Wow, what a month. It's been a blur and, yet, full of lasting memories. You know why? Because in September we made huge strides towards achieving our vision for reproductive justice. |
Everything we did in September was only possible thanks to supporters like you. So, we wanted to share this quick round-up to celebrate our accomplishments and say a huge THANK YOU! |
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What we accomplished in September |
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URGE has been building young people power |
💥 URGE's Integrated Voter Campaign, "We Deserve" officially hit the road on their bus tour! And guess what? We have already reached 4 million voters!
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Check out the pictures from our stops so far, and follow along to find out where we're going next!
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💥 Just over a week ago, we kick-started our annual Abortion Positive Tour! Being Abortion Positive means being unapologetic, uncompromising, and unafraid. We’re going campus to campus to show everyone that is exactly what URGE is all about and build support along the way. |
💥 BONUS NEWS: For this year's Abortion Positive Tour, we partnered with the Abortion Access Now campaign to supercharge our message! Not only are we building young people's power and our collective voice, but we are also spreading the Abortion Access Now vision. A vision in which abortion is legal, accessible, affordable, and free from criminalization, stigma, or fear. |
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URGE has been advocating for young people’s priority issues |
💥 From Toledo to Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati, URGE members hit the Ohio roads to create safe spaces and promote sexual wellness! |
Black Ohioans are the largest population of people both newly diagnosed and currently living with HIV in the nation. So we met them where we were most needed, focusing on the counties with the highest rates of HIV contraction and those home to an active URGE chapter. |
We loaded up a vintage Volkswagen Bus with sexual wellness kits, printed materials on HIV education and local voter resources. We also brought a couple hundred URGE-d out bucket hats ready to be tie-dyed. Whoever said advocacy wasn't fun? |
💥 Together with the Alabama Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Coalition, URGE Alabama held an activist community gathering. Meeting at Yellowhammer Brewing URGE guided community members on contacting state legislators to support menstrual equity. |
We also gave away sex education kits and voter resources and, most importantly, had an amazing time connecting with the Huntsville community! |
💥 URGE spoke at the Trust Black Women Rally to make a powerful statement. Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman should still be with us today. No one should die as a result of not being able to access the health care they need. |
Abortion bans are dangerous and lead to preventable deaths – this is unacceptable. We need abortion access now. |
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URGE has been shifting culture |
This program is an engagement campaign centered around four emerging young digital activists who create content about the issues that young people care about most. This includes voting rights, democracy, abortion access, and public health. Make sure you’re following URGE on Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date and get educated on the latest political hot topics!
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💥 We also launched the 2024-2025 cohort of Our Folks! Through this program, young creatives and writers have the opportunity to develop their storytelling and journalism skills. They will be creating content for several different outlets, including URGE’s blog, our social media platforms, and a variety of media publications. To learn more about this year’s cohort and to check out their blog posts, you can visit our Em-URGE-ing Voices Blog!
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This month, we also joined the Wesleyan College and Georgia community in mourning the loss of Nefertari Holston. |
Nerfetari was a fierce advocate for Reproductive Justice, including menstrual equity and a dedicated member of the college’s Power and Protest Society (PAPS). Her passion for justice and unwavering commitment to her community will forever be remembered. We hold her loved ones and all those impacted by her light and leadership close in our hearts. |
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🔥 Or really, what's now. This week, we launched this year's Self-Managed Abortion Fest. This year's theme highlights that the fight for self-managed abortion isn't over! So go to our Instagram now for hot SMA Fest Content!!
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📓 The Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute is a chance for young people to level up their activism–and it kicks off October 24th-25th! Packed with training, informational deep dives, and stories and advice from youth activists, this offers new and seasoned URGErs the opportunity to connect and build their collective power.
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📣 In the final stretch of our We Deserve campaign, we are launching an Ambassador Program! This program will help build chapters and our organizational capacity to conduct outreach to young people across four states to specific calls of action for URGE. Read more and apply here! |
🚌 We have two more stops on our Joy & Justice Tour with RJ Collab! We'll be in Orlando next (on October 12th!) and then off to Atlanta (October 19th!). See everything you need to know here! |
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We feel so thankful to for this powerful community and everything we have been able to accomplish together. This was just ONE MONTH of what we are capable of. Thanks to your support, our young people's movement for reproductive justice continues to grow and so does our collective power. |
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| Abiha Zakariya
she/her/hers Director of Individual Giving |
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P.S. URGE is a reproductive justice org centering young people of color and queer folks as we collectively build the liberated world of our boldest dreams — a world where our agency, self-determination, and bodily autonomy are respected, without politicians interfering. If you like reading recaps of our work (like this email), hit reply and let us know! |
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Building Young People Power for Reproductive Justice |
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
1012 14th Street NW
Suite 305
Washington , DC xxxxxx
United States |
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