Writing to Congress from the World's Largest Mailbox

Image: The open door of the World's Largest Mailbox

Image: My college kiddo standing in the mailbox

While driving across half the country with my college junior to take them to school this year, we took a little time to explore some of the lesser known American landmarks…like the World’s Largest Mailbox in Casey, IL! Being an advocate known for encouraging people to write to Congress, I just had to pull over and write to all three of my members of Congress from a curiosity like that.

This mailbox is so big there are stairs inside leading up to the box where you can look out onto the big open door. There’s a normal sized box within the big box where you can put your stamped mail in to be picked up and delivered.

Image: Cindy walking up the stairs
to the mailbox

Image: My kid's eyes and the
mailbox staircase

Image: Cindy writing a postcard to Congress

We bought postcards and stamps at the little gift shop at the bottom and talked about what issues we wanted to write about. I wrote about global vaccines and to encourage U.S. support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to provide immunizations to low-income countries. That's a program which RESULTS, Shot@Life, and the ONE Campaign have all been advocating about this year.

A note to Congress doesn’t have to be long or fancy. A note postcard will do! Just remember to state a short, clear request and include your name and address as you would for any letter to Congress. Where will YOU write to Congress from next?

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

Speak Out For Yourself (or someone else will)

Image: Cindy yelling into a megaphone

Have you ever had someone put words in your mouth? It can be simply annoying, like when someone finishes a sentence for you in a way you didn’t intend. But it’s far worse when someone deliberately speaks for you, saying the opposite of what you believe.

I thought about this as I listened to a BBC radio report in the car. British reporter James Menendez attended a rodeo in Defiance, MO to interview people about how Midwestern Americans feel about the U.S. presidential election. I’ve lived in the Midwest all my life in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and now Missouri. I consider myself solidly a Midwestern voter. It offended me that the only person who got to speak at length on his views was ultra-wealthy conservative Trump supporter Billy Busch of the famous Busch beer dynasty. As a Harris supporter fighting to keep Trump out of office, I felt misrepresented. I wondered if Trudy Busch Valentine, one of Billy’s relatives who ran as a Democrat for Senate in 2022 heard it, too, and felt the same way.

Moms’ Voices

As a suburban mom, it’s particularly important for me to speak out because there are all sorts of people trying to speak for me. I need to express my enthusiasm for providing nutrition for people in poverty, protecting trans kids and other LGBTQ+ folk, ending gun violence, and ensuring we have access to abortion as healthcare. Otherwise the “Moms for Liberty” group and conservative media will lump my demographic in with them when they lobby against LGBTQ+ rights and support book banning. Sure, I’m a mom who likes liberty, but that’s NOT me!

Image: Image of a TV screen showing Donald Trump and
Kamala Harris in their first presidential debate.

Male politicians repeatedly tell us what kinds of restrictions women want on our bodily autonomy. It happened last night at the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Trump falsely claimed that the Supreme court ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade was what everyone wanted, saying, “Democrats, Republicans and everybody else, and every legal scholar, wanted it to be brought back into the states.” Thankfully, Harris pushed back on this with poignant stories of women who most definitely did not want that. I didn’t want that, nor did the thousands of people in Missouri who scrambled to put reproductive rights on the ballot this November.

Image: My phone screen with Taylor
Swift's Instagram image with her cat,
Benjamin Button

Taylor Swift’s Voice

Even someone as famous as Taylor Swift had someone take try to take her voice. Her endorsement Kamala Harris for president, included this statement, “Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.” 

(By the way, do you have any Swifties in your house who are too young to vote, but want to help Taylor's candidate win? Send them to the Sunrise Movement, the youth-led climate justice org that has AWESOME phone banks that is perfect for middle and high schoolers to join!)

