It's not hard to unite a community... In fact anyone can make big change with determination and conviction... 

below are 3 such Dreams I made real... sprung to life only from my imagination... for possibilities.

Take a Look:

https://uptondaily.com/2017/04/16/upton-community-cleanup-attracts-over-100-volunteers-thank-you-lara-wahl/

Upton Community Cleanup Attracts Over 100 Volunteers – Thank you Lara Wahl!

April 16, 2017 by Jennifer Doyle 1 Comment

Upton roads look better thanks to the efforts of Upton resident Lara Wahl and over 100 volunteers!!

In early March, Lara posted in the Mendon Upton Moms and Dads Too Facebook Group that she noticed a lot of trash on the side of the roads in Upton. She asked members if they would be interested in doing a non-formal clean up day in Upton – “It might be fun” she wrote.

Lara took that idea and ran. She coordinated with Bonnie Combs of the Blackstone Heritage Corridor and Upton officials.

The Blackstone Heritage Corridor offered  vests, pickers, and gloves and the Upton DPW handed out trash bags and maps of trails and streams.

The group of over 100 volunteers met at the Upton VFW and enjoyed coffee and donuts before they hit the streets. Lara said some of the many “rock stars” who volunteered their time Saturday, April 15 were members of the Upton Men’s Club,  Upton DPW, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies, Friends of the Upton State Forest, United Parish Church of Upton, Upton Selectman Gary Daugherty, Upton Police Department, and a group from the Elect Stephan Matallien for Upton Board of Selectman campaign.

The Blackstone Heritage Corridor thanked Jeff LeClaire of Fin and Feather Sports for loaning a kayak for the event.

Lara appreciated of all who came out and made this event a huge success, “Thank you everyone for help beautifying our town,” she said.

But really it is all of us who should be thanking Lara for organizing ‘Earth Day Cleanup in Upton’.

THANK YOU LARA WAHL!

Photos are courtesy of Lara Wahl and the Blackstone Heritage Corridor

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170415/over-100-help-clean-trash-from-upton-streets

By Zachary Comeau 
Daily News Staff 

Posted Apr 15, 2017 at 2:38 PMUpdated Apr 15, 2017 at 2:38 PM

UPTON - All it took to gather dozens of families and over 100 residents to help clean up the town was a Facebook post.

Upton resident Lara Wahl said once the snow finally melted, she noticed the trash alongside roads in town. She posted about it in a community Facebook group and it all snowballed from there.

She was told to contact Bonnie Combs from the Blackstone Heritage Corridor, which for two years has been organizing townwide cleanup events throughout the Blackstone Valley.

Over 40 families signed up to clean different areas of town and were equipped with trash pickers, gloves and bright-colored shirts. In droves, families took to the streets to clean up the litter of bottles, snack bags, cans and other trash.

Wahl deflected credit for organizing the effort beyond her Facebook post.

“I’m just a mom,” she said.

Several local organizations, town departments and officials offered their services as well, including the Men’s Club, Boys and Girls Scouts, Friends of the Upton State Forest and even some selectmen.

Selectman Gary Daugherty and his family, armed with trash bags, also took to the streets to clean. He said he was happy to see so many people sacrifice their Saturday morning for the betterment of their town.

“It really shows that a small community really cares,” he said. “That’s what makes this community great.”

The Upton Department of Public Works was even on hand to help out and lug away the large bags full of trash, but were glad to see residents helping them clean.

“This is a tremendous effort,” said Director Vinny Roy.

After the cleanup effort concluded, Combs said the DPW collected “well over” 250 bags of rubbish around town.

“What a wonderful outpouring of support from the community,” she said. “Several people want to do it again very soon. That’s a very good thing to see.”

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Mothers establish Shrewsbury Diversity Coalition

to set example of peace, acceptance

We did this. Just me and 3 other moms built on this idea we had 3 days after the election results.

