We Makers . . . knitters and quilters and crocheters and dyers and spinners and stitchers and weavers and artists (etc.) . . . are pretty incredible, y’know? We make stuff. AND we take action, too.
Last Sunday evening/afternoon, the group Makers for Kamala (that’s an Instagram link) hosted a 2-hour livestream event to show support and garner excitement for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. I signed up for the link, and tuned in last Sunday. I figured I could watch for a little bit before dinner while I sipped a glass of wine out on the patio. That “little bit” turned into a full 2 hours . . . and I ended up cooking dinner while remaining tuned in.
You guys! It was AWESOME! A great slate of speakers, solid information, plenty of inspiration, and . . . a loud-and-clear call to action. For Makers. For all of us.
What now? What can you do???? Well . . . here are a few suggestions for you (some are from the event itself, and a few things I’m just throwing in besides):
- First of all, if you missed the event, you can watch the replay. It’s available to watch now, right here on YouTube.
- You can donate to the campaign. Makers for Kamala has raised $125,000 so far . . . and you can still contribute. (Donations of any size are welcome. Small donations help get the job done. Just sayin.)
- Check your voter registration! Even if you’ve been registered and voting for years, check your voter registration status at vote.org. (Yeah. There are strange things going on in some states . . . where there is “cleansing” of voter rolls going on.) Take 30 seconds and check yours today. Y’know. Just in case.
- If you’re not registered, get yourself registered PRONTO! You can find out how to register in your state at vote.org, too. (Vote.org is a one-stop shop to get voting information.)
- Make a voting plan – for yourself AND with your family and friends. Not sure how to do this? Well, the League of Women Voters has an incredibly accessible and informative website. Check it out . . . and find out how to make a voting plan for yourself.
- Join a postcard or letter-writing campaign. I’ve been writing postcards through Vote Forward for a couple of campaigns now. There several other organizations also sponsoring postcard drives, and you can check them out at Postcards to Swing States, Progressive Turnout Project, or Swing Blue Alliance.
- Volunteer to help. If you want to help with the Harris campaign specifically, you can check out GoKamalaHarris (which will give you state-specific options). Other sites to check out:Democrats Take Action and Swing Left. You can also google your local party office and see what’s happening/what you can do right in your community.
- If you feel safe doing so, put up a sign in your yard. (Here’s a great Instagram video explaining why this is so important.) (I got my garden flag here on Etsy, by the way.)
When we make something, we do it one stitch . . . one thread . . . one loop . . . at a time. And eventually, we end up with a finished object. Let’s apply that same strategy now . . . and make a different kind of finished object.
Makers for Kamala.
We get things done.
I, like you, was tuned in… and watched the entire time! And YES… it was so inspiring! So inspiring. Dana was a most amazing hostess! I am not “skating” this election, I am putting in the work to make sure that the Harris Walz administration has all they need to get stuff done! I *trying* to write a “batch” of letters a week… it is feels so good! Steve put the kibosh on any election signs, but I am going to pull out my “pussy” hat and duplicate stitch on it!
I do feel a bit iffy about campaign signs in the yard (at the very least I fear they would disappear) but I’ve done all the other things. I should be getting my mail-in ballot later this week and I’m excited!
I can’t put up political signs (condo rules) but I see Harris signs in the neighborhoods around us. It makes me so happy!
I signed up but then Dale and I were doing stuff and I didn’t tune in. I do have the link saved to watch and will probably do so this weekend since it looks like our camping trip is going to be FULL OF RAIN. Sigh. Anyway, I think you have a great list of action items here. I have 200 postcards from the Postcards to Swing States group. I’m also an elected member of my town’s Democratic Committee. It feels good to DO something!
I ordered my Harris yard sign the day she announced Walz her running mate and I think it might finally arrive this week! I wasn’t able to tune in to the livestream but am looking forward to watching it.
Molly and I tuned in for the whole thing, too, and we both thought it was so great. And I did make a (small) contribution — I really loved how they talked about donating the equivalent of a skein or SQ of yarn! I do have a yard sign, but my husband has told me he really doesn’t want to put it out — unless our evil neighbor puts out one for the other guy, and then he said go ahead! But I do have a decal on my car that’s a big comma with “la” in it (get it?).
Love this, Kym! The livestream was so well-organized – and the energy & donations!!! what a success … and so much fun! I dropped off those 300 Georgia postcards on Sunday – it was my 3rd time visiting the local Harris office and they knew me! and tried to convince me that canvassing isn’t as scary as I think it is … we’ll see!!
Great list of things to do! I wanted to throw up the other day when our neighbor’s put up a huge flag for you know who. There is a bunch of them in my neighborhood I’m sad to say. I did double check several weeks ago and Fletch and I are both registered to vote. Our mail-in ballots should be here shortly.