Claim Your Own Voice

The best way to claim your own political voice is to use it. State your values in a way that is right and genuine for you. Maybe you can do it by posting on social media like Taylor, or writing a letter to the editor, or just putting out a yard sign or two. Don't be silent now. If we find politics distasteful and choose to not talk about it or - even worse - not vote, there are plenty of people on the other side who are more than willing to speak for us. They’ll be happy to pass policies that will serve them, not us and our families. Find a way to share your opinions, so no one can take them away from you. You might find you have more influence than you knew and can inspire others to speak out, too!

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

Finding My Zoom: #CareGiversForHarris

Image: Izamar Barrios speaking on the #CaregiversForHarrisvirtual rally
with the closed caption of her quote "I stand proud saying I'm a caregiver."

When I first got invitations from friends to attend a virtual political rally called “White Women for Harris,” it unsettled me. As a mixed-race person, the well-meaning invite stirred up uncomfortable memories of feeling like a non-white outsider. Then, I heard that more Zoom rallies were happening attached to other identities: “South Asian Women for Harris,” “White Dudes for Harris” (with THE Dude Jeff Bridges, no less!), “Out for Kamala Harris,” “Outdoor Community for Harris,” “Deadheads for Kamala,” and, of course, “Cat Ladies for Kamala.” Ah…I get it now!

Using Identity Politics to Bring Us Together

Identity politics has been shaping elections for years. The Harris campaign is cleverly tapping into it in a way that seems to separate folks on the surface, but actually says, “There is room for everyone in this movement.” I felt better when I understood it wasn’t all about race, but more about communities. Where Trump uses race politics at his rallies to divide his followers from others to create a sense of belonging for his base, Harris is naming all these different identities to help us feel at home in our virtual rallies, then draw us together under a big, inclusive umbrella.

Image: My vacuum cleaner all 
cleaned out and fixed using #MomPower

So, which Zoom should I choose? I knew I should get on one to witness the phenomenon, but having missed “Authors for Harris,” I wasn’t sure what to pick. Then, “Caregivers for Harris” appeared in an email from MomsRising advocacy group. Bingo! That’s on-brand for me as someone who speaks and writes about mom-advocacy! #CaregiversForHarris is for “all of us who need care, rely on care, and give care in our lives.” I might have been on the literal eve of empty-nesting (we were packing to take the youngest kid to college the next day!), but I’ve been giving care to my kids for 20 years and this was the call for me. Also on-brand was the fact that I was mommy multi-tasking by watching the Zoom and simultaneously fixing a vacuum cleaner.

Finding Commonality and Joy

Supportive, familiar leaders - Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of MomsRising, and Elena Hung, co-founder of Little Lobbyists - who were kind to lend their words and wisdom to the pages of my book showed up on the screen. Yup, these are my people. I was in the right place!

I heard story after story from care givers, struggling to provide for the kids and parents they love at the sacrifice of jobs and sleep and self-care. I expected to witness their determination and hardship. I did NOT expect to see such joy and energy! Sure, we talk about caring for kids with joy, but it's a trickier dance to navigate serious issues like caring for people with failing health or mental capacity yet still convey joy and enthusiasm. Having Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller Rogen talk about Lauren's family history of caring for family with dementia and their advocacy on the issue added to the nuanced presentation. The number of times I'm hearing the word "joy" connected with this campaign makes me smile and feel more hopeful. Shouldn't that be what a rally is about? I have not felt such hope from a political event since the 2008 Obama campaign! 

Single-Issue Voter?

Image: Elena Hung speaking on #CaregiversForHarris

I want to share a portion of Elena Hung’s remarks because she hit a point that resonated with me as a non-partisan activist. For context, Elena is the co-founder of Little Lobbyists, a family-led group advocating for children with complex medical needs and disabilities. She said,

“For the past decade, I have been a single issue voter. That issue? My daughter. I enthusiastically vote for whoever fights for Xiomara to survive and thrive. And not just Xiomara, but all kids with disabilities like her. They deserve a childhood. They deserve to live at home and grow up in their communities. They deserve fully funded home and community-based services. Kamala Harris has been by our side defending the Affordable Care Act when she was a U.S. senator and leading the Care Agenda in the Biden Administration as our vice president. She listens. She understands, and she has lived our lives. She was a caregiver to her mother when she was diagnosed with cancer. She gets it, she gets it. That’s what we want in our leaders!”

