Last October, I started a group here in Benicia CA. It’s an HCR Coffee Klatch, for local Heather followers. I advertised on our NextDoor. It’s been an absolute lifesaver! We just had a special meeting last night because of the debate and the SCOTUS ruling. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded neighbors, but we’ve all learned so much from each other and have empowered each other to figure out what we do best and do it! I would highly recommend to everyone to start an in-person group of their own. We meet twice a month at a local café to support each other during this chaotic time in our nation’s history.
Hi Sharlee, your local HCR group is terrific! We also have a grassroots support group that meets by zoom twice a month. For more info, email us: heathersherd@gmail.com
Love it!! A friend just called today to talk about doing something similar, but focusing on studying the Project 2025 plan. (I also pointed her to Chop Wood/Carry Water as this group has been kind of my support group through this all. Those daily actions are gold.) Don't know if others would be comfortable doing this, but why not post a message of support for Biden on the whitehouse.gov site? I posted there today. The message is pasted below, in case anyone wants to do that as well. I'm tired of the way the debate is being framed. Trump should end his campaign, not Biden! They need to hear that from us, not the media or pundits.
===
Hello -- I wholeheartedly support Joe Biden for re-election. I'm not happy with the media's focus on one not-great night and calls for him to step down. They need to sit down. His opponent is a convicted felon who speaks in a combination of a cascade of lies and word salad, fell asleep repeatedly at his own criminal trial, and used violence to try to overturn an election that he lost -- not to mention eroding civil rights, damaging our influence and standing abroad, all the other cases in progress and the Project 2025 disaster-in-waiting. Why aren't media demanding that the orange 45 step down? I can't stand that our own party members are joining the call -- like they've once again allowed Republicans to control the narrative and have swallowed that narrative whole. It's all for Joe Biden or our great American experiment is truly over. I felt like my country died on July 1, 2024. We have to fix this, and Joe's the one to make that start.
Hi, I’m also volunteering with Field Team 6: writing postcards to encourage likely Democrats to register to vote, organizing postcard parties twice a month, and helping people send texts by acting as a moderator. I’ve also donated much needed funds to Field Team 6. It costs them less than a dollar for each newly registered Democrat or Independent voter. That’s a big bang for your buck! You can volunteer and/or donate to Field Team 6 here: https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops
💙 Field Team 6 and agree they are very efficient with their 💲! May I also add they have a new Postcarding Fund. There are so many wanting to help yet unable due to limited resources and postcarding is often their comfort zone..For a 5 or $10 donation…yes, let’s help everyone do this !!
Field Team 6 is in my regular postcard rotation! I am writing postcards to register women in NC-01 (the only competitive House district in my home state of NC).
I write postcards while I listen to substacks - Robert Hubbell, Jessica (now her husband), and Heather Cox Richardson. In a 10 - 15 minute listening session, I can usually write a half dozen postcards. I also regularly participate in postcard writing Zooms:
I have written postcards for many different Democratic candidates through Activate America, Grandmothers for A Brighter Future, and Postcards To Voters. I started writing postcards several months ago and I felt I made a strike for Democracy when Tom Suozzi won his congressional seat in New York. Since then I’ve written postcards in support of mail-in voters in Ohio’s abortion amendment, and Pennsylvania’s primary election, Jon Tester in MT, Ruben Gallegos in AZ, Jacky Rosen in NV, Rudy Salas and Katie Porter in CA, and I’m just finishing up the last of my 500 postcards for Sherrod Brown in OH. I’ve lost track of the total number of cards I’ve sent and the postage I’ve paid, but this is what I can contribute. Wish it could be for all the Dems running for offices all throughout the US.
As a veteran postcard writer, I am sure you are aware of the upcoming postage increase, but for the casual postcard writers out there:
Postage will be increasing from $0.53 to $0.56 for postcards and from $0.68 to $0.73 for first class (letters). The changes take effect July 14th.
I stocked up in January before the first 2024 price increase but blew throughmy postcard stamps by March! Now I am second guessing myself about how many stamps to buy.
If you can't find any at your local post office as the deadline approaches, you can order them online from USPS.com for a flat processing fee of a couple of bucks. But don't fall for a discount stamps scam on social media!
I am in Minnesota and I belong to a group who has been phonebanking into Wisconsin since early February. Wisconsin is on the list of six swing states where the Presidential election will be settled. We are currently talking only to undecided and ticket splitter voters, as well as Dems who are not regular voters. We train in new callers every week.
I am so sorry you are sick. Take good care of yourself!
My friends and I formed a Swingleft group Guardians of Democracy in January. Together we have written over 2300 cards and letters encouraging voters in Swing states to register to vote and to vote for Democrats in special elections and primaries. We also follow Chop Wood suggestions and make calls to our senators and reps.
