Remembering Beautiful Souls Taken: 2025 Trans Day of Remembrance

Reflection by Karen Nothe-Valley “We remember those we’ve lost Who died from fear and hate, Let’s give deep support to those of us still here… For Love, there’s no time to wait.”   -Trans Day of Remembrance Song, by Sherry Zitter Recently, members of Grassroots Central Mass and friends gathered at the Sturbridge Common Gazebo on a chilly late afternoon — Thursday, November 20, 2025 — to acknowledge a solemn Trans Day of Remembrance, stand in solidarity with the trans community, help raise awareness, and most importantly remember and honor those trans individuals who have been violently killed solely because of…

Shining Light on Immigration

By Shannon Teabo “No one leaves home unless homeIs the mouth of a sharkYou only run for the borderWhen you see the whole city running as well” The words of poet Warsan Shire burn through the body and soul; igniting compassion and empathy for those who are forced to flee from the people and places they love. This was the simple ask of the devoted members of Grassroots Central Mass, a division of Indivisible; to feel for the people who have no choice but to run from the horrors or else be swallowed by them. The presentation on the myths…

Hooray for our 6th Annual Trees Are Treasures Celebration

By Jeana Edmonds Another fantastic Trees Are Treasures celebration occurred on May 18, 2025, and it was one for the record books!!! What a great day we had. The weather was chilly but gorgeous, and it didn't rain — amazing! The trees were beautiful — including paw paw, redbud, and tupelo trees. Our tree expert and her two able assistants did a fantastic job selecting the trees and preparing them for the giveaway. All three engaged everyone entering the Mill Pond path at Wells State Park with information about why trees are crucial elements of our environment, how to plant…

A Tree-mendous Success!

Grassroots Central Mass hosted its third Trees are Treasures Earth Day celebration at Wells State Park in Sturbridge on Saturday, April 22, 2023. We treated families and park-goers to music, stories, climate resources, crafts and activities. Interpretive stops along the nature trails told the story of New England's stone walls and why beavers and muskrats are key to the health of our wetlands. And we gave away 162 trees to plant! Check out the feature in the Quaboag Current, and enjoy some pictures below. Many thanks to our volunteers and our sponsors, Brookfields Fight Fear and Indivisible Mass Coalition!

Why we need to change the Massachusetts flag

Join us Thursday, May 25, 6:30 p.m., at the Merriam-Gilbert Public Library in West Brookfield to learn the history of the Massachusetts flag and seal, and the effort to create a new flag and seal to represent peace, justice, equality, and inclusion for the Commonwealth. A resolution on the June Annual Town Meeting warrants in West Brookfield, Brookfield and Oakham will ask voters if they are in support of changing the flag and seal of Massachusetts. More than 20 percent of the towns and cities in Massachusetts are already formally on record in support of changing the flag and seal.…

Rally to Secure and Protect Democracy

Saturday, January 7, 2023Noon-2 p.m.West Brookfield Common Today marks two years since our former president and his conspirators attempted a coup on our nation to thwart our democratic process and disrupted official Congressional proceedings with the intent to stop a peaceful transition of power. Grassroots Central Mass and Brookfields Fight Fear are jointly planning this rally to once again highlight how precious our democracy is and to recall how close we came to losing it on January 6, 2021. Sen. Anne Gobi and Governor's Councilor Paul DePalo will be there along with representatives of the Indivisible Mass Coalition. All around…

Our Earth Day Celebrations

Starting in 2021 we went into the great outdoors to host our Trees Are Treasures events. These family-friendly events feature trail walks with costumed interpreters along the way explaining fascinating aspects of the habitat.

Brookfield Common, Jan. 6, 2022: Vigil to Protect Our Democracy

More than two dozen people participated in the evening vigil in solidarity with the National Day of Remembrance of the events of January 6, 2021. Grassroots Central Mass and Brookfield Fights Fear organized a gathering at the gazebo on the Brookfield Common on the first anniversary of the DC insurrection. It succeeded in its goal to remind the public both that the insurrection remains a national scar, but that democracy survived the blow. Also, that citizens need to stand up to the destructive power of myths and distortions. People gather on Brookfield Common Jan. 6, 2022 to demonstrate their understanding…

Virtual Party October 17!

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Several of our members and friends were not too zoomed out to party! We held a virtual party this Sunday, Oct 17 from 3 - 5 pm. An email to members (those on our IO mailing list) is going out. It was a time to let the wine (or whatever) and conversation flow, and get more deeply acquainted.