Wellspring’s Co-op Boot Camp is helping to build a local cooperative economy for a more just, democratic and sustainable future—one where workers run their own business together, share in the profits, and give back to the local communities that support them!
Are you interested in co-owning your own business?
Join the worker co-operative wave that is sweeping the country. Come learn about what co-operatives are, why they are good for workers, the local economy, and communities. There are two courses (see below for more details):
This 4-week course will explore cooperative history and their role in fighting for social and economic justice, the tools to understand what it takes to be a worker-owner and the knowledge to decide if working in, or starting up a co-operative is for you.
4 classes, Tuesdays - Online
May 7-28, 6:00-9:00pm
Registration fee: $50
This 10-week course will help you and your team explore the feasibility of your idea, develop a business model/plan for your cooperative, think through its structure and governance, and start it up. Pre-requisite: Intro to Co-ops or equivalent.
10 classes, Tuesdays - Online
June 4-Aug 6, 6:00-9:00pm
Registration fee: $125
Registration Deadline: May 3, 2024
Limited scholarships available on a first come, first served basis.
Wellspring's 2023 Annual General Assembly
Friday, December 1st
5:30-6:00 Come early for refreshments & socializing
6:00-6:30 Wellspring 2023 Highlights & Board Election
6:30-8:00 Keynote & discussion: Preparing for System Breakdown - Blair Evans
8:00 on Hangout and fun!
Keynote Speaker: Blair Evans, Incite Focus
Preparing for System Breakdown: Building Local Resilience Through Community Production & Digital Fabrication
In the context of climate change disasters, pandemics, and the growing political, economic and social divide, it is critical for local communities to develop greater resilience and to strengthen their ability to meet their own needs. Wellspring is partnering with others, including UMass and Make-It-Springfield to explore the development of Center for Community Production hubs in Springfield and Holyoke. Blair Evans is at the cutting edge of this work, combining the technology for local, community based production with the the recognition that this process is also 'growing' people to realize their full human potential. Incite Focus has relocated from Detroit to its current location in Idlewild, MI, and is part of an effort to preserve and revitalize the legacy of what was once known as the Black Eden.
Blair Evans is a Board member of the Fab Foundation, and founder and director of Incite Focus, a program of Digital Fabrication, Agroecology and
Appropriate Technology which are practically applied to community empowerment through centers of community production. Blair has started centers of community production in Detroit, each incorporating a Fab Lab and an Agroecology Program (permaculture). He is a “guru” and instructor in Digital Fabrication with the Fab Academy. In addition to work in the built environment he is a Certified Permaculturist and Permaculture instructor, has owned a farm for two decades and has active agroecology programs in rural and urban areas.
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Wellspring Cooperative and the UMass Labor Center are collaborating on an exciting upcoming Union/Co-op Conference that will feature exciting discussions and workshops on worker power in Western Mass and beyond! You can learn more about the conference and register on the conference website here: https://www.buildingworkerpower.com/
You can view the full recording of the panel and discussion below:
Join us for a potluck cookout in a beautiful corner of Forest Park!
Come meet others in the Wellspring community--including the new co-ops that recently joined the network--and celebrate the 2022 graduating class of Wellspring's Co-op Bootcamp!
*Please note that unless you have a Forest Park pass, admission to the park is $3 (cash only)
Pre-Picnic GREENHOUSE TOUR
There is also a tour of the Wellspring Harvest greenhouse before the cookout for anyone who is interested!
The tour starts at 2:30 at 121 Pinevale Street Springfield MA.
POTLUCK PICNIC
This is a potluck so please bring a drink, appetizer, something to grill, or something sweet to share! If you have time, let us know what category you're bringing so staff can be sure to fill in the blanks: Sign up here.
Registration is not mandatory, please feel free to show up day-of! This is simply to help us ensure there is enough food to go around.
We're looking forward to another opportunity to connect with community after so many months restricted to virtual meetings!
MA Solidarity Economy / Worker Co-op Festival & Gathering
Saturday & Sunday, June 4-5, 2022 - 10:00am-4:00pm / RAIN DATE: June 11-12, 2022
Childspace: Lessons from a Worker-Owned Childcare Center
May 4th
In this recorded Zoom discussion, Teresa Mansell, a founding mother of Philadephia's Childspace Centers, one of the few worker-owned childcare centers in the U.S explores the questions: What is a worker cooperative? How are child care workers empowered when they own the business together? What are the different pathways for child care workers to move toward their own child care worker co-op? As well as others raised throughout the discussion!
Founded in 1988, Childspace Centers now has three locations, all of which offer Head Start programs. Childspace has created 57 living wage jobs and serves 210 families. Recognizing that dignity and job quality are key to providing good jobs and good care, Childspace also engages in advocacy work and sits on key committees at the local, city, and state levels.
