John,

It’s no secret we’ve been through a lot in the past year. As we prepare to honor the fifth anniversary of Sunrise, I recently wrote a letter to the movement reflecting on our past year campaigning for Good Jobs for All.

But before I share more of the letter, I have a favor to ask of you today, John.

I believe wholeheartedly in our movement: the people power we had in the streets, the political power we built in Congress, and the strength we had to finish what we started. If you believe in our power too, will you show your support for what we’re building together by donating $10 or any amount to Sunrise today?

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When I joined Sunrise in 2018 during my junior year of high school, I couldn’t imagine what real climate solutions looked like. The Green New Deal didn’t exist yet, and the connection between climate and jobs was far from mainstream.

For the past five years, our movement has worked hard to organize our generation and build popular support for the Green New Deal. From occupying Nancy Pelosi’s office in 2018, to sitting in at the DNC, and showing up at politicians’ offices everywhere, we’ve made the climate crisis an urgent priority across America.

In Congress, it’s clear we’ve changed the conversation on climate. The idea that the government can create millions of good jobs to stop the climate crisis is now a common sense solution in the halls of power and climate is the center of Biden's agenda. Five years ago, that would have been unimaginable.

This year, we came within inches of winning historic climate investments. We are only one vote away from passing the legislation that gives our generation a fighting chance to survive, but without Joe Manchin’s support, it’s unlikely all of the pieces of BBB will remain in one passable package.

Because of our movement and our organizing, climate is the key part of the bill that might be passed on its own. If it passes, it will be a direct result of our actions and continuous pressure to go big on climate. We should be proud of making climate a topline issue for the Democratic Party, we’re proud of the hub members who are still pushing for BBB, but even if a small climate bill eventually passes, we deserve more from the politicians we put in office.

We deserve pathways to citizenship, real investments in climate and jobs that match the scale of the crisis, better healthcare, and childcare. We’ve given everything to lay the groundwork for the Green New Deal and make the Civilian Climate Corps a reality — not just through this campaign, but also through five years of hard organizing, changing the conversation on climate, and changing what is politically possible to achieve.

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As we move into 2022, I’m excited about the slate of Green New Deal champions running for Congress across the country. The fight for Build Back Better came down to one or two votes in the Senate, and has shown that we need more progressives from and for their communities to have our backs and help turn our big, visionary demands into real policy.

We always knew the Green New Deal was more than one bill or piece of legislation, and the campaign for Build Back Better and a Civilian Climate Corps was just the start in a decades long fight for our communities.

We haven’t yet won the legislation we need to survive, but we’ve opened the door and pushed forward excitement for federal jobs programs and visionary climate action. I will be living through the climate crisis for the rest of my life, and the path ahead goes straight through the storm. We got closer than ever before to winning real legislation, and I know we must keep building power.

So John, help us take the next step to building that power today. Will you support our work by contributing $10 or any amount to Sunrise today?

With gratitude, love, rage, and cautious optimism,

Audrey, Sunrise

P.S. If you’re curious, you can read my entire letter to the movement here.

P.P.S. If you need a boost (we all do!), here are some songs to get you in your Sunrise feels:

• Rise Up

• I know there’s a world we’re fighting for

• May I be empty

• When the world is sick