I get that. Before parenthood, I wasn’t an active participant in my government and had little political opinion. Caring for my kids shaped how I feel about all kinds of policies, but those policies always connect to their safety and well-being or the well-being of other children...even when those children live on the other side of the world. And it’s not a far leap for me to empathize with people struggling with policies that make it difficult to care for their elders. So, yes, I’m a non-partisan advocate, but when election season rolls around, I DO choose sides.

I support whoever is fighting to keep kids well-fed, well-cared for, safe from gun violence, breathing clean air, drinking clean water, choosing what’s right for their bodies, and living in the best future we can make for them. This Election Day on November 5th, I’ll be voting for Kamala Harris for President this November and I hope you will, too! If you'd like to see the recording of #CaregiversForHarris virtual rally, you can see it on YouTube here. If you want to support her campaign, donate at this link or scan the QR code below today. 

But most importantly, visit vote.org to check your voter registration and get info on absentee ballots or whatever you need to get ready to vote!

Image: QR code to donate to 
Harris-Walz campaign

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

Add to the College To-Do List: Absentee Voting!

Image: Sign on UW-Madison's Bascom Hill saying #BADGERSVOTE
Photo Credit: Yara Changyit-Levin

Image: A disorganized pile of belongings meant
to be packed for college.

A heap of my child's belongings is growing on my dining room table. Every day it grows, and things are even sliding off the top. Do I yell at her to put them away? No. They are exactly where they should be. This is the staging area where she gathers things she'll need for her freshman year of college.

If you have a college-bound student, you're probably hounding them with never-ending To-Do lists. Collect everything on the college packing list, visit the dentist and eye doctor, refill prescriptions, replace the ratty tennis shoes, and don’t forget to get a haircut, please! But I have one last thing of utmost importance for you to do if your child will be 18 or older by Election Day…register to vote and register for ABSENTEE voting.

Out-of-state college kids will not be home for their very first presidential election. This is true not only for the incoming freshmen but also for anyone who wasn’t old enough to vote in 2020, including my oldest child who will enter their third year of college this fall.

With stakes riding high on issues that affect college students so directly (like, climate, reproductive rights, and gun violence), we need to make sure every eligible voter can cast their vote without problems. It’s tempting to say they can take care of it later, but it’s not easy for new adults to navigate ever-changing voting systems. For example, my state of Missouri requires a notary for excused absentee voting. Many incoming freshmen have never even heard of a notary, much less know where to find one on a campus they’ve never lived on before! Better to take care of the things parents can help with now, so that kids can be free to do things in October like hunt for notary offices, canvas for candidates, and help other students get their ballots.

Image: Yara holding a URL code in front of 
the #BADGERSVOTE sign.
Photo credit: Yara Changyit-Levin

In November of 2022, my oldest child, Yara Changyit-Levin, was a 18-year-old activist discovering how difficult it was for UW-Madison students who waited until the last day to figure out how to vote. As part of the Sunrise Movement, they travelled to Wisconsin to help students vote on campus and assist in encouraging friends to vote as well. (See our blog about it here) For out-of-state students, it wasn't as simple as showing up at a polling place. Yara intercepted several out-of-staters who didn't know they had to go to a specific building to fill out a form before casting a ballot. Woe to those who waited for the last minute and couldn't make the run across campus on time! Of course, it was far too late to vote for candidates in their home state.

Vote.org

Every state has their own rules for absentee voting that can vary widely. In lucky Colorado, every voter receives a mail ballot! I can’t cover everything everyone needs in this blog. But I will point you to the www.vote.org website. Besides an anxiety-producing countdown to election day, you’ll find links to help people in every state find resources to check their registration, register to vote, and vote by mail.

