Our 2020 Impact Report
283
Members
560,996
Contact Attempts
322
Volunteers
410
Relational Contacts
The deVOTEd Campaign
The deVOTEd 2020 campaign was our combined effort between the Ohio Women’s Alliance and the Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund to reach 1.2 Million womxn, young folks and people of color across Ohio! In addition to recruiting volunteers and calling and texting voters, we launched a video campaign featuring womxn in Ohio sharing their devotions in 2020 and why they are active participants in our democracy. We also held our first-ever Summit, deVOTEd 2020, which brought hundreds of women together virtually for four days of celebration, discussion, and action to uplift the work of womxn constructing and defending democracy.
We extend our immeasurable gratitude to the womxn behind the visual design and concept of the campaign, Megan Small and Kim Vega.
The Summit: deVOTEd 2020
“Being deVOTEd means showing up to the polls (by mail or in person), challenging friends and families to do the same, and sharing our commitments to vote out loud to inspire others to take action.”
Amid a global pandemic, racial justice uprisings in the face of state-sanctioned violence, and impending critical elections, womxn of color have continued to lead and deVOTE their time to fight for equity despite the disproportionate impact all of these elements have on their daily lives.
Our summit centered and honored the hard work, labor, and expertise of womxn of color. deVOTEd 2020 was held virtually from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm on four consecutive nights from Monday, September 28th through Thursday, October 1st. The week-long town hall-style discussions centered Reproductive Justice (Day 1), Restoring Democracy (Day 2), and Youth Movement-Building (Day 3), and concluded with a collective "Story of Us" visioning session (Day 4).
VIRTUAL SUMMIT SESSIONS
Reproductive Justice
A Framework for Liberation - We featured a panel discussion about reproductive justice for Womxn of Color and the pivotal framework it plays in all issues such as abolition, environmental justice, disability justice, and more. Our panelists were leaders from across Ohio who are already working through an intersectional lens in their organizing and volunteer work.
Who Owns Democracy and Who Propels it Forward
This townhall unpacked the true history of how women of color have always fought to build and protect democracy; often without benefiting from the work. We centered women & femmes of color leaders from across Ohio and their work on protecting democracy on a state and national level.
Youth-Led Movement Building
Our third town hall centered the youth lead movement work in Ohio that is pushing toward a New Ohio Majority. There was an incredible panel and discussion with Gen Z women & femme leaders from across Ohio and how they use social media to leverage change within their communities.
deVOTEd Video Challenge
Visibility and social pressure are two important tactics to motivate folks to take action. In September we launched our deVOTEd Video Challenge leading up to the voter registration deadline to inspire womxn to share what was propelling them to participate in the 2020 election, and then challenge other women to do the same by naming them in their videos.
We had over 50 video submissions from women and femmes across the state sharing their devotions ranging from education to immigration to removing police officers from schools.
This campaign increased traffic to our Rock the Vote voter registration tool on the deVOTEd2020.org website and garnered more than 45,000 organic impressions across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
By The Numbers
50
Videos Created
45,000
Impressions
135
Voters Registered
Voter Outreach
Our efforts spanned from March up to election day.
RAPID RESPONSE: OHIO PRIMARY
After the chaos of the Ohio primary delay due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we launched a rapid response campaign to reach voters with details on Ohio’s extended primary voting process through our relational organizing app, Team.
Team allowed our members to leverage their own personal networks to reach over 1,500 of their friends and family in just 10 days before the election.
We also developed a custom Ohio Primary Instagram filter that read, “I <3 voting” with the shape of Ohio as the heart to raise awareness among young voters. In less than 48 hours, the filter had over 10,000 impressions and was used 26 times.
The pandemic changed almost everything about our elections. The 2020 Ohio Primary was confusing, difficult and stressful for many of us. That's why we began collaborating with the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition to share our collective voices with our lawmakers demanding better and more inclusive voting policies and practices for the fall.
fighting dis- and misinformation
OWA partnered with Common Cause Education Fund to recruit our members to be Social Media Monitors from mid-October through Election Day to ensure accurate voting information on social media.
Disinformation and misinformation spread like wildfire and we true threats to the election. Because the flow of information is constant and the content is not viewable by all, we needed assistance calling out these campaigns.
