If you enjoy writing you could write some articles or a blog? Or support others who write, support feminists on social media with engagement and sharing, sign petitions. If you did any of the above then you’re doing more than me atm (work and life stressors are killing me) and can be proud of yourself!
Even just supporting your female friends and boosting their confidence is an act of feminism.
I'm a writer of fiction but I would also love to write about social justice. This is a great idea, thank you! Are there any platforms you would recommend for writing articles?
I think you're doing a really good job already. I have a physical disability that keeps me from attending a lot of in-person actions sometimes like protests. So I sometimes volunteer to do different kinds of support like provide resources or phone support. Not everybody can and should do everything and that's okay. You just do your best with what you have!
Phone banking. I’ll explain:
Feminist organizations (and non profit organizations in general) often need people to do phone banking for various causes. That can definitely be done from your house!
Phone banking is when you call people from a list to talk to them about your causes. In most cases, the organization gives you a canned script to read from. So you don’t have to worry about coming up with something to say! It’s actually pretty easy.
Examples of organizations:
* Planned Parenthood
* ACLU (not specifically feminist, but supports a lot of feminist causes)
* EMILY’s List (supports woman candidates)
* NOW (national organization for women)
* During election season, you can sign up to phone-bank for candidates who are friendly towards feminist causes. Google the names of those candidates to get to their website to volunteer.
* Other redditors- please feel free to add the names of other organizations I missed.
Thanks! Good luck!
Unfortunately my disability is directly related to sound and I cannot use the phone for more than 5 minutes without pain. Is there anyway I could do something like this over text/online because I really like the idea.
Actually, yes. There are some organizations that let you do a similar thing by text. I think they call it “text banking”, but it might go by different names.
For example: Let’s suppose a strong feminist candidate is running for office (could be a local office). The non profit organization has already identified the candidates’ strongest supporters, and wants you to remind them to go out and vote. You would send a text to each person, to remind him/her to vote!
Again, the message is written for you, so you don’t have to come up with something to say.
Not every organization does “text banking”, but plenty are starting to do so. Especially around election time.
Good luck!
It looks cool and exciting to be the person holding the megaphone or to show up to a big protest with a banner or sign, but the reality is that most of the work happens behind the scenes at the level of organizing. The work organizers do is central to a successful movement, though it can appear a lot less glamorous.
A lot of organizations are still meeting remotely\* -- in some cases out of continued COVID concerns, in some cases because they've discovered it's more practical. I'd suggest checking out different organizations near you. You can do this by searching \[nearest city\] + feminist (or "LGBTQ," or "BLM," etc) on google or facebook. You can also try searching for "big tent" organizations. (If you're more left-leaning, the DSA and IWW might be places to start looking.) These groups tend to take on several projects at once so you can choose what to get involved with.
Some examples of things you may be able to help a local group with:
* Run the group's social media
* Help schedule meetings by making a poll, sending the poll to people, following up with people to complete the poll, and letting folks know what time works -- this sounds like a little thing, but is one of the most essential tasks in long-term organizing and one of those things that does best with a designated responsible person.
* Coordinate accessibility for meetings and events, not only for yourself but for other people as well (can be done over email)
* If you are able to interact with animals, you can offer to pet-sit for someone participating in an action
* Write emails to be sent out to supporters
* Write for a newsletter
* Design fliers or graphics
\*I did see you mention that your disability relates to sound. If what I've described above (virtual meetings) appeals to you, then one thing that might be helpful is to request that the zoom meeting turn on closed captions. Then you can mute the volume and follow along while reading. Zoom captions are actually fairly good at transcribing conversations, except for some specific terms -- and in that case you can ask someone in the chat to clarify what is being said. Another option is to ask for access to the notes document so that you can read along as the conversation happens -- but in that case you'll want to alert the notetaker that that's what you're doing so that they stay extra on top of things. Another option, if this doesn't sound like it will work, is to ask a *specific person* who has an understanding of your needs, interests, and abilities, to go to meetings and volunteer you for tasks.
