Well... things aren't exactly great are they? We're on a roller coaster of emotions stemming from all the awful Supreme Court of the United States' decisions this session. And while we like to put on a brave face and roll up our sleeves and do the work (damn, this work never ends?), we are also tired. Tired of the systemic erasure of our right to bodily autonomy. Tired of the willful destruction of the planet. Tired of the colonial state. Tired of the war waged on the LBGTQ+ community. Tired that guns have more rights than people with a uterus. And more rights than children and educators to go to school in peace.
Anyway, it was really hard to decide who the recipient of our We Care Wednesday fundraiser would be. Thanks to all of you we were able to donate $950 to the Western Massachusetts Abortion Fund in May and if you've been following along on social media, Virginia has been loudly beating the drum of "become a monthly donor!" Let this blog post be the last bit of encouragement you need to sign up to make a monthly donation to an abortion fund near you!
Now to get to why we decided on the United State of Women, a national organization that was born out of the Obama Administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls. USOW holds a unique position within the gender equity movement. They sit at the uncommon intersection of policy, community engagement, culture change, and leadership development. Since 2016, they’ve served as a go-to platform for partners, stakeholders, and the community to address issues facing women and other marginalized genders. UPDATE: Thanks to your generosity we donated $575!
USOW is a great resource to becoming an abortion advocate. Take your advocacy to the next level and pledge to protect abortion access. There is an upcoming Virtual Townhall on July 19, 2022 at 7 PM ET that USOW is hosting: "Our Post-Roe World Explained" that will not only discuss how the SCOTUS decision will impact access to abortion but they'll also share concrete actions you can take to advocate for abortion access and reproductive justice for ALL.
You can get involved right away at usow.org/repro/.
You can donate directly at usow.org/donate/.
You can purchase Sarah Dudek's awesome screen print (pictured below) directly from her shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/1245347010/abortion-care-is-health-care-screen. The sale of this print benefits the National Network of Abortion Funds. You can also make a donation at donate.abortionfunds.org
*Since launching the We Care Wednesday initiative in January 2017 we have donated over $57,905 to a variety of nonprofits and mutual aid funds doing essential work in our community as well as other places. From the Mayor's Disaster Fund to BAGLY to Movement Voter Project and Found In Translation. We select organizations that we feel represent not only our commitment to a better, more equitable world but also our desire to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."