Missouri Voting Rules

If you live in Missouri, which many of my readers do, here is a link from the St. Louis County Board of Elections: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-government/board-of-elections/elections/absentee-voting/

That’s where I got this handy Missouri absentee voting chart. If you know you’ll be away from home on Election Day and the two weeks leading up to it, you’ll need to apply online, by email, fax, mail, or in person. Out-of-state college students fall in that category. This option is open now and the deadline is two weeks prior to election day.

Image: Absentee voting quick reference guide from the 
St. Louis Board of Elections

Keep in mind, you can’t just drop something in a mailbox two weeks before. The Board of Elections must receive and process it two weeks prior to Election Day at 5PM.

This absentee registration means you’ll get an absentee ballot sent to you. If your child doesn’t have a school address yet, have it sent to your home and make sure they get it ASAP when you see it. They will need to fill out the ballot and then take it to a notary on or near campus. Common places for notaries include banks, libraries, and campus financial aid/services offices, but that will vary by campus. Your kid will have to bring the ballot there in person along with a valid photo ID that meets state requirements (driver’s license, passport, military ID). Payment might also be required depending on the notary, but it’s usually $5 or less.

“What If My Kid Doesn’t Register Before Leaving?”

Don’t panic if they don’t finish this task before moving to school. Most states can register citizens to vote online and have other options besides in-person absentee voting registration, like email or US postal services. In Missouri, family members like parents, step-parents, grandparents, and even in-laws can request it for the voter if your kid truly can’t figure it out.

Youth Voter Turnout

The last presidential election showed a significant jump in youth voter turnout. It was at a high of 55% not seen since 1972, up from 44% in the 2016 presidential election. (Data from Statista.com)

Image: Data from Statista.org showing percent voter turnout for presidential elections
from 1972 to 2020. Photo credit: www.Statista.org

In an era when adults are letting kids down so badly, youth voices are critical to shape a future of their own making. Let’s give them every opportunity to make their votes count!

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

How Do We Cope with the State of the World?

This week I attended a web session facilitated by a group called “DC Peace Team.” It was a space for RESULTS volunteers like me to share how global conflict affects how we show up as advocates.

Image: Tourists in South Korea shield with
umbrellas against stormy weather by the sea.

Our facilitators asked us for a “weather report,” a summary of how we felt about the state of global conflict put into a weather metaphor. I think people find it easier to talk about the weather than share such personal feelings immediately with strangers. The reports varied, but none of them were sunny! We had “stormy,” “in the eye of a hurricane,” and even “cloudy with a chance of meatballs." I described myself as living in the musical Hadestown, where the weather is either oppressively hot so that I can barely function on my normal issues (like poverty or gun violence) or frozen because I just don’t know what to do on unfamiliar issues that seem out of my control (like Ukraine or Gaza).

We talked through a lot of more specific feelings, but I’ll cut to the end to give you takeaways I found most helpful to get moving again.

Remember you are ONE

“I am only one, but I AM one.
I can’t do everything, but I can do SOMETHING.
I won’t let what I can’t do interfere with what I CAN do.“

Image: Cindy (bottom left, pink jacket) standing in front
of the US Capitol as one of many ONE Campaign activists.

Our session leader shared this quote, and it resonated with me. It’s a paraphrased quote by American author and Unitarian minister Edward Everett Hale (sometimes mis-attributed to Anne Frank) in 1902, but it rings as true now in 2024. Sometimes the magnitude of problems before us can lead to that "frozen" or "moving through molasses" feeling. But if I can free myself from the misconception that I’m supposed to do everything and remember that I am part of a large movement of people all working together…then I can refocus on doing my part. This is not entirely new to me. I once wrote a blog about how pulling on my own little thread of justice helps unravel the whole cloth of oppression. In that post, I said, "Don't become so frustrated about how you can't solve everything, that you fail to do something." Still, a new quote or metaphor can breathe new life into an old truth.

