As we’ve always said, the best way to combat that awful, sinking feeling you get watching the news is to get involved and start making change. And the organizing for 2025 has already started. 

Read that again: The organizing for 2025 has already started.

As we lingered over the second piece of pie, we reflected on how strange time feels right now. It’s a bit like we are dancing the night away as the iceberg gets nearer and nearer. We know how hard it is to ignore that 2025 and the new administration are coming but we hope you have been able to unplug over the past week and that you will use this holiday time to recharge. If you can engage now, read to the end of the newsletter to get to our Calls To Action and Events section.

Today, however, is Giving Tuesday and we hope you will make a donation to NJ 11th for Change. As noted, 2025 is only weeks away and New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is a national bellwether. History has its eyes on us. NJ 11th for Change has work to do and we need your financial support to get it done.

In the past week, we hope you have taken the time to regroup, process, rage garden, or do what you needed to do to absorb the news that the chaos and trauma of another Trump presidency awaits us. It’s been a hard week plus. 

Aside from  long walks, we have found the greatest comfort in spending time with the NJ 11th for Change community. Thank you so much to everyone who made it out to the post election event last week. There were dozens of soups and breads and new and old friends alike. Somebody left behind a green bag. Email Judy to arrange for a pick up. While yes, everyone is feeling sad/angry/afraid/all of the above, we are also seeing a lot of resolve. We didn’t come this far to quit now! 

Friends, we are still numb. But also, we know we have each other. We hope you will join us for soup and community this Saturday if you feel up for it. We promise friendly faces, delicious food, and hugs if you need them. Hope to see you there, it’s an open house, so drop by for as long as you like. No pressure if you don’t feel up to a big gathering yet, we understand. Watch this space, more to come. For now, we are off to make a big pot of soup… 

Sign up to join us: https://www.mobilize.us/nj11thforchange/event/742317/

NJ 11th for Change’s Post Election Get Together- Sat, Nov. 9th, 2024 

Clearly this is not the outcome we worked for. We don’t know what comes next but we know it comes next here and with this community. 

Run through the tape. TWO FREAKING DAYS. Seriously, the best thing we can do is keep doing what we’ve been doing! We don’t mean doom scrolling. We mean CANVASSING! PHONE BANKING! TEXT BANKING! Checking on your friends and family and neighbors and making sure they have solid voting plans!

Gotta say, GOTV vote chasing is our favorite kind of canvassing! Knock on doors and your message is just, hey, we know you are a good voter, what is your plan to get to the polls? Do you know where to go? Can you bring a few friends and family members with you? The folks we talked to were grateful that we were there to help!

FOUR DAYS to Election Day. 

Looking for ways to manage your stress and anxiety? Our friend Gail has restarted Haiku Fridays on our Facebook member page and gotta say, taking a little break to read and write poetry is quite soothing and energizing. Here are some of our favorites:

Six more days. SIX MORE DAYS. Time to make your plans. Make your plan to vote if you haven’t yet! Are you a vote by mail voter? Find that VBM ballot and BRING IT TO A DROP BOX. Prefer to vote in person? Early voting continues through this Sunday, find a location here! And check on your friends, neighbors and family, make sure they have solid voting plans as well!

We are all Election Therapists now.

Twelve more days until Election Day. TWELVE FREAKING DAYS. Sorry for yelling, everyone we know is on edge. But also, we see so much positive news! For all the anxiety calls, texts, emails, or smoke signals, every call or group chat or random meetup with old college friends ends with “so I signed up to knock doors in PA,”  “so I sent 5000 texts,”  “so I did a phone bank and it was actually fun!” 

Fourteen days to Election Day. FOURTEEN DAYS. We get it. Our anxiety is through the roof too. But 14 days means there is no more time for agonizing over polls and pundits. We are now officially in Get Out The Vote season. GOTV means we need to find every last vote, talk to every last voter, make sure every single person we contact has a plan to vote! 

We need to make every one of them count! Postcard and letter writing is wrapping up, time to look for what else we can do! This weekend is the warmup to GOTV, and then starting 10/26 it’s all GOTV all the time. Our Events section has something for everyone ready to DO SOMETHING. We know that’s all of you, we’ve done so much together already! Buses to PA? We have those! Note, they fill up fast, so sign up right away! Phone banks! Texting! Poll worker training! And canvassing, lots and lots of canvassing. Grab a friend and go knock some doors!

We asked our friend Laura for some inspiration to get us going:

Postcard Party this Wednesday, October 16th from 7:30-9:30 pm!

We have 1000 postcards to send to women in CD 7! Come hang out with some of your favorite NJ 11th for Change folks and help get them in the mail! 

Sign up here

Will there be snacks? Of course! Dance breaks? Very likely! We are obsessed with the DNC 50 state Roll Call at the moment.