WHEN: Saturday, April 23rd, 12PM - 4PM (Rain Date 4/30)
WHERE: 227 Mill Street, Springfield, MA
Click here for more information
Come & Learn Lawn Party
Sunday October 3rd, 2021
Join us to learn more about WELLSPRING COOPERATIVE and the many benefits of cooperatives in Springfield.
Meet Wellspring co-directors Fred Rose & Emily Kawano, Board co-chair & Indian Orchard Citizens Council president Zaida Govan, and learn more from some of our cooperative worker-owners. Zaida will also share information on Indian Orchard Citizens Council’s Grow IO initiative to build community and wellness in their neighborhood. There will be refreshments too.
Location: Lawn of Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse - 121 Pinevale Street, Indian Orchard
Time: 3 to 4:30pm
For everyone's safety, all local and CDC precautions for outdoor activities will be followed.
Wellspring is involved in local and national initiatives that educate the public about solidarity economy and cooperatives! Be sure to check out some of the educational events we've been a part of below-- click on the links to learn more.
The Industrial Commons: Scaling Up a Co-op Ecosystem Through Value Chain Development
Learn about the revival and transformation of the textile industry in western North Carolina. The Industrial Commons is an economic ecosystem of employee-owned social enterprises and industry cooperatives that brings workers and manufacturers together to find triple-bottom-line solutions to entrenched manufacturing issues. This conversation and kick-off event discussed the possibilities of utilizing economic 'Value Chains' to create a cooperative ecosystem in Springfield.
Business Continuity and Ownership-Transition Options Panel
On Monday, May 17th, 2021 Our Co-director Fred Rose joined the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center in a virtual panel to discuss transition options for businesses to become cooperatively owned.
Solidarity Economy & Pathways to a More Just and Sustainable World
Wellspring partnered with a Sexual Domestic Violence Taskforce to provide a three-part training series for SDV advocates and allies around the tenets of solidarity economy.
To view the recording of these trainings, click on the following links below:
Remaking the Economy: Envisioning a Restorative Future of Work
Our Co-Director Emily Kawano joined in a Non-profit Quarterly Webinar “Remaking the Economy” series to look at “the workplace of today while exploring how our work lives might be transformed to support health and wellbeing, promote restorative justice, and provide not just ‘jobs’ but livelihoods.”
Beyond the Great Reset: The Systems Change Summit.
Listen to Emily Kawano share about the solidarity economy and system change work as a part of the Systems Change Summit.
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Sponsored by Wellspring Cooperative & Western Mass Area Labor Federation
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Thursday, Sept 3, 2020 - 4:00-5:30pm ET via Zoom
We are at a crossroad in history where the pandemic, racial justice uprisings, climate change, and a downward economic spiral are creating openings to push for deep change. In honor of Labor Day, this webinar will explore the common roots between cooperatives and unions, as well as the potential and current initiatives to forge union-co-ops so that workers are not just fighting for a bigger piece of the pie, but for control of the whole damn thing.
PROGRAM
4:00-4:05 Welcome & Interactive Exercise - Lydia Wood, WMALF & Kristan Bakker, Wellspring
4:05-4:30 Wellspring & Wellspring Labor/Co-op Committee/ Why Co-ops?
4:30-4:45 Co-ops and Labor - Patrick Burke, WMALF
4:45-5:10 Concurrent Session Breakouts
5:10-5:30 Brainstorm: Potential to Collaborate
Thursday, February 13, 2020, 5:00 pm
Room 200, City Hall, 36 Court St., Springfield, MA
Background documents:
Comparisons of City Policies Supporting Co-ops
Registration link: https://forms.gle/jxQMrVaedyGq9TVQ8
For more information email emilykawano@gmail.com or call 413-461-8203
Wellspring worked with UACT (UMass Alliance for Community Transformation) to organize a Building a Co-op Ecosystem visioning process in Springfield a couple of weeks ago. The session included folks from various sectors that we need to work together to support a cooperative economy. It was really great, very energizing, and the ideas/discussions were captured in a stunning graphic mural which will be unveiled at this event. We hope that folks who participated in the visioning session, as well as anyone interested in joining in the conversation, or getting involved in building a co-op ecosystem will come!
You're invited to a House Party for Wellspring Co-op Corporation co-hosted by Mary Hoyer and Frank Holmquist.
Friday June 1st, from 4:30-6:30, 75 Woodlot Rd., Amherst, MA 01002.
Learn how Wellspring is creating jobs and wealth in Springfield neighborhoods!
A lot is happening at Wellspring with three functioning worker co-ops including Wellspring Harvest, which is growing local, nutritious greens at its new commercial greenhouse in the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield.
We hope you can join us to hear more about all that Wellspring is doing in Springfield and to meet some of the worker-owners. We’d love to see you there Friday, June 1st!