If you'd like a song along these same lines, I recommend Pat Humphries' song "In This Life," which contains the lyrics, "I am one, but one of many single voices in the silence that refuse the lies that bind us. We are worthy, we are safe."

Celebrate and amplify good news

When it seems like the world is full of bad news all around and then a piece of good news finds its way to you…celebrate! Share it with others who might need that boost, too! Maybe it’s something personal, like your child graduating from high school. Or, maybe it’s something huge and global like yesterday’s win for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance that RESULTS, Shot@Life, and the ONE Campaign collectively campaigned for this year!

Image: Cindy smiling in front of a Shot@Lifebackdrop
holding a sign for Sustainable Development Goal #3:
Good Health and Well-being

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden announced a U.S. pledge of at least $1.58 billion over five years to Gavi. An early, increased pledge from the U.S. was NOT a guarantee even a few months ago. Advocates building bipartisan backing in Congress played a HUGE role in this. With major threats to global aid funding, a bold increased pledge to Gavi is an extraordinary sign of commitment...even more so in an election year!

It’s the first time the U.S. has ever made a 5-year pledge, the largest U.S. figure ever, and it is the first government pledge to kick off the road to Gavi’s replenishment, making it a really important signal to other donor countries. Gavi has already reached 1 billion children with lifesaving vaccines, and now have a plan in place to reach ANOTHER 1 billion children in HALF the time. They'll reach more kids, with more new vaccines, faster.

Writing this blog and telling you about the Gavi pledge is part of how I’m celebrating and amplifying today!

Start small, but start now

One of my long-time fellow RESULTS advocates reminded me of a quote from our colleague Nick Arena who said,

"Don't wait to be inspired to take an action. If you want to be inspired, take an action!" 

I find that if I can summon the energy to take even a small, easy action (like writing a two line postcard to Congress), that will usually kindle a little momentum to move me toward a bigger action (like writing a letter to the editor or organizing a bunch of people to write letters). Go ahead. Impress yourself! 

Do something for yourself that benefits no one but you

This one is about your own mental health. I picked up the phrasing from my new friend and fellow St. Louis activist/author Ben V. Greene, author of “My Child is Trans, Now What?: A Joy Centered Approach to Support." At his book launch talk, he responded to a question about activist burnout with this advice and added that for him that might look like Dungeons & Dragons. For me, it might be a glass of wine and a puzzle or an ‘80s arcade game. Whatever it is for you, set aside time to do the thing that regulates your senses and restores your equilibrium.

Cartoon by Gemma Correll 2022 of
a person trying to relax.

I saw a cartoon from Gemma Correll’s Instagram of a stressed out person trying to relax and thinking, “There must be a way of relaxing that’s more productive.” Ha! That’s totally been me as a multi-tasking, stressed-out mom-activist. But NO!...unless you're a crafter. I do relax by quilting and sewing and get immense satisfaction from a finished product. So, crafters get a pass on that one if we get joy just in the thing's making.

Share your thoughts

I hope this post is helpful to folks weathering their own storms, but it’s not a comprehensive list at all! So, you tell me. What do you do to help yourself get moving again when you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world?

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

Planning a Meaningful Mother’s Day for YOU

Image: Cynthia holding her book and wearing a shirt that
says,"Mothering is an Act of Revolutionary LOVE"

Did you know that Mother’s Day wasn’t originally about giving mom flowers and taking her to brunch? In fact, the commercial version of Mother’s Day was offensive to the creator of this national American holiday! After spending six years campaigning to create it, Anna Jarvis spent the last years of her life denouncing its commercialization and urging people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies.

Where did Mother’s Day come from?

Image: Cynthia dressed as Wonder
Woman at a protest for women's rights

So, what is Mother’s Day supposed to be about? There were several factors that fed into our American Mother’s Day. All of them had to do with activism for the lives of children and creating a peaceful world for them to live in. Here are three notable milestones.

