Syracuse Herbal Study Group Mutual Aid Program
Everyone ‘neath their vine and fig tree will live in peace and unafraid. And into plowshares turn their swords, nations shall learn war no more.
-Micah 4:4
Greetings readers,
I’m thrilled to share this new initiative with you all! Syracuse Herbal Study Group has started a new direct aid program and is expanding their offerings. I am honored to be on the steering committee and to be working to create community care opportunities that will support us common folks during these difficult times.
Syracuse Herbal Study Group was formed out of the original Utica Herbal Study Group which I founded in the early 2010s (which is still active and run by a former student). Another student/apprentice who helped organize Utica study group with me, Lauren Eadline, founded another branch/rhizome in Syracuse, NY (about an hour from Utica) in 2018. Lauren is an herbalist and nurse practitioner who grew up in the Mohawk Valley and moved to the Syracuse Area.
Syracuse Herbal Study Group is now a large network in its own right, bringing together community members, partnering with the Onondaga Nation and collaborating with many similar-minded groups in the area while offering regular educational opportunities in plant medicine.
At Syracuse Herbal Study Group, we take care of ourselves, and we take care of each other. We are not a non-profit - we do not solicit funding from any outside entity, we are entirely self-supporting. The money we raise from classes, fundraisers, donations and our shop directly powers our projects. It also enables us to give back, increasing our ability to be a force for community change.
How we fund:
Monthly Class Ticket Sales
Donations
Community Fundraisers
What we fund:
Because we are volunteer-run, 100% of our funds go back into our projects, our members, or back into the community. Some of Syracuse Herbal Group's own initiatives include:
SHSG Childcare Program
Sliding Scale Ticketing
Any surplus in our budget is donated to area organizations with similar missions and goals.
Monthly Education Classes
Every month there is a class about some area of herbal medicine or about the medicinal uses of individual plants. These classes are held at Skä•noñh - Great Law of Peace Center in Liverpool, NY AND can be attended via zoom (they are recorded as well).
With acknowledgement
that our work is done on the ancestral lands of the Onondaga people, fire keepers of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee. We stand in support, allyship and partnership with the Onondaga Nation and work to uphold the principles of the Two Row Wampum.
Mutual Aid Initiative
Mutual aid is the future of collective decision-making and self-support, and we are excited to be jumping on bandwagon with a few different initiatives:
-childcare availability at event
-sliding scale ticketing
-direct aid funding
What is direct aid? Direct aid is help, in the form of a cash gift, from the community to someone in need. All donations, ticket sales, profits and shop purchase at SHSG go first to our direct aid fund before we do anything else. The fund is growing. If you or someone you care about could use a leg-up, click on the link below to learn more and to apply.
****Syracuse Herbal Study Group Direct Aid Program****
Statement on the Two-Row Wampum
The first treaty between indigenous peoples in North America and European settlers (Tawagonshi Treaty) took place between the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch in 1613, and is represented by the Two-Row Wampum. The two rows of purple beads symbolize the boats of the Five Nations People and those of the settlers, and give a visualization of the principles of the treaty: equality, self-determination and mutual respect.
While this treaty and all treaties have been obliterated and broken by colonialism, we acknowledge the validity of the Two-Row Wampum and work to uphold its values.
We are proud and privileged that our work represents a collaboration with partners:
the Onondaga Nation
25% of the proceeds from each class we teach go to directly to these partners, to help ensure that their work continues in our community.
Join Us! Everyone is Welcome!
If you’d like to find out more, donate to our initiative, or register for an upcoming class click the following link: SHSG