WV Can't Wait's average donation is $28.80.
Thanks Deb, Emily, Bill, Debra June, Kayla, Ash, Kelsey, John, Ryan, Kim, Polla, Jim (and pets)... for helping with this year's annual volunteer-led fundraising drive. More than 1000 hand-signed letters headed to candidates, volunteers, donors, Hometown Heroes, media makers, organizers, and other allies across the Mountain State.
Make your donation now, before the June 30th deadline.
Donate to our PAC: /donate/wv-can-t-wait-political-action-committee-1
Donate to our 501c3 charity arm: /wv-can-t-wait-mutual-aid-2
Pretty damn special.
Last night, Deb and Candace and Lake and other volunteers got together for a friendbank to support Candace's race for Princeton City Council.
What's most special about this race is the simple, powerful way they're running it. They know how many voters they need to win, and they are literally counting voters. One at a time. Door-to-door. Friend-to-friend. Neighbor-to-neighbor. They spend most of their time listening. When a voter pledges a vote for Candace, they right down their name and contact information so they get a friendly reminder leading up to election day. No fancy Facebook ads or expensive billboards.
They collected more than 40 new yes's yesterday.
Some from following up with neighbors who had previously said maybe. Some from door-to-door (Lake picked up 10 yes's in one particularly successful shift! He said what he likes most is just getting to know people and what they care about.) Most of these new yes's came from people personally contacting their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones... and asking them to support Candace.
Candace is running as a first-time candidate against 3 incumbents. She's a mom, a community volunteer, a leader in the arts. Like every WV Can't Wait endorsed candidate, she promises never to punch down, never to take corporate cash, and never to cross a picket line.
If you wanna help, ask a few of your friends in Princeton to support her (and make sure to report back to [email protected] so we can add them to the running list!). Or, donate here to support lots more candidates like Candace -- as part of our spring fundraising drive: wvcantwait.com/donate.
Or maybe you want to run yourself. Email [email protected] so we can strategize. #wvcantwait.com
wvcantwait.com/donate :)
1. We don't take corporate cash.
2. Neither do any of our candidates.
3. We don't just support candidates. We also help folks like...
4. Project Rainbow, WV's first LGBTQ+ Safe Haven & Shelter and..
5. Save a Life Day and...
6. Black by God, WV's only Black-owned newspaper and...
7. 58 other mutual aid organizations, emergency response groups, and citizen journalists that receive training, funding, and security support from WV Can't Wait.
8. Maybe you're tired of this guy?
9. Or this guy?
10. You want to support the first unionized political organization in WV history.
11. You're ready for full cannabis legalization.
12. Or a wealth tax.
13. Or public broadband.
14. Or a corporate crime unit. (Read all Can't Wait platform items here.)
15. We ❤️ mountains & pepperoni rolls.
16. You believe in holding people accountable. Like this guy.
17. You're tired of holding your nose when you go to the polls.
18. You don't believe anyone is coming to save us.
19. Mother Jones > Jim Justice.
20. You want your kids to stay in West Virginia.
21. You want their kids to have a planet with safe water and clean air and good jobs.
22. You want Senators who spend more time with West Virginians than Exxon lobbyists.
23. You believe that voter turnout can also do good.
24. You believe that government rightly belongs to everyone, not just a wealthy few.
Project Rainbow is only $8,000 away from being able to open West Virginia's first LGBTQIA safe haven shelter. Please consider donating (or at least sharing) this gofundme link. 🌈https://gofund.me/9ae959de
This program is a miracle.
And it's exactly the kind of miracle we so often see in West Virginia - people who aren't rich coming together to do something impossible. From the Mine Wars to the Teachers Strikes, this is who we are.
Last year, WV Can't Wait started our Hometown Hero program to honor these West Virginians who do the work that government fails to do. Emergency responders, labor activists, mutual aid leaders, fed up grandmas, people with criminal records, you name it.
We wanted to recognize the people who have the least, but sacrifice the most. Project Rainbow is led by a group of Queer individuals and allies -- harm reductionists, people in recovery, and unsheltered folks. One of their founders is Cassidy Thompson, one of our first Hometown Heroes. As a Hometown Hero, she got $2,000 to support her harm reduction work -- along with free organizing training, access to mental health and safety services, and a community of support. When she asked if we could serve as a fiscal sponsor for Project Rainbow, we offered to help with that too.
The Project Rainbow team has done the hard work - finding a great location, raising seed money, organizing unsheltered people, and building community support. Now they just need our help to cross the finish line.
$8,000 will allow them to sign their first 8 month lease, buying them time before their first rounds of grant funding come through. If they raise more than $8,000, they can hire some of their volunteers as staff and speed up the process of furnishing, stocking, insuring, and expanding the services available at the shelter.
Hope survives in West Virginia.
When Parkersburg City Councilor Wendy Tuck saw too many of her neighbors with dilapidated homes (or no home at all), she got every helper she knew together. A month later, 31 people have a safe(r) place to stay.
#wvcantwait
Read and listen here: /2023-04-27/housing-homelessness/local-governments-work-to-address-west-virginias-housing-crisis/a84201-1.
Tired of political messages from robots and strangers?
Try friendbanking.
A group of folks get together and everyone contacts their own friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, co-workers, fellow book club members, you name it.
Morgantown Can't Wait held 2 friendbanks over the weekend, reaching 621 total Morgantown residents... not from a robot or an expensive glossy mailer... bug from a friend saying: "Hey I'm volunteering for Brian and Marly. Here's why the election matters to me. Would you be up for voting for them too?"
Friendbanks don't cost a lot of money. They don't require corporate PAC support or lobbyists or consultants. But they do work.
If you're thinking of running for office, and you want to run a campaign that's built from the ground up, drop us a line. [email protected] or 304.610.6512.
Vote Brian and Marly in Morgantown on Tuesday, April 25th.
Donate now at wvcantwait.com/donate to support all of our 2023 candidates.
Know of someone running this year who could use some help??? Let us know. [email protected]
Charles Town City Councilor Julie Philabaum is working to decriminalize cannabis. You can help. Sign the petition and tell 5 friends! bit.ly/CharlesTownCannabis
Y'all, it's official. Joe, Chelsea, Frank, Beth, and Michael were all sworn in earlier this week!
Share your well wishes, hopes, dreams and demands below. And stay tuned for more info about constituent services, municipal broadband, $15 minimum wage, and more!
