Help Us Fund A Safe BIPOC & 2SLGBTQ Retreat Space
Donation protected
This fundraiser is now closed, but you can still donate to the cause at the following link: Original Buy Black Birchtown Fundraiser
Change Is Brewing Collective is seeking donations to support BIPOCSS fund a retreat and learning centre to be located in Birchtown, Mi’kma’ki, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour to rest, resist, and organize for Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. The centre will host retreats and learning opportunities such as historical research, workshops, events, classes, annual member gatherings and camping led by and for BIPOC communities and 2SLGBTQ+ community. The property includes almost 8 acres of forest, waterfront, and trails; multiple homes in excellent condition; an old stone wall and foundation likely belonging to original Black settlers of the area and everything needed to begin booking BIPOC retreats and workshops starting June 2021 while they work to develop a larger retreat centre facility.
We are looking to our community to raise a minimum of $20,000 by February 27th 2021. The first $5,000 will secure our status as lifetime investors in this project, and every subsequent $5,000 raised will allow us to sponsor another BIPOC-owned business for investor status.
Note about financial accessibility - if you are BIPOC and unable to contribute financially at this time but want to become a member through sponsorship from the money raised through this fundraiser please let us know. We are dedicated to removing financial barriers and building equity for BIPOC communities in Nova Scotia. Please contact organizers.
Why Birchtown?
Once the largest settlement of free Black people in North America, Birchtown is where Black settlers fled after the first race riots in North America occurred in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia in 1784. Black residents of Birchtown were forced out of the area by white settlers and ongoing anti-Black racism and gentrification that continues to this day. We plan to be part of a larger #ReturnToRoseway and #BlackToBirchtown movement of the African diaspora by making the area accessible to our communities, having a visible BIPOC presence on the South Shore through private retreats and larger public events, and welcoming the Black diaspora and African Nova Scotian communities locally and globally to learn about Birchtown’s importance to our collective history. Year round the property will host BIPOC children, youth and families to explore the history of Birchtown at the neighbouring Black Loyalist Heritage Centre; learn about and support the ongoing work to end environmental racism in Shelburne and the activism of local leaders such as Louise Delisle and SEED; and be part of building Birchtown’s Black future.
Change Is Brewing Collective is seeking donations to support BIPOCSS fund a retreat and learning centre to be located in Birchtown, Mi’kma’ki, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour to rest, resist, and organize for Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. The centre will host retreats and learning opportunities such as historical research, workshops, events, classes, annual member gatherings and camping led by and for BIPOC communities and 2SLGBTQ+ community. The property includes almost 8 acres of forest, waterfront, and trails; multiple homes in excellent condition; an old stone wall and foundation likely belonging to original Black settlers of the area and everything needed to begin booking BIPOC retreats and workshops starting June 2021 while they work to develop a larger retreat centre facility.
We are looking to our community to raise a minimum of $20,000 by February 27th 2021. The first $5,000 will secure our status as lifetime investors in this project, and every subsequent $5,000 raised will allow us to sponsor another BIPOC-owned business for investor status.
Note about financial accessibility - if you are BIPOC and unable to contribute financially at this time but want to become a member through sponsorship from the money raised through this fundraiser please let us know. We are dedicated to removing financial barriers and building equity for BIPOC communities in Nova Scotia. Please contact organizers.
Why Birchtown?
Once the largest settlement of free Black people in North America, Birchtown is where Black settlers fled after the first race riots in North America occurred in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia in 1784. Black residents of Birchtown were forced out of the area by white settlers and ongoing anti-Black racism and gentrification that continues to this day. We plan to be part of a larger #ReturnToRoseway and #BlackToBirchtown movement of the African diaspora by making the area accessible to our communities, having a visible BIPOC presence on the South Shore through private retreats and larger public events, and welcoming the Black diaspora and African Nova Scotian communities locally and globally to learn about Birchtown’s importance to our collective history. Year round the property will host BIPOC children, youth and families to explore the history of Birchtown at the neighbouring Black Loyalist Heritage Centre; learn about and support the ongoing work to end environmental racism in Shelburne and the activism of local leaders such as Louise Delisle and SEED; and be part of building Birchtown’s Black future.
Fundraising team: Change Is Brewing Collective (2)
Shekara Grant
Organizer
Halifax, NS
Jessika Hepburn
Beneficiary
Giovanni Johnson
Team member