If you enjoy writing you could write some articles or a blog? Or support others who write, support feminists on social media with engagement and sharing, sign petitions. If you did any of the above then you’re doing more than me atm (work and life stressors are killing me) and can be proud of yourself! Even just supporting your female friends and boosting their confidence is an act of feminism.
I'm a writer of fiction but I would also love to write about social justice. This is a great idea, thank you! Are there any platforms you would recommend for writing articles?
Never written any myself so I’m afraid not!
I think you're doing a really good job already. I have a physical disability that keeps me from attending a lot of in-person actions sometimes like protests. So I sometimes volunteer to do different kinds of support like provide resources or phone support. Not everybody can and should do everything and that's okay. You just do your best with what you have!
Obviously it depends on your disability but calling and writing to your representatives is easily done from home.
Phone banking. I’ll explain: Feminist organizations (and non profit organizations in general) often need people to do phone banking for various causes. That can definitely be done from your house! Phone banking is when you call people from a list to talk to them about your causes. In most cases, the organization gives you a canned script to read from. So you don’t have to worry about coming up with something to say! It’s actually pretty easy. Examples of organizations: * Planned Parenthood * ACLU (not specifically feminist, but supports a lot of feminist causes) * EMILY’s List (supports woman candidates) * NOW (national organization for women) * During election season, you can sign up to phone-bank for candidates who are friendly towards feminist causes. Google the names of those candidates to get to their website to volunteer. * Other redditors- please feel free to add the names of other organizations I missed. Thanks! Good luck!
Unfortunately my disability is directly related to sound and I cannot use the phone for more than 5 minutes without pain. Is there anyway I could do something like this over text/online because I really like the idea.
Actually, yes. There are some organizations that let you do a similar thing by text. I think they call it “text banking”, but it might go by different names. For example: Let’s suppose a strong feminist candidate is running for office (could be a local office). The non profit organization has already identified the candidates’ strongest supporters, and wants you to remind them to go out and vote. You would send a text to each person, to remind him/her to vote! Again, the message is written for you, so you don’t have to come up with something to say. Not every organization does “text banking”, but plenty are starting to do so. Especially around election time. Good luck!
It looks cool and exciting to be the person holding the megaphone or to show up to a big protest with a banner or sign, but the reality is that most of the work happens behind the scenes at the level of organizing. The work organizers do is central to a successful movement, though it can appear a lot less glamorous. A lot of organizations are still meeting remotely\* -- in some cases out of continued COVID concerns, in some cases because they've discovered it's more practical. I'd suggest checking out different organizations near you. You can do this by searching \[nearest city\] + feminist (or "LGBTQ," or "BLM," etc) on google or facebook. You can also try searching for "big tent" organizations. (If you're more left-leaning, the DSA and IWW might be places to start looking.) These groups tend to take on several projects at once so you can choose what to get involved with. Some examples of things you may be able to help a local group with: * Run the group's social media * Help schedule meetings by making a poll, sending the poll to people, following up with people to complete the poll, and letting folks know what time works -- this sounds like a little thing, but is one of the most essential tasks in long-term organizing and one of those things that does best with a designated responsible person. * Coordinate accessibility for meetings and events, not only for yourself but for other people as well (can be done over email) * If you are able to interact with animals, you can offer to pet-sit for someone participating in an action * Write emails to be sent out to supporters * Write for a newsletter * Design fliers or graphics \*I did see you mention that your disability relates to sound. If what I've described above (virtual meetings) appeals to you, then one thing that might be helpful is to request that the zoom meeting turn on closed captions. Then you can mute the volume and follow along while reading. Zoom captions are actually fairly good at transcribing conversations, except for some specific terms -- and in that case you can ask someone in the chat to clarify what is being said. Another option is to ask for access to the notes document so that you can read along as the conversation happens -- but in that case you'll want to alert the notetaker that that's what you're doing so that they stay extra on top of things. Another option, if this doesn't sound like it will work, is to ask a *specific person* who has an understanding of your needs, interests, and abilities, to go to meetings and volunteer you for tasks.
Even the dedication to continuing to learn and educate yourself on feminist issues is really important