Save the date: Celebrate the Oxfam Action Corps on Friday, May 27!

Please save the date of Friday, May 27 for a get together to celebrate the Oxfam Action Corps!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP!

This week we announced that the Oxfam Action Corps program will be ending soon. If you haven’t seen it, that announcement can be found on our blog. Of course many of us are sad to hear this.

The good news, however, is that this transition creates a moment for us to celebrate nine wonderful years of the Oxfam Action Corps!  We are calling on the entire Action Corps community, including leaders, organizers, interns, and volunteers present and past, to join us.  A formal invitation will be circulated shortly, but for now please mark your calendars and start booking flights, trains, boats, carpools, or any way you can manage to get here!

A formal invitation and RSVP will be circulated soon. So you can start your planning, here's the program:

DINNER PARTY IN BOSTON:  On Friday, May 27 at 8:00pm Eastern Time (EDT) we will gather in Boston for a dinner party celebrating the Oxfam Action Corps.  Oxfam Action Corps members are invited from all 9 years, as well as Oxfam staff who have played a role in the program. Great food, great music and of course great friends!  Together we will celebrate the lasting impact of Action Corps on our lives and our work. At 9:00pm EDT we will have a brief program to hear comments from Action Corps organizers and select Oxfam staff. 

 

What: Dinner celebration for the Oxfam Action Corps!

When: Friday, May 27. Dinner at 8:00pm, program at 9:00pm

Where: Oxfam America office at 226 Causeway St., 5^th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

** NOTE: Those attending will arrange for and pay their own travel. Oxfam will provide one (1) night accommodations in a hotel or homestay (Friday night only), and a delicious ethically sourced dinner. 

LOCAL PARTIES CONNECT:  For those who can’t attend but wish to celebrate with us, we aren't leaving you out! You can organize a local potluck celebration at the same time and tune in for the brief program of speakers livestreaming from Boston, starting at 9:00pm EDT. We'll conference you in so you'll have a chance to raise a glass and toast to the whole group before we sign off.  If you are interested in hosting or joining such a gathering we’ll help you connect with others in your city.

So book your travel now! One more thing:

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES on Saturday, May 28.  True to form, our Action Corps members are independently planning activities for the following day.  More details soon, but here’s a preview:

• Fun activities: Boston in May is beautiful, and there’s much to see and do!

• Brunch meeting from 10:00am - noon.  Many of you may wonder, ‘So what is next?  How can we continue to work together as a community to create lasting solutions to hunger, poverty, and injustice at home and abroad?’  Well many Action Corps members have begun independently brainstorming about this very question. We will convene for brunch at 10:00am until noon to share options and next steps.

CLICK HERE to RSVP

So go ahead and book your travel!  When doing so, plan to stay in Boston Saturday morning if you would like to participate.  Reminder:  Oxfam is providing accommodations for Friday night only.  If you choose to stay Saturday night you will be responsible for those expenses

Please share this invitation with those volunteers and organizers for whom the Action Corps holds a special place in their hearts and history as activists. Any questions? Please contact me at this email, brawson@oxfamamerica.org or this phone: 617 283 8709.

See you soon!

Brian

Times are changing: Important announcement about the Oxfam Action Corps

From: Nancy Delaney, Associate Director, Community Engagement                                       To: Oxfam Action Corps leaders and volunteers

April 27, 2016

Dear friends,

It is with both sadness and deep gratitude that I write you this note.  Oxfam has made the difficult decision to end the Oxfam Action Corps program effective June 1, 2016.  Your contributions to Oxfam’s mission over the past nine years have been extraordinary.  Your involvement has been essential to our impact on poverty, and it will continue to be essential as we adapt to a changing world.  Thank you for your ongoing support for Oxfam’s mission to right the wrongs of poverty and hunger worldwide.  And, thank you for going the extra mile by joining the Oxfam Action Corps in your cities to organize events, recruit petition signers, take campaign actions, and lobby members of Congress. 

The difficult decision to end the Action Corps program has been made because Oxfam America, along with the rest of Oxfam’s global confederation, is evolving to become an organization that strengthens the connections between the global north and south to fight poverty. The world is changing fast and Oxfam is evolving to ensure that we achieve the greatest impact on behalf of the people we help.  

Brian, Clara, myself and others will continue to work closely with Action Corps leaders and volunteers as we wind down the program, taking special care with the staff and volunteers most closely associated with the program.  We are also planning to celebrate this special program, its architects, and of course the volunteers.  

In order to achieve our strategic plan and contribute as much as possible to the wider Oxfam confederation, Oxfam America is shedding a number of work streams, organizing along key thematic lines of work, and adapting some back office functions. A number of staff positions have been affected including that of Brian Rawson, the founder and coordinator of the Action Corps.  These changes will enable Oxfam America to be better positioned for impact, more closely integrated with all Oxfam affiliates, and allow us to work in partnership with Oxfam’s country and regional offices throughout the world.

We at Oxfam are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the Oxfam Action Corps over nine wonderful years, under the visionary leadership of Brian Rawson together with Clara Herrero and the participation of many other staff.  We learned a great deal from the program about just how much a passionate volunteer force can accomplish in local US communities.  We are proud of each of you for taking time out of your busy lives to provide leadership and make an impact.

The good news is that Oxfam America will continue to rely on volunteer support and leadership just as it has for decades.  Many volunteer opportunities and tools – from concert outreach to Oxfam America Hunger Banquets to campus engagement and more – exist independent of the Action Corps program and will continue to be a mainstay for US volunteer engagement with Oxfam.  To find ways to take action with Oxfam visit http://www.oxfamamerica.org/take-action/

People who wish to continue to coordinate as a local group are welcome to do so.  While this engagement will no longer be under the Action Corps program, we encourage you to join the thousands of independent Oxfam volunteers across the country.  For questions about ongoing activities in your city, please connect with your local Action Corps contacts.

Lastly, we are hard at work planning how to celebrate this extraordinary program that you have all helped to build and to thank you for your commitment.  We will be in touch again soon with the details. 

To contact Oxfam staff, including me, Brian, and Clara, with any questions or comments, please email us at actioncorps@oxfamamerica.org

Gratefully,

Nancy Delaney

Associate Director, Community Engagement