Spring Newsletter 2022

March 24, 2022

View the original formatting of this newsletter here!

Welcome to the Spring BWB Newsletter! Things are kicking into gear and we’re seeing events and projects popping up all over. At BWB we’re excited about this resurgence of energy, and  remembering to be kind to ourselves with this return to a faster pace.

We have updates about the return of the BWB Micro Granting programs, a new job opening at BWB-HW, Burners supporting Ukrainians, the newest BWB Working Group out of Bogotá, Colombia, and more.Stay connected and let us know what you’re up to in the world. Join the BWB Volunteers Worldwide Group for regular updates, and consider donating to BWB. We are community-led, and community supported. Thank you for being you.

Happening Now: Burners Supporting Ukraine

The global Burning Man community has a history working in solidarity with displaced people (for more context, check out Standing Rock and refugee communities around the globe), and we’re seeing it again in Ukraine. Burners are using their skill sets, like logistical support, community organizing, and (yes) spreadsheeting to help Ukrainians. You can look at projects and calls for support on the Burners Responding to Ukraine community page.

If you have a project you’d like to include in that list, email us at bwb@burningman.org.
The Burning Man Journal talked to some of the project leaders for a recent post. We have summarized a few of the projects below:

Ambulances for Ukraine
Organizers from the T-car Mutant Vehicle and Magic Forest crew teamed-up with a Dutch nonprofit to upgrade and transport ambulances to Kyiv, Ukraine. They donated their entire 2022 mutant vehicle budget to the project. The Dutch nonprofit “Zeilen van Vrijheid (Sails of Freedom), is a grassroots humanitarian organization founded following the invasion of Ukraine.To Date:Sails of Freedom delivered 26 ambulances and one fire truck to Ukraine in March and early April. They are shifting their focus to pick-up trucks for relief efforts.Burners have funded at least three of these vehicles and completed a $60,000 fundraiser.80 metric tons of primarily medical humanitarian aid material has been sent over with the retrofitted ambulances.50+ volunteers from countries around the globe have donated time, skills and money to this self-organizing volunteer group.If you want to participate, explore these links:
Newest GoFundMe for Pickup Trucks https://gofund.me/4412f2ea
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zeilenvanvrijheid
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeilenvanvrijheid/

Ukrainian Refugee Support Update:

Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) continues to support disaster relief missions, this time quickly adapting to the crisis in Ukraine. Ten Burners traveled to Romania for a pilot deployment, each carrying 100 lbs of donations and enough wherewithal to volunteer at multiple locations along the border with Ukraine.

GAP crew’s work included supporting refugees, mostly women and children, in the shelters by volunteering to assist with food service, dentifying routes for future donations, and making sure the kids get some chocolates.

A second cohort of GAP volunteers is traveling to Poland to help out near the Ukraine border. GAP is gratefully accepting donations to help with shipping and travel, and accepting inquiries for volunteers to join in the effort. 

BWB Backpacks for Ukraine

Burners Stephanie Pecoste and Misa Rygrova have taken inspiration from BWB Detroit’s 15-year strong Backpacks for the Homeless initiative, and developed a toolkit to create supply kits for people experiencing crisis. This resource was developed to support people gathering supplies for Ukranian refugees, but can be applied to any community in need.The toolkit is open-source, emergent, and available. Find the Backpacks for Ukraine Toolkit here. And let us know if you create a backpack project! 

Upcoming: Kicking off the Civic Ignition Grants at Multi-Regional Summit (Northern California/Nevada)

Do you have an innovative community or civic impact concept or project in the greater Northern California and Nevada (including but not limited to the Reno, Tahoe, Sacramento) regions?

BWB teamed-up with the Multi-Regional Summit in Northern California/Nevada to provide a Civic Ignition Grant for up to $1,500!

We are very excited to offer these grants after a COVID-forced pause, and to kick off the 2022 Burners Without Borders granting programs!

What projects do YOU want to see in the world?
**Deadline for applications: May 9th**

P.S. Follow our communication channels for more information about upcoming Civic Ignition workshops this year. The Microgrant Program is scheduled to return in the fall, so stay tuned!

BWB Regional Updates

BWB Bogotá
A very caliente hello from Colombia! We’re so excited to put South America on the BWB map, and to present to the community our first initiative: ‘IKIGAI EXplorers”!

We believe finding a life talent that inspires you everyday is fundamental to happiness. As Burners, we want to orient this search taking into account what the world and our local community needs. We will bring our IKIGAI magic and team up with Solidaridad por Colombia, a foundation known for its groundwork with children for the past 45 years. We will kick things off on April 30th, with a cohort of 30 teens from a rough Bogota neighborhood (Patio Bonito), and introduce them to creative career paths with the potential to open their minds and help them out of poverty. 

The five-month project has two phases:

• Phase 1: Five classes of two hours each, given by two volunteers (never the same teachers from a class to another) and coordinated and backed up by the Project Lead. The idea is to introduce the kids to one original career path per class, based on the talents, industry connections and passions of our volunteers.
   
• Phase 2: We will keep the three most popular classes, and develop three simultaneous programs of five sessions each. The kids will pick their favorite program. During the five-week course the volunteers will engage the students to develop a project related to the career theme in question. At the end, the three teams will compete, by presenting their work to a jury of reputed local experts. The jury will help shine a light on the initiative by taking on mentorship roles, help identify talent, build bridges, get media attention, and generate donations for the foundation.

