Oxfam Bath

Hi All,

As you may have seen we are hoping to run a stall on Saturday morning (March 13th) to publicise a campaign highlighting several gender issues (maternal mortality; female education etc) http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/mothers_day.html?i...

At the minute, we don't have enough volunteers to run this stall. If there is any chance you could spare half an hour, please email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk as soon as possible. If you can't, don't worry, but we would really appreciate even one or two more people to help us spread the word of this important campaign throughout Bath....

Thank You

Hi All,

Sorry there has been a bit of a bombardment from Oxfam Bath of late - there is a lot going on!! And there is 1 more action which it would be great if you could urgently do. Don't worry, you can do it from the comfort of the chair you are sat in whilst reading this!

You may know that the Lib Dems are generally supportive of the idea of the Robin Hood Tax (www.robinhoodtax.org.uk - charge the bankers 0.05% on some transactions to raise loadsa money for development work & essential UK services). They are on the brink of going public and supporting it as a party BUT they haven't done so yet – this is where YOU come in….

Please urgently contact Don Foster asking him to: (feel free to copy and paste the text into an email!!)

1. Support the Robin Hood Tax campaign – a Financial Transaction Tax will raise tens of billions of pounds for the UK to spend on tackling child poverty and preventing cuts to public services
2.Think about the need for more affordable housing in Bath, and how a financial transaction tax can raise the money needed to tackle this and other local problems
4. Write to Nick Clegg & Vince Cable urgently, asking them to support a full Robin Hood Tax (financial transaction tax). Their idea of a 10% tax on bank’s profits in the UK is a great idea BUT doesn’t go far enough – we need a financial transaction tax – which will raise the money both to tackle the UK’s budget deficit and help poor countries tackle poverty and climate change

You can contact Don by emailing don@donfoster.co.uk - or you can tweet him - @DonFosterMP :)

Please let me know if you are able to do this and I can let Oxfam know we are pilin gon the pressure!!

Janine

Oxfam is part of a coalition working to raise awareness of maternal health and mortality this Mother's Day. There are 2 actions they are asking people to do:

-       Sign an e-card yourself here: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/mothers_day.html asking our party political leaders to sign up to a Mum's Manifesto. This asks the next UK government to:

- Increase financing for maternal, newborn and child health internationally
- Place maternal, newborn and child health at the heart of all health systems
- Make sexual and reproductive rights a reality for women and girls

-       Get members of the public to sign a real life card including the same Manifesto. It's a lovely (the front can be seen in the weblink above!). The details are laid out on the card, and people can sign one to each leader, so two cards in one go! To get as many people in Bath to sign as possible, we’re holding a stall in Green Park Station on March 13^th between 9am – 1pm. Can you spare an hour to help man the stall?! If so, please email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk, it would be lovely to see you there :)

Let’s show Gordon, David & Nick what the people of Bath think!!

Hope you can make it on the 13^th

Janine

Fellow Fairtraders,

It's Week 2 of the Big Swap and the Fairtrade Foundation's Swap-o-meter is reading just over half way to one-million-and-one swaps to Fairtrade products!!!

Amazing response, but still a long way to go. There are 3 things you can do to help prove that the Britain wants a fairer way of trading…

1. Register your own Fairtrade swap. So if you've bought Fairtrade bananas or chocolate, a coffee from Cafédirect or Starbucks, or something more unusual like Fairtrade flowers, peanut butter or olive oil, click on www.thebigswap.org.uk to put your contribution on record and your name in lights.

2. Persuade your friends to register their Fairtrade swaps!!

3. If you have run an event/held a coffe morning, register any swaps you've managed to get people to commit to!

When FTF reach one-million-and-one swaps, every swapper will be entered into a competition to win your very own tea party."Many raindrops make mighty rivers flow." Fairtrade is all about the sum of many actions, however small.

Join in the Big Swap this Fairtrade Fortnight…www.thebigswap.org.uk

One million and one ... We can do it!

Hi All,

2010 will be an interesting campaign year for Oxfam - the Robin Hood Tax Campaign is causing a stir, we'll soon be in the grip of election fever & not to mention the December climate change conference to try and sort the Copenhagen fisaco.....

Here in Bath there is lots to be done to support Oxfam by raising awareness of their campaigning work, and so we've created some new roles within Oxfam Bath to help with this!! Do you have a passion for politics? Or an enthusiasm for organising events? Just some of the skills that we are looking for to spread the word of Oxfam far and wide!!

