This year I am joining the race to raise funds for the Center for New Americans in Northampton. This year we have new students from Ukraine and other countries around the world.

From our director:

Why it matters – Every ESOL program in our region has a waitlist for classes.   Every community-based program offering low cost asylum application assistance has a waitlist.  The media reports that worldwide, migration is at historic levels.  We see the impacts of that in our community. We have a very hard time turning prospective students and clients away, especially when we know there are few alternatives, and that the services we offer — English classes, immigration legal services — are the entry point to all other resources. We have challenged ourselves to create additional classes, hire additional staff, purchase additional devices.  All of this stretches our program to capacity, and it all requires funding. That is why this annual Poem-a-thon matters so much.

To pledge, please go to cnam.org

To make the challenge harder for myself, I am working on a series of linked narrative poems. Whew!

1. I won’t be posting them on my blog as usual. That makes later publication difficult.

2. They will all be first or second drafts, not final.

3. If you’d like to read them, I can send you some or all via email or snail mail in early December. Just let me know.

4. A public reading by the poets will be held the beginning of December.

Blessings, Alice