March 3, 2017

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us)!  At long last, we are connected by email. This is the initial letter from our group and finally allows us to communicate with all our members, not just those connected via social media.

We have come far in just one month. From a group of 50 meeting in January as a response to the Women’s March, we grew to 150 at our Huddle in February. We now exceed 300, but don’t truly know our number because we have been unable to consolidate our contacts into one database. With the creation of our website, GaWomenStand.com, and the establishment of this email network, we can now assess who and how many we are!  Please help us!  Make sure your friends who are interested in Georgia Women received this email. If not, forward it and have them sign up on the webpage to receive future emails! The page is still in development, but, using the “Get Involved” tab, individuals can join the email list.

Since the Huddle on February 11th, our leadership has balanced the tasks of organizing a new group with direct actions in support of our purposes. One of the organizational tasks was to establish Georgia Women’s Guiding Principles. This document grew directly from the responses given by the 137 people who attended the February Huddle. The top five areas of focus were defined based on what you said you cared most about.  

The methodology of how we will work for change, also grew directly from the group’s responses. We are an issue-focused group who will depend on facts and research and will work for compromise. In an email that will follow shortly upon this one, you will receive Georgia Women’s Guiding Principles compiled by the Steering Committee. There will be a five-day comment period on the document to make sure it represents our membership.  To date, the document governed how we have conducted ourselves and what issues received our attention.

Another organizational matter is the assembly of a database containing the gifts, talents and interests represented in our membership. That database has been used to solicit input for our website, to design logo, postcards, and letterhead, to create and assign tasks for research teams and to recruit volunteers for trips to legislators and the state Capitol as well as various other tasks.  Our membership is responding and the network of those involved is large.

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 8th at 9:30 am, the date of our next large group gathering. We will have an intensive and specific training event on Advocacy:  Information is Power - Empowering Women. You will not want to miss the third inspiring assembly of our enthusiastic and determined community. People are still talking about how much the Huddle meant to them and how much hope they received by being present that Saturday morning. This day will take us the next step. The speakers we are attracting for various workshops and breakout sessions are impressive and knowledgeable. Watch for a flyer in your email very soon and spread it widely!

Together we are already accomplishing much – opening doors of communication with our national representatives, advocating for healthcare, affecting Maternity/Paternity leave policies in Middle Georgia, educating state representatives about the need for laws protecting our state from becoming a coal ash dump, planning to March for Science and for the rights of Immigrants, participating in a Day Without A Woman in solidarity with women everywhere who are not receiving equal rights as men, and truly much more!  

Keep heart because you love this country.
Keep hope because you love freedom.

This is a Marathon Not a Sprint. We run together!    

Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us)