also be collecting paperback donations for VT Prison Project, which provides free books to folks incarcerated in Appalachian prisons.
Weekly Planning Meetings: every Sunday from 3pm-5pm at the FEC Space, and online through Google meet, found at this link. Anyone interested in being involved with the planning and shaping of FEC is welcome to join.
Volunteer Opportunities
Weekly volunteer hours: Every Tuesday from 4pm-6pm at the FEC space. Join us on Tuesday afternoons for casual volunteer work: screenprinting merch, cleaning the space, sorting books, and other activities. Come for as little or as long as you would like, and skip rush hour by sticking around at 6pm for a light dinner.
Mutual Aid Distro: Sunday, March 15th. Sort materials from 1pm-1:45pm at the FEC space, then distribute supplies from 2pm-3pm behind the North Main Laundromat at 1003 N. Main St, Blacksburg. Anyone can take what they need and leave what they can. Volunteers should dress warmly.
Volunteer training and social: Saturday March 28th 1pm-4pm at the FEC space and online through Google Meet found at this link. Orientation is a chance to learn about our values, norms, and agreements; how a consensus-based space operates; and specific ways to get involved. New volunteers are invited to a training from 1pm-2:30pm, and all volunteers old and new are invited to a social hour with snacks until 4pm.
Cooking Event Sunday March 29th 2pm-5pm. Help stock our community fridge with freshly prepared meals at Millstone Kitchen, 4237 Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg. Space is limited; please text Jocelyn H. at 929-326-7994 to secure your spot. After this month’s session fills up, interested volunteers will be put on a waitlist for the following month.
Weekly Planning Meetings: every Sunday from 3pm-5pm at the FEC Space, 700 N. Main St, Suite E and online through Google meet, found at this link. Anyone interested in being involved with the planning and shaping of FEC is welcome to join.
Select Future Economy Collective through the Kroger Community Rewards Program, and Kroger will give us a donation every time you shop! Simply sign in to your account then go to kroger.com/account/communityrewards. If you are using the app, go to "Rewards" then "Community Rewards." Search for "NH184" or "Future Economy Collective" and enroll.
Support our efforts
You can donate goods for Mutual Aid distros to the collection box at Eats Natural Foods, located at 708 N Main Street. Needed items include cleaning products, toiletries including menstrual products, and non-perishable foods such as peanut butter, canned proteins, pasta, and baby food.
All monetary donations support our day-to-day operations or are invested directly back into the community through our free fridge and mutual aid distros. Everyone at FEC is a volunteer, so no donations go towards salaries. Please consider making one-time or recurring donations through Zeffy (preferred), Patreon, or Paypal.
The Community Fridge and Pantry behind Ukirk Presbyterian Campus Ministry at 305 Washington Street SW in Blacksburg are always open for donations. Make sure to include a full ingredients list on any home-made items, and write the date you added them to the fridge.
Borrow or share tools for free!
Do you have projects and tasks that require tools you don't have, and want to borrow tools for free from your neighbors in the New River Valley? We have launched a virtual tool library in memory of Abram Lee. Anyone in the community can list, share, and borrow tools at no cost. Check out the tool library by clicking here! People who would like to list items can send a photo, item name, and item description to our email [email protected] or [email protected].
Future Economy Collective is a grassroots, community-based, all-volunteer-run, certified 501c3 based in southwest Virginia’s New River Valley.
Our website is futureeconomycollective.org or check out our Linktree
You can reach us by replying to this email or reaching out to [email protected] or [email protected]
The Future Economy Collective Space is located at 700 N. Main St, Suite E, in Blacksburg, VA. It is on the second floor above Mill Mountain Coffee, across from the brow bar.
