John,

We hope you continue to stay safe and healthy during this pandemic. Your support for this year’s Day of Empathy made it a huge success and provided a safe space for thousands of people to come together, in a safe way, to urge our country into action. This was our fourth annual day of action building empathy for people behind bars in America – and the first one entirely online.

There are millions of people incarcerated and vulnerable to the global outbreak of COVID-19 – and this Day of Empathy acknowledged the urgency to act now.

Day of Empathy Impact:

• There were 18 virtual events hosted in 13 states and Canada.
• Events were hosted by 14 leaders from across the continent who are part our Empathy Network.
• 957 family members of formerly or currently incarcerated people, 677 allies, 456 former or current justice system workers, and 388 formerly incarcerated individuals themselves registered for Day of Empathy events across the continent.
• 43,000 people around the world tuned into our live events online. When all was said and done, we garnered over 50,000 impressions on social media!
• Influencers like Martin Luther King III, Christina and David Arquette, Valarie Kaur, and our co-founders, Van Jones, Jessica Jackson and Matt Haney made personal appearances on our town hall in support.

There’s a lot to celebrate in the successes we shared on Wednesday. Tens of thousands of people heard the stories of those impacted by the criminal justice system and experienced empathy turned into action. But we must not forget that there are 2.3 million human beings living in overcrowded correctional facilities that rapidly accelerate viruses due to poor conditions.

If you haven’t yet, please sign our petition to urge our leaders to protect the most vulnerable behind bars as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

#cut50 – a program of the Dream Corps, will continue to bring people together to build empathy and provide a safe way to advocate and remind those in power of the humanity of this vulnerable population. We need everyone’s help and our sister programs Green for All and Dream Corps Tech are fighting with us for an equitable economy and good jobs for disadvantaged communities also in need of justice. Thank you for fighting alongside us.

With gratitude,

Michael Mendoza
National Director, #cut50

P.S. If you weren’t able to tune into our Day of Empathy Online Town Hall with Van Jones and Martin Luther King III, watch and share it right here!