Call to Action: Become a Sustaining member of SOMA Action!
Most of you know the story of our birth – SOMA Action was formed in November 2016 as a way for all of us to join together in support of each other and by taking direct and immediate actions, to save our community and our nation. In the four and a half years since then, we evolved to be part of an historic wave of activism which pushed back against bigotry, economic inequality, and fascism itself. You all helped, by showing up at rallies, writing postcards, phone-banking, contacting elected officials. In 2020, amidst a global pandemic, you all continued to show up (virtually), and even doubled down on your actions to make sure democracy (flawed as it is) could survive and that progressive priorities would move forward despite the obstacles in Washington and in Trenton. Your efforts were so extraordinary that SOMA Action was moved to create our first Year In Review, a gorgeous representation of some of the tremendous actions taken during an historically difficult and tragic year.
Despite the successes, we cannot slow down our activism if we want to create lasting change that can reverse some of the generational damage done, not just the last 4 years, but the last 20 years, the last 400 years. Instead of shrinking, SOMA Action must grow to meet the challenges of climate change, income inequality, immigrant rights, racial injustice, gender and sexuality injustice, and attacks on voting rights, not just on the national stage, but right here in New Jersey. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the impact of each of these problems, increasing the urgency of solutions. SOMA Action needs not just your hands on deck, but we also need funding to become a more agile organization, and we need your voices when decisions are being made, including endorsements and committee actions.
You can help us to get to this next level of maturity, by joining as a sustaining member. Currently, to be a sustaining member all we ask for is a minimum of $20 donation annually. But I am asking you to consider making a monthly commitment of $10 or $20, if you can afford to do so. Recurring donations will help us to set a budget which hopefully can include a permanent paid staff-member to alleviate the burden of administrative tasks on our amazing volunteer force. Just Donate Here with your email address. Once you are a sustaining member, you will be able to participate in the decisions we make as an organization, and ensure that SOMA Action continues to represent your interests. Each email address registered with a donation gets one vote, so if you want to have a voice for each family member, you must send separate donations linked to each of their email addresses.
What else? Every sustaining member with a mailing address on file was sent the Year In Review in beautiful full color print. If you believe you are a sustaining member and haven’t received this package, please email me directly and I will look into it immediately. We still have a small supply of these books left, and I will mail one to each of the next 15 people who join as sustaining members. Mostly, I want to encourage each of you to join because we want you to fully participate in SOMA Action; we need all of your voices in order to continue to fully represent the SOMA community.
Beth Boily, Membership Chair