Social Media Monitors received training from our Voter Outreach Coordinator on how to monitor their social media feeds for disinformation and misinformation so that we could source it, report it and remove it if needed. SMMs were given a toolkit for promoting positive messages about voting and to extend the reach of critical voter education and spent about 10 hours a week online to monitor, engage, and track posts as needed.
PAID POLL MONITOR RECRUITMENT
In partnership with Ohio Votes and the Ohio Voting Rights Coalition, OWA served as the recruitment lead for paid poll monitors in major cities across Ohio. We worked with the election protection teams in Akron, Cleveland, Youngstown, Columbus, Athens, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo to ensure that the most vulnerable polling places were staffed with trained poll monitors to support voters with questions about their voting rights.
By The Numbers:
8
Cities
137
Poll Monitors
issue campaigns: Issue 1 in columbus
OWA collaborated with CommEN Strategies on a grassroots campaign to support Issue 1 in Columbus.
The more we learned about Issue 1, the more we wanted to be involved due to its clear value-alignment with environmental and economic justice. Issue 1 will provide strong consumer protections making sure customers always know exactly how much their bill is and letting folks opt-out of the program at any time at no cost.
Columbus residents will have complete transparency and accountability with Issue 1. Issue 1 will also protect Columbus residents’ health with cleaner air and water by switching to renewable energy, which have zero pollution. That means less asthma for kids and heart problems for our elders, guaranteeing a better future for all. Finally, Issue 1 creates hundreds of new jobs thanks to $1 billion in investments for new wind and solar projects right here in Ohio. With those projects comes new revenue for schools, libraries and roads.
When it comes to jobs, equity is key. Issue 1 joins with partners like the Columbus Urban League and IMPACT Community Action Agency to ensure diversity and a living wage are guaranteed with Issue 1 jobs. And these aren’t just jobs – they’re the first step towards a career that breaks the cycle of poverty in some Black communities.
OWA organized two community events to garner support around Issue 1.
The first was a collaboration Retro Soul, a Columbus-based, Black-owned business that hosts vintage pop-up shops and was eager to partner for a voter engagement event.
We worked together to host a socially-distant pop-up shop featuring Morgan Harper speaking on the importance of voting in 2020 and Kayla Merchant sharing details about Issue 1.
More than 40 people came out to safely shop, register to vote, learn about Issue 1, and be together in community.
The second event was a virtual town hall tying Issue 1 to environmental justice. OWA brought together passionate environmental experts and advocates to talk about the current Issue 1 on the ballot and their lived experiences in the environmental justice sphere, hinging specifically on race and our identities.
Our panel featured four members of OWA: Nicole Jackson of Black in National Parks Week, Ruby White of Columbus Recreations and Parks, and Savannah Ward of Hawk Shop, moderated by Celeste Treece of CommEN Strategies. At it’s peak the virtual town hall had 221 viewers and 7 different shares on Facebook!
ohio supreme court Campaign
After the devastating loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we knew we had to find a way to support our members and Ohioans who were reeling at the thought of a justice being appointed without any say from us, the communities the courts should seek to represent. The Senate confirmed a Supreme Court Justice who has openly stood against safe and legal abortion access, rights for our LGBTQ+ family, and healthcare for millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act.
While it is heartbreaking and discouraging to see a lack of representation on our country's highest court, we wanted to remind Ohioans that we still have the power to influence the Supreme Court right here in Ohio.
We launched a campaign ad targeting female-led households in major cities in Ohio to encourage folks to vote down ballot for our Ohio Supreme Court justices. These ads streamed on Roku and Apple TV throughout the state.
“Did you know you have the power to choose the Supreme Court right here in Ohio? Make a plan to vote before November 3rd, and use your sample ballot so you can vote for the next Ohio Supreme Court Justices. Make your voice heard and plan to vote by November 3rd. For more information, visit deVOTEd2020.org!”
250,000 Viewers
CompulseOTT provides daily updates on the total number of viewers reached by our Ohio Supreme Court ad in Ohio. We're halfway to our goal of 250,000 impressions on women viewers across the state!
Strategic Partnerships
Columbus Stand Up
One of our most fruitful strategic partnerships in 2020 was working with Morgan Harper, former congressional candidate for Ohio’s 3rd district.