SHREWSBURY — Nov 2016 Motivated by a love for their children and the desire to build local community, a group of mothers in the Shrewsbury area has decided to effect change by being an example of peace and acceptance.

As pioneers of the Shrewsbury Diversity Coalition, they plan to gather regularly to share their cultures and experiences, express their concerns about those being persecuted for beliefs or lifestyles, and to teach their children that everyone in their community is worthy of love.

According to one of the group’s founders, Sadia Kazimi, the first meeting in early December was a huge success and the group is looking to share its message with other parents and caregivers looking to participate in spreading their mission.

The idea for the group was born when the women, who all hail from Shrewsbury and surrounding towns, began chatting online about various issues related to culture and acceptance, and found themselves craving a face-to-face meeting that would be welcoming to the younger generation.

“We wanted to meet up, and see where this group could go and what kinds of things we could accomplish,” she explained. The coalition held its first meeting at the Shrewsbury Public Library, and enjoyed different food dishes from the cultures of those attending and had some time for arts and crafts while the adults chatted.

Highlights of the meeting included a storytime for the kids that spread the message of acceptance through the use of several children’s books, and also a “selfie station” that encouraged kids to try on a traditional hajib garment.

Ms. Kazimi said that part of the catalyst for creating the group was the post-election emotions she and many other Muslim parents were experiencing.

“There seemed to be a lot of fear and uncertainty, and there also seemed to be a perception — maybe to neighbors who would see me walking out my front door — that I was not someone they could approach and say hello to,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of breaking down some of those stereotypes.”

As she began chatting with other parents, she saw that they felt strongly about sharing not only their heritage, but also the lifestyles and other differences in people that were perhaps barriers to understanding that could easily be broken down.

“At a time when there are so many hate crimes and so many kids feel unsafe,” said group member Lara Wahl, “we wanted to take a minute to just appreciate and celebrate each other.”

From parents supporting the LGBTQ community, to those whose kids struggle with physical or emotional disabilities, the mission for the group has quickly taken on a more widespread message of inclusion and acceptance.

“We are looking for people to share how they are unique and different, but also how we are all alike,” Ms. Kazimi added. “Kids understand that message.”

The next meeting for the Shrewsbury Diversity Coalition will take place in January, and details will be available through the group’s Facebook page.

http://shrewsbury.wickedlocal.com/news/20161213/mothers-group-hosts-diversity-event-at-shrewsbury-public-library?rssfeed=true

Mothers’ group hosts diversity event at Shrewsbury Public Library

SHREWSBURY -- - The results of the presidential election have left many uneasy, including children. And while Shrewsbury is a relatively diverse community, more than 60 percent of the students are white, 26 percent are Asian, 7 percent are Hispanic and only 2 percent are black.

And the issue of race does not begin to address the issue of religion.

“I’m part of the Shrewsbury moms group on Facebook, and we were talking about how to make the children feel safe,” Lara Wahl, one of the organizers of the event, said. “So we decided plan an event to celebrate diversity.”

The Celebrating Diversity event took place at the Shrewsbury Public Library on Saturday, December 10, and featured international foods, books on diversity from the library, crafts and children’s activities.

Wahl said that there were a number of diversity events happening in the area on Saturday, but the Shrewsbury event was different because it was child-focused.

“The children interact with each other all the time,” she said. “This is an opportunity for the parents to get together as well.

The event, which is the first for the fledging group, drew people from town and as far away as Sutton and Uxbridge. Muslims, Christians and Jews were all represented.

Sadia Kazima, who moved to the U.S. from Pakistan at age 16, said that she wanted to be inclusive.

“We like that our community is diverse,” Kazima said. “I just want to reach out and introduce myself.

“I’ve lived half my life here, and my husband came here when he was 1. Our kids were born here. We are an American family, a Muslim American family.”

Karen Fine said that she became interested in the group after the election.

“I was concerned, being a Jew,” she said. “Two of the last three generations of my family left authoritarian governments.”

