OUR COMMUNITY AID EFFORTS
“Your ability to build mutual aid will determine whether we win the world we long for or dive further into crisis.” Mutual aid is collective coordination to meet each other’s needs usually from systems we have in place are not going to meet them. As we face more worsening conditions, we must come together and create pathways to sustain ourselves.
Mutual aid is an organizational model where voluntary, collaborative exchanges of resources and services for common benefit take place amongst community members to overcome social, economic, and political barriers to meeting common needs. This can include physical resources like food, clothing, or medicine, as well as services like breakfast programs or education. These groups are often built for the daily needs of their communities, but mutual aid groups are also found throughout relief efforts, such as in natural disasters or pandemics like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid an unrelenting pandemic, economic crisis, and increasing climate disasters, the need for mutual aid networks has grown significantly. These crises expose the deeply rooted systemic inequalities in our society—including in humanitarian aid. And mutual aid has always played a role in filling those gaps.
"Capitalism and colonialism created structures that have disrupted how people have historically connected with eachother and shared everything they needed to survive.” - Mutual Aid by Dean Spade
We recommend this book to all activist and folks wanting to do more.
Join our team to be apart of creating systems that will improve all of our universal needs within our communities. Sustenance, safety and security, love, understanding or empathy, creativity, sense of belonging, and autonomy. We can feed each other, clothe eachother, educate eachother, share resources and skills and much more. We would love to have you on our team so we can be successful in our efforts.
Fill out our volunteer form at https://forms.gle/NNCyHC57jmunb1177 or scan the QR code. To learn more on eoaohiondivisible.org/mutualaid
Table of Contents on this Page
Our Next Project
Appalachian Edge Free Market
Free Lunches and Holiday Dinners/Breakfasts
Community Aid Garden
How To Create Community Systems
How To Build Community
Examples of Mutual Aid
OUR NEXT PROJECT: ADAMS COUNTY
We are going to create something that has the potential for immense positive change within our communities. A documentary about our neighbors and we need some folks to help us do just that. have a new way to reach our community. If we see our neighbors and hear their stories, we are more likely to care about what our neighbors are going through and possibly think even further than just our own community. Showing folks a movie where they could see their sister, their neighbor, their local farmer, the DG clerk, their hair dresser or anyone else in their lives, may help some folks understand the severity of what’s happening and that all of this is a non-partisan universal (national) problem. If you or someone you know would like to be involved or tell their story, reach out to our email below.
Join The Documentary Team
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Group and Organization Partners
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Photographer and Videographers and Sound (2-5 more)
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Directors (1-2 more) and Editors (2-3)
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Camera assistance (1 for each photo/videographer)
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Door knocking about community aid
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Finding local folks to be in the documentary throughout all of the county
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Location and Event planner assistant
APPALACHIAN EDGE FREE MARKET
Appalachian Edge Free Market is volunteer based and run by community members and is set up in a public space in Adams County once a month. Think thrift stores including non-perishable foods and fresh produce from our community aid garden, reproductive healthcare items, harm reduction items, bath and body products and much more but everything is free. The Free Market is a community mutual aid effort to ensure our communities sustainability and survival while also lessening folks' consumption. With the increase in basic costs and the defunding of public services we are wanting to ensure folks can access what they need as well as what they could want. We hope this effort creates a rise in folks lessening their consumption for the planet's survival. It is for the community, by the community. Everything donated to the market is from our community members or those who are wanting to support these efforts. No questions asked. When basic needs are met, families and individuals can focus on each other and ourselves and actually live life. Donate to those who are putting it right back into the community where it's needed instead of to corporations that sell them back to us. We are also in need of some equipment such as a canopy, more folding tables, portable shelving and are trying to raise funds to secure a storage unit and a trailer to help us store and haul the market.
"Mutual aid is collective coordination to meet each other's needs usually from systems we have in place are not going to meet them. As we face more worsening conditions, we must come together and create pathways to sustain ourselves and keep each other safe."
We have clothing right now but are unfortunately not accepting more clothing or large items and toys until we find a permanent storage and affordable storage space.
Donations We Accept
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Non-perishable foods and drinks
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Clothing (have but are not accepting at this time)
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Healthcare items including otc medications, harm reduction, reproductive and affirming care items
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Hygiene items
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Bath and body
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Household needs and decor
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Baby and toddler items and foods
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Toys (not accepting huge or loud toys at this time and no toy guns)
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First aid and emergency items
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Art supplies
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School supplies and dresses and suits for school dances
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And more
We’re seeking a small trailer for transporting and a storage unit, mobile shop or possibly an affordable store front with the help of our neighbors. Once attained we will be accepting all items, including furniture and clothing.
FREE LUNCHES AND HOLIDAY MEALS
We started a while back giving our free bagged lunches and having holiday meals. This holiday season we will be throwing our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Holiday Breakfast. Stay updated on these days on our community aid calendar. Our free bagged lunches are usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with an apple, banana, chips and granola bar. Alternative for allergies butter and jelly. More options coming soon.
