Dear DWCAC Friends:

There are sixteen immigrant families living in Alachua County whose primary breadwinner has now been deported and the wife and children are living in dire need.  Several of the wives are pregnant, are American citizens or have small children and cannot afford daycare. The food, diapers and formula which we have been contributing will be used for these families.  Some of the moms, who could be deported,  are now seeking notary help with legal papers to place their children with friends in case of deportation.  There are a total of 184 families in five who have lost a parent and Rural Women’s Health Initiative has now been providing some help for these families.  With rice, beans, formula and diapers each week, it cost $100 to feed a family of 4.  This is truly a national tragedy, as many of these deported parents were seeking citizenship and had no criminal records. 

Our next meeting is October 20 at 11:30 AM at Congregation B’nai Israel, 3830 NW 16th Boulevard.  Diane Dimperio will be speaking on “Fighting for Democracy with Strategic Non-Cooperation Strategies”.  Marti McGuire and her trusty sidekick, Dotty Faibisy, will be providing lunch for $10 and would really appreciate having one reserved for you by contacting Marti no later than 5PM on Saturday, November 15th at martimcguire@gmail.com or by texting her at  352-871-6205.  We will once again be accepting donations to the Rural Women’s Health Initiative, Spare Change for the Bread of the Mighty Foodbank or easy open containers of food for the Catholic Charities Backpack program. 

The next “No Kings Event” will occur this coming Saturday, October 18th at Cora Robeson Park from 10 AM to 12 PM.  If you park near or at Depot Park, there is a big bus that will be circling the area to take you over to Cora Robeson Park.  If you are able to walk about a half mile, there is a group of DWCAC women who will meet at Depot Park and  will be holding our banner, and  want all DWCAC members to join them for the walk to the event!  We are a sponsor of this event and want our presence to be known. 

Also, Sarah Jones, VEC lead, needs help with the DWCAC tabling at the event, so please see her on Monday to volunteer if you are able.
Sarah Jones has some postcards printed to let voters know about the upcoming GRU referendum vote on November 4th.  Many Gainesville citizens are still unaware of this important election and we want to encourage people to vote.  If you can take 25-50 postcards, write a brief note, address them  and mail them out quickly, please let me know (Doris at gvilledoris@hotmail.com or text me at 352-214-0693 and I can bring them to you with stamps.  Thanks so much for your help with this project!!  You can also pick them up at our October 20th meeting, but they would need to be mailed within 2-3 days. 

I still have a few NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet tickets to sell.  They are $100 each.  Sales have been slow for this event as it falls only a month after the Alachua County Democratic Party Gala which was $130.  The keynote speaker is Senator LaVon Gracy Davis, who is an excellent speaker, and her subject is “The Fierce Urgency of Now”.  The event is at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Fellowship Center, located at 2505 NE 8th Avenue on Sunday, October 26 at 6 PM.  I hope you will consider attending.

Phyllis Erney recently published information on her Facebook page about the open carry policy that Publix and Fresh Market now have.  As you may know, Florida now has an Open Carry Law, but a business can opt out by clearly displaying a sign that states that weapons are  not allowed in their business.  Publix and Fresh Market have  not chosen to “opt out”, which could potentially pose a danger to customers.  Please lodge your complaint about this policy to Publix by calling 800-242-1227 and/or to Fresh Market by contacting 336-272-1338. 

The DWC of Santa Fe Springs has put together a nice newsletter of events coming up in their area, and I think you might enjoy reading it.  Click here for the newsletter.
 
Please remember to visit our website: www.dwcac.net as it gives great information, and remember to follow our club on Facebook. 

We will continue our Bring A Buddy Campaign this month.