Mona Ives, a Muslim who grew up in West Boylston as the daughter of Egyptian immigrants, brought in her collection of hajibs for the children to try on.

“This is a great idea – it gives kids an outlet to meet people of different backgrounds in a fun and educating way,” she said. “And it gives the adults a chance to bond and talk.”

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Then… RIGHT after the MUSLIM Ban was announced by the Trump Administration....

Sadia Kazimi and Sara Sarah Jane Frankel Of Shrewsbury Diversity Coalition pulled together on a moment's notice… 1 hour later, everyone in the group were MOBILIZED for a protest in Shrewsbury Common!! Wow, what a turn out! People stopped to hug each other, tears were shed in solidarity, Love Trumped Hate.

I got the text RIGHT after I got out of my big Chapter Buddhist meeting in Worcester on World Peace where I spoke on Environmental activism! It filled me with tremendous empowered HOPE, having me feeling that the world truly is in good hands of proactive social justice and environmentalists!!! 

https://www.communityadvocate.com/2017/12/20/shrewsburys-diversity-coalition-provides-welcoming-supportive-network/

My friend and Fellow Diversity coalition comrade, Karen Fine, included me in her interview with the press about the coalition we started! Article came out today. GREAT read. 
350+ memebers and growing! For Peace, justice, unity, and diversity. <3 ~

Shrewsbury’s Diversity Coalition provides a welcoming and supportive network

Shrewsbury – During the days following the Nov. 8, 2016, Presidential Election, Karen Fine of Shrewsbury feared that her country was becoming unrecognizable. She has called the United States home since she was 3 and had become a citizen by the age of 10. She rarely thought of herself as an immigrant.

Fine’s parents and their parents before them had fled authoritarian countries (Russia and Apartheid South Africa).

“I knew the warning signs of authoritarianism – scapegoating ethnic groups, demonizing the press, fostering hate. This new administration checked all the boxes,” she said. “The KKK was planning a victory parade. I’m Jewish. These were troubling times.”

She saw a post on Facebook from a woman named Lara Wahl from Upton, who had the desire to start diversity groups in central Mass. This was in response to the increase in hate crimes and reports of children teasing other children about getting deported. Fine thought, “Why not start one in Shrewsbury?”

Through Facebook, Fine found interested like-minded individuals so she booked a meeting room at the library for an initial meeting. She was joined by Sadia Kazimi, Mona Ives and Sarah Jane Frankel. They became the core membership of the Shrewsbury Diversity Coalition. Kazimi created the Facebook Group.

Kazimi was deeply concerned about the emerging rhetoric that surrounded her, a rhetoric that she couldn’t imagine in 2017, in the country she has called home since she was 12.

“As a person of Muslim faith, raising my four beautiful children in our town, I felt it a duty to spread the message of diversity and show to my children that there are many around them that cherish it as much as we do.”

“The group was formed with a goal to create a place for people of all backgrounds – race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, abilities and challenges, gender orientation, family compositions…We’ve  had [discussions] on Islam, special needs children, women in activism,  community involvement, and bullying,” explained Frankel. “For me, the group was a place where I could bring my daughter to be exposed to others who value diversity and inclusion as a way of life for themselves and their children.”

The first meeting last winter was a great success. Since then, membership has grown and recent meetings have included topics and presenters such as: hijabs, League of Women Voters and information about autism. Numerous officials have attended, including State Rep. Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury), School Committee Member Jason Palitsch, and special needs activist, Robbin Miller.

The groups’ Facebook page has been very active, with members sharing their stories about diversity, both locally and globally. The group has grown to 350 members. New members are always welcome and the easiest way to join is to request to join the Facebook page.

“It has been comforting for my husband and I to know that there is a supportive network available in our town,” said Fine.

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Anyone can truly Change Poison to Medicine when they tap into their empowered gifts,

of their own personal Joy and purpose. Start today, and be UNAFRAID.