Jess, please get better and we will hold down the fort until you're back! Here is a link to all Volunteer Opportunities with Field Team 6 to register likely Democrats in swing states. We have phone banks, text banks, postcarding and in-person voter drives. https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops Personally, I lead the postcarding team so I was extra proud to read the blurb about one of our amazing volunteers hitting 10k postcards! Anyone who has any specific questions about anything Field Team 6 related, feel free to email me at postcards@fieldteam6.org. Edited to add, we are texting 1 million people every Saturday - starting this Saturday - through the election. Sign up here! https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/643009/
I love that the response of activists like us to the "dump Biden" c**p and the awful decisions of the Supreme Court is to double down on postcarding, texting, phone-banking etc.!
I hope even more people wake up to the fact that the only way to save our democracy is to get off the sidelines and get involved!!
I volunteer with the DNC national voter information hotline. I also work with the League of Women Voters. I’ve been registering voters and giving presentations to high school students explaining civic empowerment and urging them to use their voice. We also pre register them to vote. Here in New York 16 & 17 year olds can preregister. When they turn 18, they are automatically able to vote.
Two thoughts--1) Share Jessica's ideas and 2) push people to work on down ballot campaigns or initiatives. If Trump wins, more than ever, we will need a D House and Senate to hold him accountable, or try to restrain him;. If Trump wins, statehouses races become the stage for educating and promoting issues, like what Antonia writes about.
I was unaware of Field Team 6. Living in a Red state, I work with some other groups on remote organizing.
To you and your readers? to those living in Red States, how do you like using Field Team 6? I do like their menu of options on their webpage. https://www.fieldteam6.org/about-us
My neighbor came down with covid too, Jessica. Ugh! I hate that it’s reared its ugly head again. Be well. Stay under the covers if you can stand the heat. NorCal East Bay is at 102° today. 🥵 Lots and lots of liquids! 💕
I am working hard to pass along reliable sources of information (like your newsletter!) to people I know that are curious to learn more. Thank you for your education and guidance!
Per your advice, I am writing 200 postcards via https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/. They will be mailed in October to strong Ohio Dem voters. Plan to order more. Also, working for local candidates in Maryland where we have to keep our Senate seat blue by electing Angela Alsobrooks to replace Senator Ben Cardin and in my district elect a fabulous young woman to replace Congressman Sarbanes, Sarah Elfreth. We need these women's voices in Congress.
Thanks for inspiring us daily! Take time to get well. WE WILL CARRY ON AND WIN IN NOVEMBER!!
Yes. I like postcards to swing states. Their goal is to mail out 26 million postcards in late October! This is a nice group to tell newbies about since it’s so simple and they have all summer to write them !
They are great for groups of postcard writers. I'm in Mecklenburg County NC, and the Meck County Dems and our local Indivisible chapter teamed up and ordered a bunch of postcards (10K?) for NC. Then they recruited people to have bins of postcards on their front porches so that people could pick up batches of postcards somewhere convenient to them. Those are available in batches of 100.
They have also sponsored several postcarding parties at people's homes as well as public venues. The split those out in smaller batches so that people could tackle them within a couple of hours.
Last October, I started a group here in Benicia CA. It’s an HCR Coffee Klatch, for local Heather followers. I advertised on our NextDoor. It’s been an absolute lifesaver! We just had a special meeting last night because of the debate and the SCOTUS ruling. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded neighbors, but we’ve all learned so much from each other and have empowered each other to figure out what we do best and do it! I would highly recommend to everyone to start an in-person group of their own. We meet twice a month at a local café to support each other during this chaotic time in our nation’s history.
Sharlee Beasley
That is absolutely fantastic!
Hi Sharlee, your local HCR group is terrific! We also have a grassroots support group that meets by zoom twice a month. For more info, email us: heathersherd@gmail.com
Heather's Herd is the BEST!
Love it!! A friend just called today to talk about doing something similar, but focusing on studying the Project 2025 plan. (I also pointed her to Chop Wood/Carry Water as this group has been kind of my support group through this all. Those daily actions are gold.) Don't know if others would be comfortable doing this, but why not post a message of support for Biden on the whitehouse.gov site? I posted there today. The message is pasted below, in case anyone wants to do that as well. I'm tired of the way the debate is being framed. Trump should end his campaign, not Biden! They need to hear that from us, not the media or pundits.
===
Hello -- I wholeheartedly support Joe Biden for re-election. I'm not happy with the media's focus on one not-great night and calls for him to step down. They need to sit down. His opponent is a convicted felon who speaks in a combination of a cascade of lies and word salad, fell asleep repeatedly at his own criminal trial, and used violence to try to overturn an election that he lost -- not to mention eroding civil rights, damaging our influence and standing abroad, all the other cases in progress and the Project 2025 disaster-in-waiting. Why aren't media demanding that the orange 45 step down? I can't stand that our own party members are joining the call -- like they've once again allowed Republicans to control the narrative and have swallowed that narrative whole. It's all for Joe Biden or our great American experiment is truly over. I felt like my country died on July 1, 2024. We have to fix this, and Joe's the one to make that start.
