Instead of rehashing the bad news, here’s some good news
Spread the Vote update:
Last week, I announced our 2019 AoCC goal to buy 300 IDs for Americans forced by oppressive voting laws to get them. Kat Calvin, the director of Spread the Vote, was thrilled. At $40 each, 300 IDs would mean raising $12,000. She told me that in the just one week, we’ve already raised $2,177.41!
Comment when you take action update:
Last week, I asked you to share which actions you did from the Checklist on our website. I promised that one person would be chosen at random, and we’d make a $100 donation to their charity of choice. Cindy was our winning commenter! She too decided to donate to Spread the Vote, bringing our total contribution (so far) to $2,277.41—that’s 56 IDs!
Unintended consequence:
As if that wasn’t great enough, sharing about how you took action had a positive unintended consequence on me and our volunteers. Friend, the AoCC volunteers are smart, creative, and dedicated, but the work we do is hard. I think most of us didn’t realize how weary we were until reading all your responses.
They reacted with comments like:
- It’s so wonderful to know what we do really is meaningful. Teary eyed.
- Wow. I didn’t realize how much I needed to see this. It may become my new “go to” place when I need a bit of encouragement.
- This. Is. Amazing. It made me teary. It was really affirming to hear people say they are doing actions that we (as individual researchers) specifically suggested.
- It is so empowering to think I helped to make this person aware of an injustice, and now they have done something about it.
- OMG. I started crying reading those comments. It’s the most encouraging thing I’ve experienced in a long time.
Your words touched our hearts and lifted our spirits. Even though our subscribers and volunteer team are scattered across the country (and the world), you reminded us that we are connected. That this work matters. We are in this together. What a gift.
Self care and time off:
On the 4th Sunday of each month, we rest. That means there’s no Checklist next week, but we’ll be back on March 3rd. Really, seriously, and truly, be sure to take time for self care and meaningful connection over the next few weeks. This is how we will all persevere to the 2020 election and beyond.