Morgan’s extensive young following spanned across Ohio and to both coasts, so when our goals of reaching young BIPOC folks in Ohio aligned, we teamed up to host text banks and community events and reached over 60,000 young folks through Morgan’s outreach alone!
We’ll be following the launch of her new organization, Columbus Stand Up, which focused on building independent political power for citizens of Columbus.
CPD out of CCS
The Columbus Police out of Columbus City Schools campaign is led by three incredible CCS alumni, Kanyinsola Oye, Julia Allwein and Monica Alonso.
These three women have led the charge to demand that CCS terminate their contract with the Columbus Police Department for the safety of students.
Their campaign organized several days of action over the summer ranging and ultimately successfully influenced the school board to pause the negotiations of contract renewal with CPD.
Kanyinsola, Julia and Monica joined our OWA team as Relational Organizers this fall to support our voter outreach programming while continuing to hold the CCS school board accountable.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE OHIO
The Freedom of Choice Ohio coalition hosts an annual lobby day at the Statehouse to advocate for reproductive justice with young leaders from across the state.
As a result of the pandemic, this lobby day was one of the first to go virtual in the spring and it ended being an incredible virtual gathering of reproductive justice champions from Ohio.
We continue to partner with FOCO as we make plans to support police reform work across Ohio through a reproductive justice lens.
2020 Census Outreach
OWA was selected to serve as the Central Ohio Regional Lead for the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition's investments in Census 2020 outreach.
We worked with 11 partners conducting work in Franklin County and surrounding areas to reach hard-to-count populations about filling out their Census forms.
Our role was both as a Regional Lead and a grantee: we distributed mini re-grants to our own members, empowering them to conduct their own round table discussion or volunteer canvass event.
We also partnered with the Women’s Public Policy Network (pictured left) on a Facebook live community conversation on the impact the Census will have on womxn in Ohio for years to come.
Census Caravans
In light of the pandemic, the womxn of Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated, conducted car caravans that stretched as large as 30 vehicles long in which members drive through Franklin County neighborhoods handing out swag bags and sharing information and communicating the importance and urgency of completing the census and voter registration.
Pandemic Response Programming
The way we engage with voters and community members has been drastically altered in 2020.
Knocking on doors, gathering in person, and standing shoulder to shoulder for marches are (temporarily) a thing of the past. The culture-shift in how we perceive and experience civic engagement and voting has changed for the foreseeable future. The Ohio Women’s Alliance knew that in order for a robust and diverse electorate to participate in the November general election, volunteer recruitment and voter education had to begin immediately.
Thankfully, our members had been preparing for this moment for years; our members have always prioritized relationships over transactional contact, and that has allowed us to cut through the noise and directly reach the people we serve. Breaking through the barrage of texts and digital ads being served to Ohioans, our members successfully reached people through phone calls to check on their communities, hosted Zoom town halls to talk about caring for families amid the crisis, and hosted cross-generational trainings to bring our most “seasoned” volunteers online.
We know we are only as strong as our people-- and lucky for us, that’s pretty damn strong.
COVID-19 emergency support fund
Giving Tuesday is a day of radical giving, typically occurring at the end of the year to support nonprofit organizations as we close out our year. This year, however, things were different. We are living in a global pandemic that has changed everything. Women and femmes are essential.
We are leading the way through the pandemic as nearly 52% of all essential workers are women. This includes about 77% of healthcare workers, 78% of social workers and more than 66% of grocery store and fast-food employees. 9 out of 10 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists are women. Our work is undervalued and underpaid.
“Women are an “unseen labor force that keeps the country running and takes care of those most in need and it’s becoming more apparent during the pandemic.”
These gaps in wages and societal value are even more exacerbated when it comes to women of color, particularly Black women. To add insult to injury, Black women are also the most disproportionately impacted population by the coronavirus itself.
During Giving Tuesday we asked supporters to consider contributing to our COVID Relief fund for OWA Cooperative members who are dealing with financial difficulties during the pandemic. Our members are the heartbeat of our organization and their work is integral to keeping our state going and pushing us forward.
Wellness AND COMMUNITY CARE
Starting in April, OWA launched Meditation Mondays exclusively for our Cooperative Members to increase social support during these unprecedented times of isolation.
