In Other Words is Open!!!

Due to the weight of snow on the roof of our very old building, pieces of our ceiling came crashing down on Tuesday Morning. The falling ceiling tiles also managed to bring down a strip of track lighting that hung from the ceiling suspended by electrical wires. The store closed immediately on Tuesday because of potential hazards for customers and staff.

A roofing company came on Wednesday afternoon to shovel snow off the roof while Dogwood Home Inspection disconnected the suspended lights and screwed tiles back into the ceiling. The Albina Women's League, who owns the building, is investigating further repairs to the roof and ceiling in early January. Meanwhile the store has been determined to be safe.

In Other Words will reopen on Friday, December 26th at 10 AM. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience this situation caused for you, our loyal customers and supporters.

An Update on Our Financial Situation

Dear friends,

We want to first thank you for your continued and overwhelming support for our bookstore/community space. It is truly inspiring to see a community come together and rise up to sustain a feminist institution like In Other Words. We also want to let you know the status of our fundraising efforts to date.

We have reached our first goal! As of Monday, December 22nd, less than two weeks from the date of our initial plea, we have taken in over $13,000 from online, in-store, and event donations. Thanks to this support we will be able to pay back our short-term loan and begin digging ourselves out of debt.

As phenomenal as this, we still need to raise another $8,000 by the end of February to meet our second goal, which will enable us to pay down our expiring line of credit. We are still encouraging our supporters to make tax-deductible donations if they're able. We also encourage you to come buy 50% off books at our After Solstice Sale, which will be running January 12th-February 14th.

As we said in our last update, these are some things we're doing to promote In Other Words' long-term sustainability:

* Restructuring and rebuilding our board of directors to promote increased functionality and fundraising ability
* Applying for external funding in the form of 2 grants
* Expanding volunteer-driven grassroots fundraising efforts to include multiple fundraising events throughout the year – one of which will be a music benefit show at the Hollywood Theater at the end of February (details TBA). Also keep your eyes open for the rescheduled VERB: A Dance Party ACTION to Save In Other Words (to be held at Zaytoon).
* Appealing to major donors and promoting our revamped monthly sustainer giving program, Every Woman Strong
* Restructuring our store's inventory to reflect current buying trends

Thanks again for all of your support and we will continue to work very hard to support you, our community!

Sincerely,
In Other Words Staff and Board

*As you know In Other Words is a non-profit bookstore. In fact, we are the only surviving non-profit women's bookstore in the country. In an effort to become more sustainable we are now asking for a minimal donation for community events held at the store. Guests will be asked to donate $5 to store events, unless otherwise noted, however, no one will be turned away.

Title of Event: Show: Annah, Adamh Roland, Chane, Franciszka Fierce & Brenna Sahatjian
When: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 7:00 PM
Location: In Other Words Women's Books and Resources
Description: Annah is an electro-acoustic/experimental musician, and radical/queer/femme antagonist from Oakland, CA. She performs using a variety of mediums including a looping system, kitchen utensils, gas masks, overhead projection images, found objects, her body (mostly her throat), and more... Adhamh Roland is St. Louis’ homegrown taste of radical shenanigans in a queerly folk fashion. Adhamh is part of the Riot Folk collective and has been strumming and singing in living rooms, bookstores, universities, basements, protests, youth groups, theaters, parks, bars, and on sidewalks around the states including touring over 3,500 miles by bicycle. Adhamh is currently living in Berkeley California learning lots about Community Healthcare. For more info, see www.riotfolk.org. franciszka fierce spoken word is one way of saying it. open heart magic surgery is another. also known as frantelope, sir francelot and marie frantoinette, franciszka is part humyn, part elf and devises fantastical arrangements and combinations of the english alphabet as a way of putting our hearts back into our bodies. st. francis uses word art as storytelling, word art as healing, and loves to work word art as a collaborative process. Chane attempts to bring dance to unexpected places. Chane returned to working on movement/dance in 2006 with Conduit Dance in Portland, OR. Recent works are Convergence with KO&Co, Translations with Faith Levine, Flirt not Fight at Freakshow-a-go-go (www.myspace.com/freakshowagogo), Cubed at Ten Tiny Dances and currently City Dance with Linda Austin (www.pica.org/festival_detail_new.aspx?eventid=365). Brenna Sahatjian has songs sprouting in her stomach. She plays original folk tunes involving guitar, cello, and piano, and is part of Riot-Folk, a radical collective of folk musicians. She is noted for her unique guitar style, the dense poetry of her lyrics, and multi-instrumental recordings on which she accompanies herself. She is currently playing as Voidface, a trumpet and guitar duet band.
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Code Pink-1st Tuesdays, 6:30pm

Feminist Book Group-Monthly7pm

Queer Poly Discuss Group-1st Thursdays, 6:30pm

Vulvar Vestibulitis Support Group-First Wednesdays, 7:00pm

That Time of The Month Radical Feminist Forum

Eating Disorders Anonymous-New Location

Portland Feminism Discussion Group-First Sundays, 6:30pm

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Yoga Class-Tues and Thurs, 9-10am

Women Writing for (a) Change-One Wed/Month, 7-8:30pm

Dirty Queer-2nd Fri, 6:30pm

Feminist Film Society-3rd Fri, 6:30pm

Luna Music Series-Last Fri, 7pm (Read More!)