Hi team, we wanted to be sure you saw this note from Joe on the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX. As we continue to watch this moment unfold, our hearts are broken here at Team Groundwork, as parents and students, as activists and organizers, as citizens.
As we come together in anguish and anger we are reminded why we do this work. Even though Texas is not a Groundwork Project state, these moments are exactly why we started this organization – to send resources to trusted organizers and leaders on the ground who have direct connections to communities harmed.
We’ve researched local mutual aid funds going directly to the families of victims and the community of Uvalde. If you’re looking for a way to give meaningful support right now, please consider checking out the below:
*
Texas
Elementary
School
Shooting
Victims
Fund
[[link removed]]
,
VictimsFirst
is
a
network
of
families
and
survivors
of
gun
violence
created
within
the
last
two
decades
to
support
victims
of
mass
shootings.
100%
of
what
is
collected
goes
directly
to
the
victim
base
in
Uvalde,
TX.

*
Relief
Hub
[[link removed]]
,
GoFundMe
came
together
to
support
the
community
of
Uvalde
with
a
centralized
hub
of
all
the
verified
mutual
aid
funds
that
give
direct
support
to
the
victims
of
the
shooting
and
their
families.
This
hub
will
be
updated
daily
with
more
fundraisers
as
they
are
verified,
so
keep
checking
back
for
new
places
to
give.
With hope,
Team Groundwork
Begin forward message:
Groundwork family,
My heart, and the nation’s heart, is with Uvalde, Texas. There are no words for the tragedy this community has endured. There are no thoughts, no prayers, no promises or platitudes that can communicate how our hearts have broken alongside the families at Robb Elementary School.
I am a parent of two young children. I have a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son. As any parent will tell you, from the moment your child is born, you find yourself bargaining with God.
Let him be healthy, and I’ll never ask for anything again. Keep her safe, and we’ll be model human beings the rest of our lives. Ignore everything I’ve ever asked for. Nothing else matters. Just this. Just them.
Of course, you quickly learn that there are places your protection cannot reach. Bullies and broken hearts. Injustice and illness and unthinkable tragedy. So you offer your children a simple promise. Not that everything will always be ok, but that what hurts today will feel better tomorrow. What’s broken can be healed.
At its best, our country fortifies that promise for every American family, building a web of stability, security and decency so no parent or child is forced to go it alone.
But we are grappling with a country of shattered promises.
A country where elected leaders repeatedly choose inaction, refusing to protect the people and places we love most. A government that offers thoughts and prayers and the passage of time but no solutions.
As anyone who has dealt with sudden loss knows, it comes with a painful and powerful lesson: The deep understanding that our time is limited. That our days are not promised. So make it count.
In the memory of those we loved, those not given the blessing of time: We make it count.
That is our rally cry in the months ahead. In honor of the 21 gorgeous lives lost in Uvalde:
We will answer “thoughts and prayers” with footsteps.
We will show the Republican party this isn’t political: it’s personal.
We will make them talk about guns.
And when they say "nothing will change. Democrats don’t vote on this issue. The NRA is too powerful."
We will prove them wrong.
In their honor.
Joe Kennedy
–
Joe Kennedy (he/him)
Founder
Groundwork Project
[[link removed]]
> Founded by Joe Kennedy III, Groundwork Project invests in year-round, local community organizing in places Democrats have gotten used to writing off. With a focus on Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, we support local advocates and activists working to build durable political infrastructure and secure power for those historically excluded.
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Groundwork Project
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