Thanks for listening.
We love you, Jessica! Go hide and rest up. We need to keep taking shifts till November. Xoxo
Will do. Promise.
I second that. Take good care. Your wonderful work inspires all of us. This is a relay, not a sprint. Enjoy your family and your darling dog❤️❤️❤️😊🦋
Hi, I’m also volunteering with Field Team 6: writing postcards to encourage likely Democrats to register to vote, organizing postcard parties twice a month, and helping people send texts by acting as a moderator. I’ve also donated much needed funds to Field Team 6. It costs them less than a dollar for each newly registered Democrat or Independent voter. That’s a big bang for your buck! You can volunteer and/or donate to Field Team 6 here: https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops
We can do this! We must do this!
🙌🙌Joyce!
💙 Field Team 6 and agree they are very efficient with their 💲! May I also add they have a new Postcarding Fund. There are so many wanting to help yet unable due to limited resources and postcarding is often their comfort zone..For a 5 or $10 donation…yes, let’s help everyone do this !!
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ft6-postcards
Rest,restore, and heal Jess…The troops will carry on!❤️🤍💙
Field Team 6 is in my regular postcard rotation! I am writing postcards to register women in NC-01 (the only competitive House district in my home state of NC).
I also write for Postcards to Voters (www.postcardstovoters.org) for special elections (their specialty), Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote) since they have campaigns for critical House and Senate races, Postcards to Swing States (www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/) to turn out NC voters, NEAZ Native Democrats (https://neaznativedemocrats.org/) to boost voting on tribal lands in Northeast AZ, and Reclaim our Vote (https://www.centerforcommonground.org/reclaim-our-vote) to boost voter turnout amongst BIPOC voters in Southern states including NC. I am also starting to write postcards for a couple of races in Mecklenburg county where I live.
I write postcards while I listen to substacks - Robert Hubbell, Jessica (now her husband), and Heather Cox Richardson. In a 10 - 15 minute listening session, I can usually write a half dozen postcards. I also regularly participate in postcard writing Zooms:
* Markers for Democracy (https://www.mobilize.us/?event_type=34&is_virtual=true&org_ids=34072
* Postcards with Dolly and Sue (https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/375701/)
* Swing Left Inland Valley (https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/602312/)
If you are new to postcarding, you can attend one of these orientation sessions:
* Field Team 6: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/602257/
* Markers for Democracy: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/624156/
I have written postcards for many different Democratic candidates through Activate America, Grandmothers for A Brighter Future, and Postcards To Voters. I started writing postcards several months ago and I felt I made a strike for Democracy when Tom Suozzi won his congressional seat in New York. Since then I’ve written postcards in support of mail-in voters in Ohio’s abortion amendment, and Pennsylvania’s primary election, Jon Tester in MT, Ruben Gallegos in AZ, Jacky Rosen in NV, Rudy Salas and Katie Porter in CA, and I’m just finishing up the last of my 500 postcards for Sherrod Brown in OH. I’ve lost track of the total number of cards I’ve sent and the postage I’ve paid, but this is what I can contribute. Wish it could be for all the Dems running for offices all throughout the US.
Wow you’re amazing!
Thanks, just a retired teacher with lots of time on my hands. Helping the candidates helps me maintain my sanity.
As a veteran postcard writer, I am sure you are aware of the upcoming postage increase, but for the casual postcard writers out there:
Postage will be increasing from $0.53 to $0.56 for postcards and from $0.68 to $0.73 for first class (letters). The changes take effect July 14th.
I stocked up in January before the first 2024 price increase but blew throughmy postcard stamps by March! Now I am second guessing myself about how many stamps to buy.
If you can't find any at your local post office as the deadline approaches, you can order them online from USPS.com for a flat processing fee of a couple of bucks. But don't fall for a discount stamps scam on social media!
I am in Minnesota and I belong to a group who has been phonebanking into Wisconsin since early February. Wisconsin is on the list of six swing states where the Presidential election will be settled. We are currently talking only to undecided and ticket splitter voters, as well as Dems who are not regular voters. We train in new callers every week.
Hope you feel better soon.
That’s phenomenal and so important thank you!
We have people calling from every time zone in the US. We provide training and support. Leave a comment if you want more info.
That's hard and important work. Thank you!!!
I am so sorry you are sick. Take good care of yourself!
My friends and I formed a Swingleft group Guardians of Democracy in January. Together we have written over 2300 cards and letters encouraging voters in Swing states to register to vote and to vote for Democrats in special elections and primaries. We also follow Chop Wood suggestions and make calls to our senators and reps.
