Chapters Update: Our Community Spirit Is Strong

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Illustration by Fotolia/fabioberti.it
The MOTHER EARTH NEWS chapters network never would have come together without the community spirit of its readers.

Three years ago, when Mother’s Chapters National Organization was born, it was our goal to bring together like-minded readers of MOTHER EARTH NEWS — folks whose community spirit would motivate them to work with friends and neighbors on self reliance and do-it-yourself projects and activities. The chapters were and are designed to offer the greatest amount of independence for each individual group, allowing it to pursue the interests most appropriate to its local environment and situation.

Well, judging from the activities of chapters across the continent (some of which are mentioned below), it seems apparent that we’ve met our goal. And so, as is the case with anything that grows and develops, we felt it was time for some changes … for the better!

We knew, in the beginning, that forming a network of active chapters would require a good bit of start-up cash. In fact, the cost of postage and stationery alone made our accounting department’s collective heads spin (not to mention the expense of phone calls, paper work, organizational preparation, and person-hours required to set into operation an ambitious program such as ours). As a result, we asked for $15 a year in dues from each chapter member. Well, we’re now off the ground and climbing higher each day, and so we’d like to announce that we’ll be collecting NO MORE NATIONAL DUES! The foundation has been established, and we’ve reduced our involvement (i.e. cost), so MOTHER EARTH NEWS is passing that saving along to you. (We will still request a one-time-only fee of $20, from each new chapter, in order to process the required forms and send you your start-up package, but there will no longer be any national dues for members.)

The Community Spirit newsletter will continue to be published (in a condensed format) along with its National Barter Board and other features, but the paper will now be sent to each active chapter (rather than to each member) together with extra copies to be passed around at chapter meetings.

The National Chapters Convention will be held July 22-25 this year, with Booker T. Whatley as guest speaker on Saturday, and with a smorgasbord of other activities for the members who attend. Show-Hows, cookouts, and tours are all on the agenda for this busy weekend, which will be open to any national member or member of a qualified chapter.

  • Published on May 1, 1983
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