Thanksgiving Dinner November 21st, 2026 4-7pm
Holiday Breakfast December 12th, 2026 8am-11am
Locations are to be announced. Our holiday events include free warm meals, coffee, hot chocolate and desserts, our free market is set up along with recycled arts and crafts, games and raffle baskets and this year we will playing movies on a projector! Folks can also use this as a warm place to be and gather with others. All are welcome.
We have a volunteer form for those who would like to help make dishes or volunteer at these community events. Email us or check our website early November for the form.
All of our events, activities and workshops we are accepting donations for our Free Market. We will also accept donations outside of the drop off days and locations if you reach out or fill out the donation form at the bottom of our Community Aid page here. Our Free Market is for our community, by our community. Everyone is welcome. To keep the market sustained we ask that you donate what you can and take what you need. Instead of donating to a thrift that turns around and sells it, we can put it all back into the community where it's more needed. We are hoping to reach all of the organizations within our county and the surrounding for visibility, partnership and collaboration. If you would love to collaborate or partner on our Free Market, we would absolutely love that.
COMMUNITY AID GARDEN
Our community aid garden is a stem of the system we are creating with and for our neighbors to help sustain ourselves, our families and everyone within our community without relying on the systems that are in place that ultimately don’t meet our needs. We want to be here for those who have been struggling either due to the rising poverty and increases in every day costs, the cuts and policy changes to our services or the lack of regulations on foods sold in stores today. While we are doing this and as more participate, we are taking money out of big corporations pockets and putting it back into our own community where it’s needed. Our garden is located outside of Seaman towards Highland County.
Updates on the Garden
9/10
Go through the photos to see now to when we started. The growth has been flourishing even after the storm. We decided to leave the garden how it was for a few days to see what lived and what we lost. We got very lucky and only really lost one of our corn crops along with the sunflowers and beans however the luffas began to thrive and are now producing and getting quite big. Cherry tomatoes took off as well as all of our peppers! We will have the most of these at our free markets. Unfortunately something got to our cucumbers, squashes and honey dews. Those are no longer with us and we will try again next year. The cantaloupes are stilling growing and we hope they last and same for our sugar baby watermelons. Most have gotten disease of some sort but a couple have continued to grow and be healthy. A couple will be ready for harvest soon. Oriental corn plot should be ready by October's market. Our marigolds are the tallest we've ever seen any before. We also realized too late that our pumpkin seeds weren't pumpkin seeds, they were squashes so we don't have any pumpkins this year but hope for many many more than we imagined for this year next year. We have updated a couple things and bought supplies with recent donations to help us with storing the harvests and supplies to give them away in.
8/13
This update isn't good after the recent storm that hit. We will update about it soon.
6/21
First picture is the plot that I did the three sisters but instead of squash, I put in luffas. So corn, beans and luffas plus sunflowers because it’s a good pest deterrent and companion.
Tomatoes are rising and I need to put string up and around for them and the cucumbers and zucchini. The nasturtiums are doing amazingly. We’ve got some big carrots in the bed! However the peppers seem to be paused at the moment for some reason. Broccoli, cauliflower, dill, more kale, Brussels sprouts and sage are in the ground.
6/21
The corn, luffas, beans and sunflowers are starting to get tall! Tomato plants are hugeeeee and tomatoes are starting to grow but I think I may have put those too close together along next to the cucumbers and zucchini.
Garden Needs to Prep for 2027:
We’re raising funds or asking for donations for our garden to help it thrive and grow bigger. Items needed are garden soil, wooden planks and pallets, thick hemp or natural rope string, metal stakes, large cow trellis, leaf and grass rakes, red bricks, found wood pieces, tarps, pear, apple and peach trees, 1 and 5 gallon buckets, sticks for fencing, outdoor paint and we’re hoping to build a shed with the eco-bricks to hold our garden storage in. None of these things need to be brand new, we just ask if they are good to use and healthy.
Projects in the Garden
Fresh foods and flowers for the market
Volunteer and honor systems
Kids and Families Gardening and Eco-Friendly classes
Compost Drop-Off Program
Collecting Eco-Bricks
Volunteers for the Garden
Weeding pathways and beds
Tilling and planting
Harvesting and logging harvests
Turn and water compost
Help with gardening classes
Help organizing events
Join our Community Aid Team to take lead on projects
and more!