We are already 37 volunteers strong and we plan to expand like arepa dough, so if you are based in Colombia, reach out to us!
Email:  cdc75000@gmail.com
IG: @burnerswithoutbordersbogota

BWB Second Life
‘Walk About’ at Home & Garden Expo

BWB-SL had an info booth at the Home and Garden Expo in SL, and initiated an hour-long event during the Expo on March 18th called ‘Walk About’.

Many Relay For Life of SL teams have their booths at H&G Expo, sharing stories of why they Relay For Life and more! The BWBSL ‘walkabout’ event invited all to come together to visit each team’s booth, while listening to mixed genre live singer MayFly McConnell. They all hopped on Mia’s cupcake-car and toured each booth. Around 13 people participated and together raised ~$100.00USD for Relay for Life.

Relay for Life in Second Life

Burners Without Borders in SL (BWBSL) Relays For Life in SL- February 15th until June 12th, 2022. They are a registered RFL of SL team, which initiates and joins in many multi RFL team events, & will build an art installation on the Relay Track for Relay Weekend and RUN/WALK/FLY the multi sim Relay track TOGETHER on Relay Weekend in June.
We Relay for hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and the hope that one day cancer will be eliminated. We all are a global team in this mission. Together we can help others and make a real & positive difference in the world.
Join here.

Darkness Into Light

BWBSL members will walk 5KM in Secondlife at 4:30am together on May 7th, 2022. Everyone is welcome. This event is about support for people with mental illnesses and suicide prevention.
BWBSL will be partnering with BWBV Darkness Into Light Vancouver 2022 supporting the Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC.
Please help us reach our goal. 
Join our Facebook Page for more details and photos.

BWB North Texas

Burners Without Borders North Texas is continuing to stay motivated and active during the pandemic. We encourage participation by hosting monthly virtual meetings and participatory events.

So far in 2022, we hosted a blood drive, rebuilt bikes for the community, and built wheelchair ramps for homes in need. We continue to seek out ideas for creative participation to gather people together and give back to our community. If you’re in North Texas, we’d love for you to join us. 

BWB Detroit announcing New Path Villages!

BWB Detroit has spent the past 15+ years working on local mutual aid strategies to support the Detroit community. We are so excited for founder Doxie’s announcement of the evolution of this community work as New Path Villages. 

This Detroit-based organization will be creating self-managed communities of cost-effective tiny homes for people in need of housing. It’s our belief that housing is a basic human right that everyone deserves. New Path Villages seeks to bridge the often insurmountable gap between the street and conventional housing with a variety of inclusive, cost-effective housing options.

NEW PATH VILLAGES was established as a nonprofit 501(c)3 in 2021 by native Detroiters. Prior to that time some of its programs started as Burners Without Borders (BWB) Detroit in 2007, and those programs still continue to this day.

GET INVOLVED/OPPORTUNITIES

Are you BWB’s next Program Coordinator?

We are excited to share that Burning Man Project is adding a new member to the BWB team! We are accepting applications for an entry level Program Coordinator position through May 15th.

Learn about and apply for the BWB Program Coordinator role here. 

[NEVADA] Gerlach Workforce Development Classes – REGISTER NOW

Join us for the May 2022 session of the Gerlach Workforce Development Center.

What: Gerlach Workforce Development Center Spring Session
When: May 7th – 15th, 2022
Where: Gerlach, NV

Deadline to register for courses and make lodging reservations is April 30th!

We are offering six courses – all taught in Gerlach by skilled professionals:

• Herbs for Desert Wellness: May 7th – May 8th
• Intro to Cooperatives: Care and Feeding of Community Enterprises: May 8th – May 12th
• Solar Power 101: May 8th – 9th OR May 10th – 11th
• BLAST: Sustainable Event Design Patterns for Theme Camps: May 9th – 11th
• Inclusive Growth: Lectures On Economic Development in Gerlach: May 12th – May 15th
• Welding Theory and Practical Lab: May 13th – 15th

Full course descriptions are available in the Course Catalogue. All adults are welcome to sign up for one or more courses. For those who live out of town and are interested in attending, a limited number of reservations will be available for lodging.
Ticketing for our Spring Session is available – Register Now!

BWB is on Telegram

Burners Without Borders is always seeking the best communication strategies to stay in touch with our global community.

In 2022 BWB will experiment with this announcement-only messaging group. You are invited to iterate with us. Follow the link to explore. We will share updates, participation opportunities, and emergent responses: https://t.me/+Qs6HhPPJS6owODVh

What We’re Listening To:

What Does Burning Man have to do with Peace? In recent months, we’ve been asking ourselves this question often. Hear the answer BWB co-founder Tom Price gave in an interview we did with our collaborators The United States Institute of Peace. Listen here.

Another answer shared by former Meta and Regional Contact Misa Rygrova, is highlighted in the backpack project above. Listen here. 

Check out the entire podcast series of Culturally Attuned.

Consider Making a Donation to BWB

BWB is funded through BRC ticket sales and donations. Following two years without ticket sales, we are more reliant than ever on the generosity of those who have the means to share.

BWB exists because of YOU. Your generous support and participation over the years enables this creative community to accomplish so much around the world. BWB is known for helping people solve real problems by daring to experiment and iterate in challenging environments.The unique gifts this community brings to the international stage are transforming what people think is possible. Thank you for all the contributions you bring, money is just one way to support BWB.

To continue doing the work, we do need your help. To donate to the continued success of BWB, click here. Any amount that you can give will help us each our goals, and lets us know our work has impact.

Thank you!

– The BWB Team