Mary Hoyer, Wellspring Treasurer
Fred Rose & Emily Kawano, Wellspring Co-Directors
Kristan Bakker and Jenny Ladd, Wellspring Development Committee Co-Chairs
April 27, 2018, 6:00-8:00 pm, Mahar Auditorium, UMass, Amherst
Springfield Technical Community College, Thursdays, 6:00-9:00pm
Are you interested in co-owning your own business? Join the worker co-operative wave that is sweeping the country.
Come learn about what co-operatives are, why they are good for workers, the local economy, and communities.
For more details please visit the Co-op Boot Camp page.
We're almost there!
Come and celebrate the completion of the Wellspring Harvest greenhouse, followed by a tour of Wellspring's other worker co-ops.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
121 Pinevale St. Indian Orchard, Springfield, MA 01151
11:-12:00 Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse ribbon cutting & reception
12-1:00 Tour of Wellspring Upholstery & Old Window Workshop Co-ops
Please let us know if you're coming to the ribbon cutting:
Yes, Count me in for the ribbon cutting
Spaces are limited for the Co-op tour. Please register with the button below.
Co-sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Worker Cooperative Boot Camp project - a workforce training program offered through Springfield Technical Community College, in partnership with Wellspring Cooperative, Arise for Social Justice, United Food & Commercial Workers 1459, YWCA, and the Association of Black and Business Professionals.
Sponsored by the Worker Cooperative Boot Camp project - a workforce training program offered through Springfield Technical Community College, in partnership with Wellspring Cooperative, Arise for Social Justice, United Food & Commercial Workers 1459, YWCA, and the Association of Black and Business Professionals.
Did you know that the Pioneer Valley is one of the most co-op dense regions in the country? Come hear from a few of the local worker cooperatives - where workers own their own business.
Sponsored by the Worker Cooperative Boot Camp project - a workforce training program offered through Springfield Technical Community College, in partnership with Wellspring Cooperative, Arise for Social Justice, United Food & Commercial Workers 1459, YWCA, and the Association of Black and Business Professionals.
Celebrate with us at a Press Conference and Reception:
Thursday June 8th, 2017
11am to 12pm— at the greenhouse site (121 Pinevale St)
12pm to 1pm—reception at the Greater New Life Christian Center (1326 Worcester St)
Techspring, 5th floor, 1350 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103
(Parking validation will be provided)
Copies of Dr. Nembhard’s book will be available for purchase and signing.
Jessica Gordon Nembhard, author of the groundbreaking book, Collective Courage: A History of African-American Economic Thought and Practice, will facilitate an exploration of the rich history of African American economic cooperation and its role in movements for Black Civil Rights and economic equality.
Drawing on this inspiring history, participants will:
Understand the compelling case for using cooperatives in inclusive economic development strategies;
Understand how cooperatives address poverty and the marginalization of communities of color and immigrants;
Understand how cooperatives can bridge divides in the common interest of creating good jobs that are rooted in the community;
Understand how cooperatives create opportunities for business ownership, wealth building and democratic management.
About the Speaker: Jessica Gordon Nembhard is a political economist and Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Africana Studies Department at John Jay College, City University of NY. She is also a member of the Grassroots Economic Organizing Collective, the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy, and the US Solidarity Economy Network; and a member of the Leadership Team of Organizing Neighborhood Equity (ONE) DC. She was inducted into the Co-op Hall of Fame in 2016.
This workshop is one of a series of public events about cooperatives that are being organized as part of the Worker Cooperative Boot Camp Project. This Wellspring Cooperative initiative brings together a range of partners to develop a worker co-op certificate program through the Workforce Training program at Springfield Technical Community College. Participants of this certificate program will learn what it takes to work in a cooperative or to start one of their own.
Worker Cooperative Boot Camp Project partners include Arise for Social Justice, Association of Black Business and Professionals, Springfield Technical Community College, Workforce Training Program, United Food & Commercial Workers 1459, Wellspring Cooperative, and YWCA.
Workshop proudly sponsored by Baystate Health and Wellspring Cooperative
Invest In Your Values
Join us for light refreshments and demonstrations of healthy cooking & hydroponics.
Learn about an exciting opportunity to invest in Wellspring Harvest,
an urban hydroponic greenhouse co-operative, creating jobs, worker ownership and
fresh, local produce all year round in Springfield, MA.
When: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 5:30-7:30 PM
Where: Carriage House at the Barney Estate, Forest Park, Springfield, MA 01108
(map & directions)
Special guest: Mayor Domenic Sarno
- sustainable urban agriculture
- local fresh food production
- job creation
- worker ownership
- wealth building & economic democracy
- training about sustainable urban agriculture for students and the local community
- a replicable model for community-based urban greenhouse and worker ownership
For more information about Wellspring Harvest and the investment opportunity, please visit our Wellspring Investment Fund page.
Thanks. Hope to see you there!
Host Committee for the Carriage House Event
Please RSVP to Emily emilykawano@gmail.com or Fred frose@pubpol.umass.edu
Wellspring Harvest hosted three Commmunity Workshops on Urban agricultureCont