Wowowow! Amazing!
Jess, please get better and we will hold down the fort until you're back! Here is a link to all Volunteer Opportunities with Field Team 6 to register likely Democrats in swing states. We have phone banks, text banks, postcarding and in-person voter drives. https://www.fieldteam6.org/all-volunteer-ops Personally, I lead the postcarding team so I was extra proud to read the blurb about one of our amazing volunteers hitting 10k postcards! Anyone who has any specific questions about anything Field Team 6 related, feel free to email me at postcards@fieldteam6.org. Edited to add, we are texting 1 million people every Saturday - starting this Saturday - through the election. Sign up here! https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/event/643009/
Yesyesyes! Thank you Sharon!
Hi Sharon, you should publicize the news about postcarding in the most recent FT6 newsletter:
https://www.fieldteam6.org/newsletter
Get well soon. I just signed up to send 200 postcards to Arizona voters.
Yay Leone! Thank you!
I love that the response of activists like us to the "dump Biden" c**p and the awful decisions of the Supreme Court is to double down on postcarding, texting, phone-banking etc.!
I hope even more people wake up to the fact that the only way to save our democracy is to get off the sidelines and get involved!!
I volunteer with the DNC national voter information hotline. I also work with the League of Women Voters. I’ve been registering voters and giving presentations to high school students explaining civic empowerment and urging them to use their voice. We also pre register them to vote. Here in New York 16 & 17 year olds can preregister. When they turn 18, they are automatically able to vote.
I'd love to do presentations like that!
They are deeply satisfying and uplifting. We’re gearing up for September and October.
HS Voter Registration week is coming!
https://www.thecivicscenter.org/hsvrw
The Civic Center has a great map showing which states allow young people to pre-register. It more than most people know about!
https://www.thecivicscenter.org/map
Take care of yourself, Jessica! Feel better soon!
My husband and I spent Saturday morning canvassing in our neighborhood. Great conversations and democrats fired up to win
Thank you SO MUCH for this!
Sending you virtual chicken soup...
Two thoughts--1) Share Jessica's ideas and 2) push people to work on down ballot campaigns or initiatives. If Trump wins, more than ever, we will need a D House and Senate to hold him accountable, or try to restrain him;. If Trump wins, statehouses races become the stage for educating and promoting issues, like what Antonia writes about.
I was unaware of Field Team 6. Living in a Red state, I work with some other groups on remote organizing.
To you and your readers? to those living in Red States, how do you like using Field Team 6? I do like their menu of options on their webpage. https://www.fieldteam6.org/about-us
Oh Field Team Six is the best.
Politics Girl had a great interview with Jason Berlin, founder of FT6, earlier this year. It can be found here:
Register Democrats, Save the World - a conversation with Jason Berlin from FieldTeam6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVUsBHUBvS8&t=8s
They are great!!! Please spread the word about them.
My neighbor came down with covid too, Jessica. Ugh! I hate that it’s reared its ugly head again. Be well. Stay under the covers if you can stand the heat. NorCal East Bay is at 102° today. 🥵 Lots and lots of liquids! 💕
Oy stay hydrated!
Sorry your neighbor got it too. :( May you both and your families/friends stay safe and cool and take good care of yourselves.
I hope that you are feeling better soon!
I am working hard to pass along reliable sources of information (like your newsletter!) to people I know that are curious to learn more. Thank you for your education and guidance!
Thank you!!
Sigh. I hope you will be over the worst of it soon, Jess. We’re keeping the fire going.
I am writing 100 postcards to voters in swing states—PA.
Thank you, Paula!
Per your advice, I am writing 200 postcards via https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/. They will be mailed in October to strong Ohio Dem voters. Plan to order more. Also, working for local candidates in Maryland where we have to keep our Senate seat blue by electing Angela Alsobrooks to replace Senator Ben Cardin and in my district elect a fabulous young woman to replace Congressman Sarbanes, Sarah Elfreth. We need these women's voices in Congress.
Thanks for inspiring us daily! Take time to get well. WE WILL CARRY ON AND WIN IN NOVEMBER!!
Yes. I like postcards to swing states. Their goal is to mail out 26 million postcards in late October! This is a nice group to tell newbies about since it’s so simple and they have all summer to write them !
They are great for groups of postcard writers. I'm in Mecklenburg County NC, and the Meck County Dems and our local Indivisible chapter teamed up and ordered a bunch of postcards (10K?) for NC. Then they recruited people to have bins of postcards on their front porches so that people could pick up batches of postcards somewhere convenient to them. Those are available in batches of 100.
They have also sponsored several postcarding parties at people's homes as well as public venues. The split those out in smaller batches so that people could tackle them within a couple of hours.
Yes we will!
Happy 4th Jess and everyone. Rest and get well. Head down, pens in hand and we will win!!!