Dear John
My name is Sadie, and I’m an 19 year old student at Stanford and a Co-Chair of the Power Shift Network (PSN) Board. That’s me (wearing the hat) standing in front of the Minnesota State Capitol during a powerful action with more than 50 PSN Members Organization Reps gathered together to stop the Line 3 Pipeline. Today is #GivingTuesdayNow and I’d like to share a little about my experiences in the last couple of months and illustrate why your donation to the youth climate and environmental justice movement is so important. We have a goal of adding 50 new monthly donors this week who believe in funding and supporting the work PSN does to train, connect, and resource youth climate and environmental justice organizations.
Over a month ago, my university told all of us that we needed to leave campus because of COVID-19. I made the 3,000-mile trek from the pristine city of Palo Alto back to my hometown of Baltimore, becoming reacquainted with the familiar shapes and sounds that meld with the cracks in the cold sidewalk and wheezing of the bus at regular intervals. In the distance, the ever-present incinerator puffs out toxins as part of the historical city skyline.
COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of our society and with your help, PSN can continue to provide support to young people and build strong connections to strengthen our communities. My days are now spent hopping between Zoom calls and trying to comfort my grandmother as she worries about how she will pay her bills at the end of the month - a feeling that is very familiar to most working families and is now more widespread.
But in the midst of our collective anxiety and stress, we are seeing the impossibility of systemic oppression grow into the possible - we are seeing what could and should be. When we work together and speak in a unified voice, we see that loans can be halted or forgiven, Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All make sense, and that cutting our carbon emissions to prevent climate change can and must be done. Every day, we see climate change threaten the systems that many folks take for granted, and implementing these protections for our communities will set us up, collectively, to become more climate resilient.
Perhaps it is the abruptness of the change, combined with the onslaught of recent news coverage, that has made me reflect even more on my circumstances and ultimately, why we need your continued support. We know that change comes when people demand it, and PSN is preparing youth leaders in the climate and environmental justice movements to stand up and demand what we deserve through intensive coaching, leadership development, and political education opportunities. PSN is also in this work for the long haul, investing in the movement’s future through planning the Power Shift 2021 Convergence to facilitate powerful, systemic change in our communities.
I’m writing to ask you today to contribute to PSN as we leverage the opportunities presented by this pandemic to build a better and more equitable future for all.
This is the turning point that we have been seeking in our movement spaces.
This is the chance to forge a world we are proud of.
I’m asking for your help to support PSN’s work to train young people to lead these efforts and pave the way.
I’m a monthly donor because I believe in PSN’s vision for the future. I hope you’ll join me.
In solidarity,
Sadie
