Think Globally, Act Locally

#sol17- January 17, 2017

It all started with a Facebook event posting. One of the teachers at school had the idea to gather a group of her friends to begin 2017 as a year where we act to make the world a kinder more loving place. The plan was simple, she would provide the coffee, tea, and juice on Sunday morning and we would bring some food to share. We were also to bring our laptops and our ideas of “links to petitions, apps, phone numbers, websites etc. that have ACTION items to do, such as calling our Senators, buying a gift from a site that donates profits to refugees, donating directly to an environmental organization, or signing petitions…anything that is a concrete step. We share these ideas with each other and WE JUST DO IT – we call, we sign, we donate, we purchase. We eat, drink and laugh as well, cuz that is what this is all about – more love.”

Last Sunday we gathered and did just this. It was a morning filled with hope and despair. We had a Google doc going and added ideas to share with each other. There was much laughter and commiseration as we shared the causes close to our hearts. There was lots of concrete action taken in the form of organizations joined, petitions signed, money donated and more. We shared local ideas and more global ones. It was inspiring to be in the room and feel the energy and we vowed to gather again soon for a similar session. It was great to see that we also made plans for ongoing work. The Picha Project  is a local organization that is working to empower refugee women here. Each woman cooks food from her country of origin and the organization delivers it- we are going to have a lunch soon at school and will try to use them to cater some events. It will be easy to order from them regularly. A few of us want to get involved with a local soup kitchen. On a more global vein, I learned about the app, Buycott, where I can choose the issues that matter the most to me and then shop in better accordance with my beliefs by scanning UPC codes before I buy.

People made donations in honor of others (admittedly sometimes knowingly to a cause that person may not support on their own) and shared ideas for more actions to come. I was tired Sunday morning, but this session really was a great way to begin the day. It was great to see such a diverse group come together to act. At a time when so many of us are feeling frustrated with politics “at home”, it was heartwarming to see the ways we can act to make change.