Success

I recently participated in organizing the Anchorage Women's March. One of my responsibilities was running the fund raising campaign. We ended up being very successful.
This is the letter I sent to the contributors to the campaign.

It is the morning after. I am writing to check in with my co-conspirators. In the next week I will do the exact math and report back to let you know how the money was dispersed. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that we have been successful. We have meet and exceeded so many of our goals.

• We raised enough money to cover all  of our expenses, both predicted and un-predicted. 
• We raised enough money to cover the permitting expenses of our Sister Marches.
• We had a single generous donor pay for all the food in the Williwaw concert venue. It was such an unexpected and generous gift. 
• We gathered 3500 people in a snow storm to represent our concerns. 
• We all collectively participated in the largest organized event our planet has ever seen.  There were over four million of us.
• We lifted our own spirits and the spirits of our neighbors.
• We were inspired by our elders, and our up and coming leaders.

I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of this process. It was so uplifting, and empowering.  It is what we needed, because we have a long road ahead.

The pundits are saying we are going to fall by the wayside like the Occupy Movement. They did not fall by the wayside in my opinion. I think that perhaps they  re-grouped and learned. Like in any war there are battles that are won and lost. We are not done. We have not been defeated. We are not in-power right now, but we are empowered now.

We must keep our feet on the ground and moving forward.

I had an interview today with a right leaning journalist who told me he had a similar interview with people from the Tea Party movement when they were getting started. I asked for comparisons. He mentioned that the Tea party movement wasn’t really amalgamated until a year into the Obama administration.  He noted our energy passion. In comparison, we are boots on the ground, organized and are exponential in numbers compared to them on day one (my words).

He said they had an organized message, measurable goals, talking points, and plans of action to meet those goals. They were successful in making the most obstructive congress ever and eventually electing the mess we are dealing with today. He felt that we were not as clear. He noticed that every speaker spoke about something different. Like we were, “all over the map.” We want reproductive rights, respect, health care, environmental protection, native rights, science, equality... I got his point, he feels we want a lot. To him, the message is muddied. My response to this concern is:

1.   Women have been multi-tasking for centuries, because we have to.

2.   With our exponential numbers, we can divide and conquer. We have the numbers on our side.

3.   All the above can be condensed into one single desire: Liberty and Justice for All. We are ready to fight for it.  

When we met in the Williwaw venue, we had gathered a small portion of the social justice working groups in Anchorage. We could not fit everyone who wanted to be there, but we tried to get a good representation of the options you have available to you. You can connect with the cause that speaks to you the strongest. 

If you want to become more politically active, get a hold of Alaska Women for Political Action. If you want to protect our salmon and other wildlife, here is a link to 11 different environmentally active groups in Alaska that you can choose from. If you want to work to promote Native Rights, you can work with First Alaskans Institute. If you don’t think companies should have person-hood rights, connect with Move to Amend . If you want to protect our public schools, please work with Great Alaska Schools. If you would like to help support refugees, you can pair with Catholic Social Services. If you want to work within a religious organization, the two local churches that actively supported our march were the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and the Anchorage Lutheran churches. Don’t get overwhelmed. Pick one and act. If you can, give.

We have to remember that we are the majority. We are stronger together. We must follow up on our pledges to act. We must vote. We must attend political meetings.  We must connect with people who aren’t voting. We must learn how to communicate effectively with people we don’t agree with. We have to re-learn civil discourse and teach it to our children.

So, it remains to be seen if we will be successful with the biggest and most important goals of all.

·        Will we stand fast in the face of the upcoming onslaught?

·        Will we work together to defend our neighbors?

·        Will we back up our words and marches with action?

·        Will we turn around the congress in the next election?

·        Will we protect our environment?

·        Will we bring a wave of women into public office?

·        Will we make our country and world the place we want it to be?

·        Will our daughters and granddaughters be safer than we were?

We know we have not been defeated. We know that we are not in-power right now, but we are empowered now. They know we are coming.

It is up to us. It is up to you.

You have your marching orders.

• 49 Moons-. Local Clearing house for events, and information to get through the next 49 moons.
• Indivisible-National Clearing house for resistance to the Trump/Pence agenda. 
• Planned Parenthood.
• First Alaskans Institute
• Identity Alaska
• Alaska Women for Political Action
• Black Lives Matter
• 11 different environmentally active groups in Alaska
• Move to Amend 
• Bridge Builders of Alaska
• Great Alaska Schools.
• AWAIC
• Catholic Social Services
• Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
• Anchorage Lutheran churches