Every Monday evening, OWA member Shayne Moon went live in our Facebook group to share a moment of meditation and restoration. Shayne is passionate about divine feminine spiritualism, and her mission is to help women and femmes around the globe to heal, grow, and empower themselves. Members joined from the comfort of their homes.
On Therapeutic Tuesday, members could opt in for an evening experience ranging from yoga to learning about medicinal herbs and oils to healthy eating and even dance! We've welcomed Tobi Ewing on Tuesdays, who recently offered an energizing yoga session in our members-only Facebook group and more!
Every Friday, we held space to catch up, connect, and be in community with other Cooperative members! We chatted about everything going on with Ohio Women's Alliance and lifted up our members’ great work too. We also wanted to hear how our members are doing during these chaotic times and how we can support our folks and our community.
Our commitment to community wellness continues as we expand our Theraputic Tuesdays to include physical exercise and group discussions. In June, Amanda Page led a narrative medicine workshop to explore the power of deep listening and sharing in our ability to empathize and build relationships. Ashley Pryor led a full-body workout session streamed live exclusively for our members!
Mothering in a pandemic
Ohio Women's Alliance partnered with Motherful, a community organization for single mothers led by OWA member Heidi Howes, to offer a comprehensive survey on Mothering in a Pandemic to learn more about the needs of mothers and families caring for school-aged children.
Ultimately, the findings were what we expect: moms need more support with childcare and virtual learning in the home. Additionally, if minimum wage were raised in Ohio, moms would not have to have three jobs and be away from home while kids are distance learning.
Results of the survey were widely shared to inform elected officials, school districts, advocates and organizations how they can adapt to better meet the needs of mothers and children in Ohio.
Women’s Fund support
Thanks to grants from the Create Columbus Commission and an Immediate Impact grant from the Women's Fund of Central Ohio, our efforts to reach womxn of color and young people in Central Ohio grew tremendously!
We partnered with Morgan Harper to send text messages to 20,000 young people in Central Ohio reminding them to request their absentee ballot or make a plan to vote.
rapid response volunteering
In response to the overwhelming influx of calls to the Ohio Department of Health, a coronavirus call center was created by the department. OWA member Debra Seltzer volunteered (pictured with Governor DeWine) answered frantic phone calls and connected Ohioans with the resources they needed.
fighting xenophobia
OWA member Tessa Xuan (pictured above) of the Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership group led a signature collection campaign for a letter calling for Ohio’s leaders to denounce the racism and xenophobia spurred by Trump's dangerous rhetoric about the coronavirus. The letter includes a diverse coalition of 149 Ohio organizations and over 1,200 individual Ohioans, including 20 elected officials.
protecting access to safe and legal abortion
While the Ohio Attorney General was busy trying to shut down Ohio’s abortion clinics, our partners at URGE were registering nearly 200 women and femmes for a statewide virtual advocacy day with the Freedom of Choice Ohio coalition, of which we are a proud member!
OWA Co-founder Rhiannon Childs and URGE National Policy Director Sarah Inskeep led a Facebook Live (pictured above L to R) in our member Facebook group discussing the ways we can all continue to advocate for safe and legal abortion in Ohio.
raising emergency response funds
OWA partnered with PWR, a student advocacy group at The Ohio State University, to raise money for members in need through an art-based social campaign, featured above on WSYX Channel 6. Funds raised through the campaign were re-distributed to OWA members in need through a brief application process.
Racial Justice Uprisings: Our Support
Holding space on Reach Fridays
June was full of emotion and unrest in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
In an effort to best support our members during this tumultuous time, one of our Flow Fridays was developed to specifically hold space for Black members to share how they were feeling in the moment.
Dr. Tyffani Monford Dent shared her expertise with us on enduring trauma, pain, and fear, during times of hardship, and uncertainty. Dr. Dent is a licensed psychologist.
expansion of our wellness events
In light of the global pandemic, we transitioned all of our programming online to promote healthy social distancing and because wellness matters now more than ever.
Members of the Ohio Women's Alliance Cooperative had access to meditations, podcasts, and resources that prioritize mental and physical wellness to sustain ourselves in this important work.
