Letter to Members and Recommended Actions for the Week of January 19, 2026

 Dear All,

I am struggling to hold on to the energy to keep fighting back against the daily assaults and outrages. Luckily, others regularly remind me of actions we can take and urge me to stay involved. This week there are two that I want to share with you. As always, there are many others out there, including getting active in helping Democrats win back the House and Senate and take control of state governments in 2026. But these are (1) happening this week, or (2) particularly important and timely.

First, A bunch of organizations are supporting tomorrow's (January 20) "Free America Walkout."  These include Women's March, 50501, Indivisible and MoveOn, They're calling for walkouts from work/school, marches/walks, stepping out of stores for a few minutes, and even just going out of your house at various times.To find events in your area,  rationale for the action, etc, visit https://action.womensmarch.com/calendars/free-america-weekend All these kinds of actions are aimed at building the opposition movement, which. as we know, isn't nearly as big as it must become. 

Second, we can do something to help Minnesotans in their courageous and bold actions to stop Trump's goons from assaulting the streets of Minneapolis and kidnapping and harming them and their neighbors. Here are some ways we can support those on the ground. Even a very small small donation shows Minnesotans that we care about them and are grateful for their bravery and commitment.

1) Support MONARCA:   MONARCA (https://monarcamn.org/) is a critical piece of rapid response infrastructure, run by UNIDOS MN. MONARCA has trained more than 26,000 Minnesotans to observe, document, and respond to ICE presence in Minnesota. MONARCA’s website was temporarily down for a while due to a cyber attack, but seems to be back by now. For donations (up to $5,000), please give online: UNIDOS MN

2) Support Legal and Security Needs:    Movement leaders and organizations in Minnesota are facing intense and escalating security and legal risks.  Solidaire Network’s Movement Protection Fund (MPF), which was created precisely for moments like this, is working closely with organizers on the ground in Minnesota and is able to move funds quickly.   Donate to the MPF (a 501(c)(4) organization) at https://solidairenetwork.org/how-we-partner/movement-protection-fund/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email. You can designate the Movement Protection Fund on the donation page or when donating by check or wire transfer.

3) Support Rapid Response Organizing (via Movement Voter Project's Rapid Response Fund):    MVP has created a special Rapid Response Fund to support organizing in this immediate period. In addition to the broad widespread defense of neighbors and communities, and mutual aid to support communities that have lost income, organizers in Minnesota are building toward a large statewide day of action on January 23rd, with a mass demonstration, school walkouts and direct action. Pressure campaigns are building to target corporations that are benefitting from ICE contracts.  All funds will be regranted to Minnesota partners, with the guidance of Minnesota organizers. Donate via Movement Voter Project (c4) or Movement Voter Fund (c3) — giving information is here https://movement.vote/ways/. Please make sure to include “Rapid Response” in the memo line and/or in your correspondence to let your MVP liaison know that the funds are incoming for this purpose. If you have questions and don’t know who to talk to, you can also email: advisor@movement.vote.

4) Support Local Minnesota Organizations and Mutual Aid: If you are looking to support additional organizations, or smaller, hyper-local mutual aid networks in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities, this website created by an Minnesotans has extensive information and is updated regularly: StandWithMinnesota.com.

If neither of these actions is right for you, let me urge you once again (if you haven't already) to put a few key phone numbers (your representatives, maybe a couple of Republicans) into your "favorites" in your smartphone and just call and give them a piece of your mind. If you need yet one more horrifying indication of Trump's danger to our country and the world, we learned today, according to a message he sent to Norway’s prime minister, that one reason behind his push to acquire Greenland is that he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize.  This is our monster President.

Hang in - this is the year we can and must make a big change!

Jean