Happy Tuesday, Activists! We hope your week is off to a good start. You know, we work our tails off at times, getting progressive candidates elected. We write postcards, we make calls to voters, we knock doors and talk to voters. And we were thrilled last November when it paid off and Senator John Fetterman and Governor Josh Shapiro were elected. Well, last week we got really. really good news that shows how our work paid off, and that voting matters and elections have consequences.
TAKE A VICTORY LAP! We have two good news pieces here! For the first, a little background. For the past 30 years, Pennsylvania has been paying for services of a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) -- with our tax dollars -- to provide "services" to pregnant people. But CPC's don't provide honest services about options for pregnant people. As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists puts it: these centers "actually aim to dissuade people from accessing certain types of reproductive health care, including abortion care and even contraceptive options. Staff members at these unregulated and often nonmedical facilities have no legal obligation to provide pregnant people with accurate information and are not subject to HIPAA or required by law to maintain client confidentiality." The AMA says the same. The CPC that we in PA paid for - for 30 years - is called Real Alternatives. The good news is that Governor Shapiro's administration, through a statement by Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, has announced it will not renew the Real Alternatives contract when its expires at the end of the year. Instead, it will look to contract with a company that actually provides honest pregnancy services. This is huge! AND also, Governor Shapiro announced that the Commonwealth will provide free school breakfasts to all students in public, private, and charter schools. This benefit was provided during COVID, and after the federal funding stopped, Governor Wolf continued the program. Now, Governor Shapiro has confirmed that his administration will continue it too! Think about that. Honest information to pregnant people and kids in school with full bellies, ready to learn. Hmmmm, would a Republican governor do this? So, as we love to say . . . Voting Matters. Elections Have Consequences. Take a victory lap!
THE CALLS WORKED! No School Vouchers! You made calls to Governor Shapiro asking him to stand by his word and and enter a line item veto in the budget for public funded vouchers for private and religious schools. He had said he would do that but the Republicans were still pressuring him to rescind his promise. But we stayed vigilant and he stayed the course and entered the line item veto to remove the $100 million voucher program from the budget! And again, think about whether a Republican governor would listen to us and agree to remove funding for a voucher program. We win again!
POSTCARDS! Speaking of talking to voters . . . Register to Vote Postcard Project So far you have ordered over 36,000 postcards!!! Take another bow! We have another 14,000 addresses left, so you can order more now and maybe we can finish the job!! See all the details and why these postcards are so important at this link. Here’s how to sign up – 1. Email us here to tell us you want to write postcards. Tell us how many you want to write and give us your address. 2. Donate here to our Act Blue account and donate $7.00 per set of 50 cards (plus an extra $7.00 if we need to ship to you.). Thank you! 3. Use this link to buy your postcard stamps or go to your local post office. We ask that you donate $7.00 per set of 50 postcards to cover our costs. But don’t let the donation stop you from ordering the postcard packets. On the other hand, if you can, please consider chipping in a little extra to cover the cost for those who cannot. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACTIVISM!
35 DOORS PROJECT! Talk to voters in your neighborhood to get out the vote. This is some of the most important work you can do - and it's fun! Check out our 35 Doors Project on our website page! Email us here for more info. We'll give you the training and all the materials you'll need. Vicki will tell you all about it!