Conspire is working hard to make our big May event happen! Super sweet prizes are pouring in from generous donors and teams are amping up their best fundraising cat calls – find them on Razoo!. Or check out our sweet FB page to saddle up with your favorite team, donate funds or just post a kind comment to boost morale! A little birdie should be tweeting more Pub Quiz updates as we get closer to this very important date: MAY 20TH * BANGER’S * 7-9PM Hope you enjoyed Lauren’s writing. We have more! As promised, we’ll be switching from prose to poetry, and begin posting submissions penned by incarcerated women from all over Texas. We couldn’t be more honored that women are allowing us to share their writing on Conspire’s blog. It proves that our mission is worth pursuing and our efforts are being felt! Thanks you for supporting a great non-profit. Help us keep going - keep our classes … Continue reading →

A lost loved one’s possessions can symbolize an entire lifetime of memories and emotions. Here, in the final segment of Lauren Johnson’s remembrance of her grandmother, she fights to keep those emotions - and her Mimi’s memory - with her.   In 2003 my grandparents made a simple will and had it notarized.  I had seen one of its many copies at the time of Papaw’s death. When it was made, I was in prison. My uncle wasn’t, and my grandparents believed (at the time) that I had stolen from their home. That wasn’t the case, but since I had stolen from my uncle before, I understood.  The will mentioned only a few people specifically; I wasn’t among them. It made me a little sad. I felt forgotten, but didn’t want to bring it up because it wasn’t any of my business. There was only one thing I wanted anyway – but it was specifically … Continue reading →

Lauren Johnson’s very personal story continues. Here she opens up about acting as her grandmother’s caregiver, and shares the emotional roller coaster ride that role carried her on. By the time I arrived they had gotten her pain under control and she was sleeping soundly for the first time in days. I placed my power of attorney on file at the hospital and the doctor came in to speak to us. Mimi didn’t hear the conversation. It was just her sister and me there. The news came in doses. They had done a CT scan when she arrived; it showed cancer in her liver, lungs and kidneys. They were going to send the pulmonologist in to talk to us about what would come next. He would assess her, decide which way would be least invasive to do a biopsy to find out what kind of cancer it was, and go … Continue reading →

Much is happening behind the curtain at Conspire these days. We’ll be posting more details as they come up, until then, enjoy this teaser! Raising hell and raising funds Kat and Michelle managed to wrangle together a terrific group of volunteers to act as Conspire’s very own Fundraising Committee! The team is working hard coordinating this summer’s big event – a fundraising extravaganza! (Well, a super fun night where everybody wins.) Dust off your fancy pants and your thinking cap and tell your friends you’ll be attending the gala of the century. We’ll meet you there to kick some trivia butt, have a beer and hand out some sweet prizes! For now, mark your calendars: the evening of May 20th, you will be doing some good! Write on!! We’re honored and humbled to have received creative writing submissions from our own board members, as well as permission to publish from some of our class participants. Every woman … Continue reading →

Lauren Johnson, a Conspire board member, testified earlier this week in the House Human Services Committee on the three SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) bills up for review. Based on prior felony drug convictions, her children are only eligible for food stamps while her and her husband would be denied. Lauren has been very proactive and vocal to push for positive changes in Texas law to make it easier for individuals to re-enter society, be more than just a person with a record and simply maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thank you Lauren for speaking on SNAP requirements!

We need Team Captains for our Pub Quiz fundraiser May 20th, 2012 Monday, May 20th, 2012 at Bangers Sausage House from 7 – 9 pm Conspire Theatre, Geeks Who Drink, and Bangers are all teaming up to bring you a terrific fundraising event to support Conspire’s arts-based programming for women in jail, and for women post-incarceration. What it is: A pub quiz put together by trivia experts Geeks Who Drink on Bangers’ awesome outside patio. Bangers features a wide selection of both meat and vegetarian options, a wide variety of beers, and nonalcoholic beverages. If you don’t drink, don’t worry – there will be plenty of alternatives for you. What’s a pub quiz? It’s a trivia event, where teams compete against each other to see who can get the most correct answers. There will be different rounds with subjects like: Pop Culture, Music, Women in Movies, etc A quiz master … Continue reading →

Tuesday, February 12th from 7pm – 9pm in Studio 6, KLRU is hosting the event Inspiring Women Leaders, featuring profiles of women doing great work in the Austin community. One of them is about Katherine Craft, Conspire’s founder! KLRU was able to gain access to the Hilltop Unit in Gatesville to film a workshop with women in prison there. This is the first in-prison footage ever taken of a Conspire workshop. You’ll finally be able to see what we do! If you’re in Austin, please come – it’s free! Here’s what KLRU has to say about the event: Please note, you must RSVP on KLRU’s website to attend this event … http://www.klrusupport.org/InspiringWomenLeaders KLRU, the University of Texas Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders invite you to a discussion about cultivating leadership. The evening will also feature short video features on local … Continue reading →