1858: Ann Jarvis, a young homemaker, organized “Mother’s Work Days” to improve the sanitation and avert deaths from insects and polluted water. Her groups later worked for unification after the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” when mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

1872: Julia Ward Howe - a poet, pacifist and women’s suffragist - established a special day for mothers and for peace after Franco-Prussian War.

1914: Ann Jarvis’s daughter, Anna, memorialized her mother’s life of activism with a campaign that succeeded when President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation making Mother’s Day a national holiday.

How should we celebrate Mother’s Day?

Image: A rubber duckie cake

As an activist, I’m proud to know this history and feel like I want to honor those early pioneers in mutual aid and peace activism. As a busy mom who highly values self-care, I also very much want a morning brunch with my family or maybe someone to make me a rubber duckie cake. But good news! There are 24 hours in Mother’s Day, so I suggest a balanced bit of everything that makes sure you honor yourself and the spirit of the day. 

Cynthia's Recipe for a Happy Mother's Day

• Do something nice with your family: a brunch? a walk? a game?
• Do something nice for yourself: a nap? a book? a bath?
• Do something nice for your mom if she’s in your life: a text? a phone call? a visit?
• Do something nice for the world: an online action? a phone call to Congress? a letter to the editor?

You likely have ideas on the first three, but in case you need inspiration for the last one, here are some links on issues important to moms that will lead you to some quick, but meaningful, actions with non-partisan advocacy groups. You don't have to do all of them at once! I'm just giving you some choices. They'll still be there on Monday, too!

• Global immunization action with Shot@Life
• Protecting immigrant families action with MomsRising
• Gunsense policy action with Moms Demand Action
• Nutrition action with Bread for the World
• Child Tax Credit and Global Health actions with RESULTS
• Pollution and Climate actions with Moms Clean Air Force
• Cease Fire in Gaza action with AFSC

Enjoy your Mother's Day!

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

ON SALE 50% OFF E-BOOK ON AMAZON.COM THRU 5/15/24

2024 Mother's Day Gift Guide for Mom Activists

Image: Cynthia smiling in front of the U.S. Capitol 
wearing a "Big Mom Energy" t-shirt from MomsRising

Mother’s Day is coming up fast on Sunday, May 12. Do you have a mother or a mom-friend who thinks flowers are just okay, but she’d really prefer a cleaner planet, paid family leave, gunsense policies, health care access for all children, or reproductive rights? Here’s a quick list of ideas for presents for activist moms in 2024. IN A RUSH?? Scroll down for gift suggestions that can get there quickly, especially if you have Amazon Prime.

T-shirts and journals from MomsRising

Image: Woman wearing a tshirt saying "Raising
our children, Raising our voices"

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all moms, women, and families in the United States. They’re a fantastic group for beginning advocates who like to take regular on-line actions on a variety of mom-related issues. They also have some of the cutest mom-advocate merchandise around! I’m especially fond of my “Big Mom Energy” shirt and floral “Raising Our Children Raising Our Voices” shirt. They also have a “Mom Power Planner” journal for her to keep all her plans and schemes for the future! Visit their store here.

Image: Hands holding a notebook that says
"Mom Power Planner"

T-shirt, wine glasses, or journal from Moms Demand Action

Image: The classic red Moms Demand
t-shirt in a maternity size

Is your mom committed to ending gun violence in America? Then she may appreciate something from Moms Demand Action. Aside from the iconic red Moms Demand shirt, two of my favorite things in their store right now are a “You messed with the wrong mom” scoop neck t-shirt (on sale now for $21 down from $35) and the “Be Nice” notebook with a favorite quote from Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, that says, “Be nice to each other, it’s really all that matters.” They also have stemless wine glasses with the Moms Demand logo perfect for toasting gun sense policy victories! Visit their store here.

By the way, the red t-shirt comes in MATERNITY SIZING! I've never seen an organization have maternity logo t-shirts before and I love it!!!

