Hey there John, it's Varshini, former Executive Director at Sunrise.

When I cofounded Sunrise, our dream was to make climate change impossible to ignore - to show that young people could lead the moral fight of our generation. We did that.

When I stepped back from leadership at Sunrise, I knew that the movement had to keep evolving, because the challenges facing young people were changing faster than any one person or plan could keep up with.

As I see Sunrising embarking on a new strategy, centering fighting authoritarianism as core to winning a Green New Deal, I want to tell you something from the bottom of my heart: I’m fiercely proud of the path these young people are taking.

I want to ask you to support that new strategy by donating $25 to support this new cohort of brave young people.

The truth is simple: we will never win climate justice in a world where democracy is dying.

We can’t build a Green New Deal if fossil fuel billionaires and political strongmen get to decide whose vote counts and whose doesn’t.

And we can’t fight for a livable planet without protecting the right of people everywhere to speak, organize, and dream together.

That’s what this next chapter of Sunrise is about. It’s about building the kind of mass, youth-led, pro-democracy movement that can stare down authoritarianism and win.

I helped build Sunrise from a handful of dreamers into a national force. But what was true back in 2017 is even more true now: defeating fossil fuel CEOs and fascist politicians are not separate fights.

We have to build the kind of mass, youth-led movement that can stare down authoritarianism and win.

If you believe, like I do, that young people can still turn the tide, if you believe that this generation can save democracy and the planet, then I’m asking you to stand with Sunrise today.

Chip in $10, $25, or whatever you can to fuel the next generation of Sunrise leaders.

This is the work of our lifetime, and seeing it continue stronger, clearer, and more united than ever makes me certain that we’re going to win.

In solidarity,

Varshini Prakash

P.S. The online version of last weekend's training, How to Build a Revolution, is Saturday, November 29th, so please sign up and invite your friends!