The attached document outlines the roles that we have: Political Campaigner; Media Campaigner; Events Co-ordinator; Website Manager & Publicity Campaigner. Do take a look at the roles, and if one takes your fancy, email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk!

There will still also be chance to volunteer on a less frequent basis when we organise campaign stalls or emergency collections etc, but if you think you can spare a little more time, then your efforts will be very appreciated and will really help Oxfam get the word out about how we can work together to change the world....

Have you ever wished you could find like-minded people near you to campaign alongside? Ever wondered what difference your actions make in relation to the bigger picture? How about building up an online toolbox of Oxfam guides and tools to help you? Sounds great   doesn’t it…?

Dream no more, The Enabler is here! Oxfam’s new online activist tool that we think is the cutting edge of campaigning. It’s a simple website that allows you to exist online as an Oxfam campaigner and link up with other campaigners around the country. Think of it as the one-stop shop for all your Oxfam activities and needs.

Go to www.oxfamblogs.org/enabler - it takes 30 seconds to sign up and will make campaigning easier and more effective. What more could you ask for?! I've been using it for the last few weeks in testing phase & I think it's great!!

Janine

Don't miss out on Oxfam Live 2010: book your place today

Oxfam Live will be landing at Bristol’s Circomedia on Saturday 27^th of March.

Join us at 2pm for an afternoon of inspirational talks and exclusive insights into the way the organisation works. It will be a great chance to get ‘up close and personal’ with Oxfam supporters, directors, trustees and experts from the field and lets you pose those questions you’ve always wanted to ask. You’ll also get to meet other local, like-minded supporters and share your ideas.

Places are limited so don’t miss your chance to get closer to Oxfam. To register, click here or email oxfamlive@oxfam.org.uk

Hi All,

You might have seen the great momentum the Robin Hood Tax campaign has gained - all the papers are featuring articles on it; there are over 60,000 Facebook followers and it is a top trend on Twitter for all you up-to-the-minute social network followers! We really need to carry on building pressure on the politicians and show them how many people care about this, as well as highlighting it to the public. And you can help!!

If we can get as many people as possible to write Letters to the Editor of the Bath Chronicle, we might have a chance of appearing in the next edition! The trouble is, you need to email your letter tomorrow to be in this week or by next Tuesday for the following week. I have attached a template letter from Oxfam, so all you need to do is chance a few words and sign it if you would like to join this action. It would be great if you could send it out, and email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk so we can count how many are sent....and then keep your eyes peeled in the paper!!

I'll try and post an update if we do get covered......

Janine

Hi All,

Hopefully you will have just recieved the post about the new Robin Hood Tax campaign which has already gathered huge momentum across the UK. Taking Twitter by storm I tell you!! You can find out more about the tax here www.robinhoodtax.org.uk & take personal actions.

But I thought it would be great to raise the profile of the campaign in Bath, and what better way than a flashmob - Robin, Marion, Friar Tuck....all in Abbey Courtyard 'holding up' some bankers to no, not take all their money, just a penny or two, and use it to massive effect to help the poor :) Or we could just 'hold up' Barclays/RBS in a similar fashion! If we aim for Friday/Saturday, we might even be able to get Don Foster in on the action!

If you'd like to get involved, please email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk & secret details of the event, location & action will be emailed to you closer to the time!!

Watch out for the story in the Chronicle....and Long Live Robin Hood!!

Janine

I am writing to tell you about the launch of a new campaign which Oxfam is part of…

The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on bankers that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.

By taking an average of 0.05% from speculative banking transactions, hundreds of billions of pounds would be raised every year.

That’s easily enough to stop cuts in crucial public services in the UK, and to help fight global poverty and climate change.

Please get onboard the bandwagon and watch the video, vote, then pass it along to everyone you know via email, facebook, twitter, or any other mean!

Despite the campaign only being launched yesterday, it is already the number one Tweet in the UK!

There are also loads of other ways to get involved on the website, including posters you can put up where you work or study and opportunities to get dressed up! You could:

• Write a letter to the papers about it
• Organise a stunt to raise awareness in your street, workplace or uni (dressing up!)
• Write to or visit your MP to ask them to raise the issue on your behalf

Oxfam can help you with all of these, so email oxfambath@yahoo.co.uk if you're interested :)

And watch out for news of group action to bring the campaign to Bath city centre!!!........

If you only do one thing for Oxfam this month, get involved in this - and please tell us if you take action!