Image: Woman wearing t-shirt saying "You
messed with the wrong mom."

Apron from Mothers Out Front

Warning: Do not buy this unless your mom genuinely loves to cook or this could go badly if she thinks you just want her to cook for you.

Mothers Out Front is an organization of volunteers coming together climate issues and racial justice. One of the most practical items in their store is a blue Activist Adjustable Kitchen Apron. Visit their store here.

Image: Woman wearing a blue apron with 
the Mothers Out Front logo

LAST MINUTE GIFTS

Advocacy How-To Books

Image: Cover art for "From Changing
Diapers to Changing the World"

If a mom would like to build her advocacy skills to create the world she wants to live in, here are two advocacy books that can be an antidote to political hopelessness. Both can give her skills to apply to any social justice issue she is passionate about. If you have Amazon prime, you can have them shipped for free quickly!

The first one (full disclosure…I wrote it) speaks especially to moms who need a boost stepping into their own maternal power or want to become more powerful by learning new advocacy skills. From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started is full of inspirational stories and step-by-step instructions to take actions on any of her favorite issues. You can get an autographed copy from my website inscribed with her name in it. Or, it’s available on Amazon where the ebook price is 50% on sale through May 15 and the hardcover version is 54% on sale while supplies last. 

Image: Cover art for "Reclaiming
Our Democracy"

My next recommendation is the new 2024 version of Sam Daley-Harris’ Reclaiming Our Democracy. Sam is especially great at empowering those feeling hopeless about the state of politics and democracy in American today. He educates folks about transformational advocacy that can have a profound impact on both members of Congress and the volunteers who lobby them!

Donation gifts from Save the Children

Image: Boy playing soccer barefoot
wearing a Uganda jersey. Picture 
from savethechildren.org

Gifts of charity donations can always be printed out and presented immediately! 

Save the Children is a direct service charity that works in over 100 countries doing whatever it takes — every day and in times of crisis — to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. At their online gift catalog, you can make a donation to buy certain things to help the children they serve. For instance, you can donate $15 for a soccer ball or $20 for a clean water kit. Visit the gift catalog here.

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!

Affordable Places For Activists to Stay in Washington DC

Image: Cynthia pulling a suitcase through Union Station in Washington D.C.

NOTE: This blog was posted March 2023, so prices may rise over time.

Washington D.C. is THE place to be when it comes to advocacy on a national level. This is where our decision makers work and where professional lobbyists and volunteer advocates flock to learn together and inspire each other. Unfortunately, since lobbying is big business, D.C. is an expensive place to stay. I once attended an anti-poverty conference where the main conference hotel was about $600 per night! Yikes! (I did not stay there.)

One of the hardest things about being an activist is figuring out a place to stay in D.C. while you lobby, protest, or attend conferences without breaking the bank. Sometimes groups I volunteer with will pay for lodging, but not every organization is that well funded. Here is a list of my favorite places I’ve found to be clean, convenient, and affordable when I stay in Washington D.C. and have to pay my own way. Don't forget, it's a great idea to invite a friend to stay with you and split the cost because advocacy is always more fun with friends!

NOTE: I know some of these prices are still going to seem pretty high to folks used to paying $130 for a Homewood Suites in middle America, but the Capitol Hill area is prime hotel real estate and I’d be wary of a $130 D.C. hotel. Besides, when I tried the Homewood Suites by the Convention Center in D.C., we had multiple problems with cleanliness, excessive street noise, a faulty safe that wouldn’t release our valuables, and a super loud room fridge! 

Yotel DC (about $200-250 per night)

Image: A hotel room with two queen beds and 
green lights around the mirror and TV set.

415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20001 

Yotel is a popular place for advocacy organizations to hold small conferences of 100 people or so. It’s a 10-minute walk to the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill. It’s very clean with futuristic styling. Beds incline with a touch of a button to become couches if you’d like more room during the day. 