Next year we will be adding:
Double everything we have this year
Fruit trees (we have 1 apple and 1 peach so far)
All herbs
Grapes
Pumpkins
Lettuce
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Chamomile
Nasturtium
Cucumber
Zucchini
Corn
Sunflowers (need more)
Green Beans
Luffas (need more)
Dill
Broccoli
Lettuce
Spinach
Cilantro
Peppers (need more)
Carrots
Parsley
Yellow Squash
Pumpkins
Honey Dew (need more)
Watermelon (need more)
Chives
Marigold (need flowers)
Calendula (need)
Lemonbalm (need)
Celery
Grape Tomatoes
Grapes
Petunias (need)
Oriental Corn
Sage
Zinnias
Brussel Sprouts
Kale (need more)
Chamomile
HOW TO CREATE COMMUNITY SYSTEMS
WITHOUT MONEY, SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE
It’s time we start helping out our community and those in it as much as we possibly can. Mutual aid is crucial in times especially like these and even the smallest of things can get someone through their day. We are gathering a complete list of every mutual aid group, event or fundraising/drives in our district. Where we can find resources and our basic necessities. From food to shelter to DV help and therapy. To clothes and blankets, free plan B or HIV testing. Any and all. We are also trying to create a system to help us through the winter and probably the incoming years.
Under our community resources page, you will find all of these resources we know we have in our areas or where to find what you would need. More is being added as we find them for you. Our resources can also be found there one we have it all organized.
Eventually we hope to create a bigger system that involves everyone including small businesses. As the times change and more of us struggle and struggle harder we are going to need our community to lean on and that is us. We all have a role in the revolution and we’re here when you’re ready with a wide range of different things you can choose from.
Do you have a skill, talent, expertise in a trade or hobby, or a small business and are interested in being apart of and participating in our community-focused mutual aid efforts we’re hoping to create and sustain? It also doesn't have to be an essential trade. Joy and beauty is also included. Cashless credit or time banking/swap or sharing. We want to lift everyone up to their best selves. Providing basic needs and positive conditions will help us all.
Example: If you make candles, you can help if we lose electricity and folks can offer . They do not have to only be essentials, joy is also resistance and also a necessity. Handy person? Help those who are in need of those kinds of services. Retired teacher? Help kids with furthering their education. If you babysit or have a teen daughter that babysits, help our group members have child care for meetings, protests, etc. You might make candles and someone couldn’t pay their electric bill. Retired teacher wanting to help educate our rural communities with classes. You have a nice table you want to get rid of and a photographer would like to have it. Trade a session for the table. You want your nails done and you know how to bake, trade nail service for some baked goods. Someone makes honey and another has eggs, swap the goods. We can swap music, books, movies, games, puzzles, etc and give back when finished. Much much more.
Let me get us started. -Taryn
I can offer photography services, doing your nails salon style, help with homeschooling for 3rd or 4th graders (I could work on other grade curriculums if needed as well). I am creating along with others a kids gardening class to feed the community, a free class and community garden. I can help folks with their house care, or yard work if needed. I would be able to help with transportation when available, provide meals for community dinners and delivery with others help, join women for support and sense of protection court if and when needed, get folks groceries if they are unable to get there. I could have free projector movie nights for the community and plan other kinds of fun activities and more.
We all have needs and we all have something to offer, no matter how big or small. What are your needs? What could help improve your daily life? Do you have something you would offer or contribute to our community?
Form is here! https://forms.gle/NNCyHC57jmunb1177
HOW TO BUILD COMMUNITY
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Leave your house
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Meet and learn to know your neighbors
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Meet people
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Talk to folks on your walks in your neighborhood
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Sit on your stoop more often
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Use your local library
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Share what you have
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Help a lost dog
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Take your kids to the park
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Pick up litter
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Show up to your local public school meetings
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Show up to your local council/board meetings
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Buy from local merchants with your values
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Fit it even if you didn't break it
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Hire young folks for odd easy jobs
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Volunteer at your local pantries, shelters or nursing homes
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Donate to your local food pantry, shelter or home
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Attend your local events
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Organize a pot luck or block party
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Garden together
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Barter for goods (mentioned above)
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Ask for help when you need it
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Help someone who needs help
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Share your skills and knowledge (mentioned above)
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Host a clothes swap
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Create method of survival and share with your neighbors
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Host protests or rallies to spread awareness (mentioned on take action page)
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Speak up in public spaces
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Practice empathy
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Start a tradition with your friends, family or neighbors
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Boycott those who don't support your person or community
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Take care of the environment around you
Examples and Ideas of Mutual Aid:
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Create a food pantry (were trying to have little libraries built in Adams county)
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Supper clubs or pot lucks.
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If you're an educator you could help host workshops or classes.
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If you make candles you can help if we lose our electricity and we can trade what we’re able.
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Sharing music, movies, puzzle, games etc. Take and give back system.
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Free friends and/or family events and activities (we have Appalachian Edge Ohio Indivisible Community Events and Activities we’ll be getting back to very very soon if you'd like to help, we need it)
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Community garden or if you grow food, can provide food for our network. (Our lead has space for a large garden to grow and feed our communities)
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Help with home projects.
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Dumpster diving and give away what you find.
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Water each others plants when one goes out of town.
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You can also add some ideas, just email us! (Add at the end the county you live in)
Dumpster Diving
Saving waste from dumpsters is legal as long as they are on public city street. Also if you have permission of the owner of the company or building. Although this practice (or the way they got around it in law) should not be illegal due to all the corporate waste.
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/