Community Calendar

You're invited to join a free, virtual community of practice created for passionate nonprofit pros who are making a difference in New Mexico. This is a space for those in the social sector to share resources and practical tools to work through the chaos that is 2025.

Connect to gather and share insights, discuss what’s working and what isn’t, and gain real knowledge and support from a supportive network of peers.

By participating, you can:
Not feel alone in the tumult • Build meaningful connections • Share and gain knowledge • Enhance your skills with real-world, actionable strategies • Tackle common challenges with the collective wisdom of the community• Collaborate on impactful projects that move the needle in the social good space

This community of practice will meet from 12 noon to 1:15 p.m. MDT the last Wednesday of each month from April to September:
• April 30
• May 28
• June 25
• July 30
• Aug 27
• Sept 24

While this event is free, please RSVP to hold your place.

This community of practice emerged as a direct result of Prospera Partner’s Disrupting the Path: A New Way Forward for NM's Social Sector conversations where attendees expressed the desire for more opportunities to connect with other nonprofit organizations and of course, the people working within them. It’s more important than ever to stay connected to community!

Generously supported by the Mind the Gap Fund, a donor advised fund committed to systems change and equity in the nonprofit sector, this event is part of BIG – Bold Impact for Good, a fiscally sponsored program of the nonprofit Community Ventures. Presented in partnership with New Mexico Thrives, an ally member of the National Council of Nonprofits.

Drawing from the University Art Museum's extensive collection of over 2,200 Mexican retablos, Trinities of Heaven and Earth explores the spiritual and cultural importance of these sacred images. Retablos, small devotional paintings traditionally displayed in Mexican homes, served as vital expressions of Catholic faith and values within the household. The imagery of the Holy Family conveys blessings related to family life, while depictions of the Holy Trinity invoke divine guidance. Together, these themes explore the connection between sacred devotion and earthly life, bridging the divine and the domestic.

The exhibition will open on March 21, 2025, at 5:30 pm in the Margie and Bobby Rankin Retablo Gallery, and will be open until March 7, 2026.

Get your hands dirty (in the best way!) and learn how to craft your own modern concrete planter from start to finish. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll discover the basics of mixing, casting, and curing cement to create a sleek, minimalist home for your favorite plant. All materials (and plant!) provided—just bring your creative spirit. Ages 16+

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gerald L. Kumpf Reading from OFFICIAL RECORD at Branigan.

LAS CRUCES, NM - Howling Coyote Press is presenting a special reading by 82 year old veteran author Gerald L. Kumpf on Wednesday, September 24th at 6:30PM, featuring excerpts from his powerful new novel "Official Record"—a multi-generational saga about forgotten letters and buried secrets that shape three generations of the Wiseman family. Narrator Jimmy Wiseman inherits a photograph, a journal, and a box of letters that reveal a powerful romance between his mother, Rosalie, and Dusty, a marine on his way to Vietnam—a love story rippling across generations.
Kumpf brings remarkable credentials to his storytelling: twenty years of combined military service in the Marine Corps and Air Force, a masters degree in literature, a distinguished career as macro programmer, and an unprecedented twelve Senior Olympics gold medals in reading. "My dad doesn't just read—he performs," says Anthony Kumpf, who organized the event. "His twelve gold medals in reading aren't just awards; they represent a genuine love for the spoken word."
Free digital copies of OFFICIAL RECORD will be available to all who attend the reading. One lucky attendee will, via a blind drawing, receive a free paperback signed by the author.

Date: 09/24/25
Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Location: Branigan Library Roadrunner Room
Admission: Free to the public, all attendees get a free digital copy of OFFICIAL RECORD.
Contact: kumpfgl@netscape.net

For more information about Gerald L. Kumpf and "Official Record," visit officialrecordnovel.com

Sarena Ulibarri lives, writes, and plants trees in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her book Another Life, about a fictional eco-village in Death Valley, was published by Stelliform Press in 2023 and translated into Spanish by Crononauta. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in magazines such as DreamForge, Solarpunk Magazine, and Tractor Beam as well as in anthologies such as Bright Green Futures and Solar Flare. She edited two anthologies of international optimistic climate fiction, Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers and Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters, and co-edited the anthologies Multispecies Cities and Solarpunk Creatures. For four years, she served as a story reviewer for Grist's Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest.

Storytelling can be a powerful tool to help us imagine a way through the climate crisis. In order to reach better futures, we must first be able to imagine them. In this one-hour interactive workshop, we’ll discuss an emerging genre of science fiction called solarpunk, which challenges writers to combine pragmatic and imaginative techniques to envision climate solutions. Solarpunk focuses on grassroots, collective action and explores the community-level impacts of sustainable technologies and regenerative practices.

Al-Anon is for family and friends affected by someone else's drinking or drug use.

Social time with coffee and goodies followed by a speaker on a topic of interest to the Parkinson's community. Caregivers as well as those diagnosed with Parkinson's are cordially invited.

September 2025 at the Deming Art Center will feature an exhibit of fiber arts, that could include paper, wood, leather, fiber clay and small fabric items (no quilts). There is a talented group of Fiber Artists in the area and we look forward to what they will bring to this exhibit.
There will be a time to meet the artists on Sunday, September 7, 2025, from 1-2:30PM. The exhibit will be up from September 2-29, 2025 – closed Labor Day. Please see our Facebook page, call 575-546-3663 or check out our website at www.demingarts.org for more information.

This project is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Is your fear of speaking in public holding you back from your full potential?
Is speaking stressful for you?
Do you wish you could stop worrying about your next presentation at work or in a class?

You're invited to visit a Los Chismosos Toastmasters club meeting, as our guest!

You will learn-by-doing, in a supportive and positive club setting that meets each Thursday on Zoom. The new "Pathways" program from Toastmasters International is designed to provide you with a safe, step-by-step way to learn public speaking skills.

You are free to select a "Pathways" track that most benefits you and aligns with your needs and interests.

When you join Toastmasters, you can stop worrying about your next presentation and get immediate feedback from experienced speakers. You'll discover a positive and supportive group, willing to help you take your first steps toward speaking with confidence.

You will benefit from Toastmasters by learning to:

--Find an immediate connection with your audience;
--Organize your thoughts logically for clarity;
--Energize your speaking with storytelling;
--Find your voice and your unique style to convey your best ideas.

Founded in 1984, Los Chismosos Toastmasters' membership includes faculty, graduate students, and staff at New Mexico State University as well as people in the business community, retirees, and those new to the area.