I enjoy changing the room’s mood lighting to the brand color of the organization for the conference I’m attending. In this picture, I’ve changed the Yotel branded purple to Shot@Life green since that was the conference I was attending. Amenities include free coffee on every floor and a rooftop pool in the summer. The hotel bar has great, but pricey cocktails. If you’re saving money on that, too, you can visit Kogod Liquors next door. A full FedEx business center and Starbucks are in the Hyatt across the street. If you join their rewards program, you can get a little cash back on your room.

Hotel Hive (about $180-$250 per night) 

Image: Cynthia with a towel on her head pointing to
the words "WORK HARD. TRAVEL HARDER."
on the wall.

2224 F St NW, Washington, DC 20037 

Hotel Hive is a micro-hotel. The rooms are tiny, but the vibes are fun, the rooms are very clean, and the price is right. Some rooms only have one twin bed. The old historic building is irregular, so every room is a little different in size and shape. Rooms have funny or positive statements painted on the walls in big block letters. Everything is bee themed. Their “buzz” room label is a cutesy way of saying that they are potentially noisy, located above or below the bar or pizza shop. The website says, “What they may not offer in views or silence they make up for in value.” I’ve seen a buzz twin room as low as $157/night ($181 with taxes and fees).

It has a rooftop bar and yummy flatbread style pizza in the pizza shop. It’s 2.7 miles from Capitol Hill, which is about a 12 minute drive. 

AirBnB (varies widely) 

If I have to do an extended stay in DC, I enjoy reserving an AirBnB apartment because they come with kitchens (so I can eat healthier for less money) and laundry (so I don’t have to pack as much). The cost can vary widely, but I’m usually able to find something safe, clean, and within a short walk to Capitol Hill for about $200-250 per night, inclusive of fees and taxes. I like to get units with fold-out sofas, so I can invite another volunteer to join me and share cost while having their own space, unlike a hotel room, which would have us in the same room. 

Here are two listings that I especially enjoyed. In both cases, the owners live upstairs from the basement, so they are on the property in case anything goes wrong. They both look exactly like their pictures in the listing.

Image: Convenience store

Capitol Hill King 1 Bedroom Apt + Free Parking

Comfortable, spacious, and very near the Senate buildings. This one is my favorite because of the location. I got complimented on the outside flowers every day because people passing by would think I was the owner! Next to a convenience store with affordable and delicious made to order sandwiches. Around the corner is a street with a pub, a Vietnamese pho restaurant, a barber, and a nail salon.

Capitol Hill Charm ~ Modern Refinement

Image: Queen sized bed with 
attractive bedding

Super cute decor. It’s in a neighborhood with lots of parents out and about with children and dogs after school going by the neighborhood parks. It’s a 10-minute walk away from a fantastic Jamaican restaurant called Jerk at Nite/District Jerk. Be advised the fold down couch only fits shorter folks, so keep that in mind if you're inviting a roomie!

Friends Place on Capitol Hill ($50 per night)

Image: Bunk beds at Friends Place 

515 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 

If you have three or more in your party and don’t mind a summer camp sort of vibe, Friends Place is a fantastic resource. Run by the Friends Coalition on National Legislation (FCNL), an advocacy group started by the Quakers, Friends Place is a Quaker learning center and a guesthouse open to activists in town to take action on issues aligning with their missions to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship.

For just $50 per person, Friends Place has rooms with a handful of bunk beds in each of them. Each room has a digital lock on and a private bathroom. Guests have access to communal living spaces and kitchenettes on each floor. You can even rent out their meeting spaces. There are many stairs, but I know at least one room is ADA accessible. 

My favorite thing about Friends Place is that it’s only a 2-minute walk to the Senate buildings, so you’re pretty much on Capitol Hill. You can easily walk to Union Station. There are little convenience stores and restaurants nearby.

Because of the bunk beds and shared spaces, Friends Place is very popular with student group trips, so book early! Check out a video walk through of Friends Place on YouTube.

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!