OWA hosted Meditation Mondays exclusively for our Cooperative to increase social support during these unprecedented times of isolation. Members could join us every Monday starting on April 13th at 8:00 p.m. with OWA member Shayne Moon. Shayne is passionate about divine feminine spiritualism, and her mission is to help women and femmes around the globe to heal, grow, and empower themselves.
speaking out against white women harm
Our co-founder, Erin Scott penned a poignant piece in response to a viral letter to the editor called “Karen, We Hardly Know Ye” addressing how white women must acknowledge their privilege and the labor that is often poured into us by women of color.
“As white women, one of the worst things we can do is not acknowledge our proximity to racial power rooted in white nationalism and white supremacy, and how our whiteness benefits us. White privilege is not simply how much money we have or how many obstacles we face. It is the preferential treatment we receive from society and the institutionalized systems we operate within (Sharon Martinas, “What is White Privilege?”). To declare that you do not have privilege because you do not come from money is once again denying the access and advantages we are granted simply because we are white.”
GOTV Ads
We partnered with Ohio Voice to put together our Get Out the Vote ads during the last couple weeks leading up to the 2020 election.
We reached 68,000 people and had 322,00 impressions on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you to Ohio Voice and Katie LaBlanc for your continued support and capacity!
Our Members:
The Cooperative
None of our work is possible without well-resourced, supported organizers. That’s why year-round we offer core programming to support and expand the capacity of community builders and leaders like our members. Support of our members ranged from holding events to create community and offer wellness support, to giving financial resources to make sure women organizing in Ohio are paid for their labor.
Galley book club
Ohio Women’s Alliance partnered with The Galley Book Club to create an open space that connects sociable readers to other sociable readers and to inspire individuals to use reading as a practice of community care and reflection. We hosted a gathering on January 21st at The People’s Mansion for the book club launch featuring Dr. Susan Smith, author of Rest For the Justice Seeking Soul and Kaci Thompson, founder of The Galley Book Club!
Vision boarding and writing workshop
In February we hosted an incredible vision board and reflective writing experience featuring the talented Donna Marbury, of Grammar & Chill and RaDonna Reed, of RaDonnaWrites. We thought being a month into 2020 and it was the perfect time to visualize our goals, intentions, and plans for the coming year.
Donna Marbury is a talented writer, reader, womanist and will be leading our next event! She hosted our 2020 Vision: A Visionboarding and Writing Experience and created space for us reconnect to our purpose and plan a year ahead that is restorative, joyful and changes our state.
Reproductive justice Fair
We hosted a comprehensive resource fair offering free educational material, free swag, raffle prizes, food, and more! Attendees had the chance to learn more about reproductive and harm reduction options in East Liverpool in Appalachia and meet incredible organizations offering free emergency contraceptives, condoms, clean sharps in collaboration with Unharming Ohio and other amazing partners.
Statement of Solidarity with Survivors
In February of 2020 we published a blog post about the controversy at Victoria’s Secret.
We are grateful for the survivors who have used their voices to hold Victoria’s Secret accountable for fostering a workplace culture that the New York Times described as riddled with “misogyny, bullying, and harassment.”
“Since 2006 when Tarana Burke founded the #MeToo movement, thousands of women have been empowered to step forward and hold leaders and brands accountable for harmful actions that strip away the dignity of survivors. Women are the most powerful consumers in the U.S. economy, and as a result, brands that continue to perpetuate sexism, lack body inclusivity, and fail to repair harm have fallen behind.
Today we hold space for the people who have been impacted by the culture at Victoria’s Secret. The work continues for those of us fighting for a world where women have agency over their bodies, safety, education, and economic prosperity.”
Coffee chats
In February, we knew 2020 was going to be a busy year with important elections, ballot initiatives, and voter engagement, and we are gearing up to put a stake in the ground in protecting the critical issues you've identified!
We offered 30-minute coffee chats with the OWA team to hear from our community about upcoming plans for the year. We wanted to hear from members and share what OWA was working on. We also plugged folks into what's going on around the state and learned how we could best support our members. This year we committed to reclaiming, restoring, and protecting our democracy!
International Women’s Day drag brunch
March 8th marked International Women's Day and while at Ohio Women's Alliance we celebrate women and femmes everyday, we wanted to take a moment to say thank you to those of you who are driving change in Ohio, across the country, and across the world.
Your voice is not unheard. Your struggle is not unseen. Your home is here.
In honor of International Women's Day The Olde Oak, a local Columbus hotspot, hosted a celebration on Saturday, March 7th championing women and femmes, with proceeds benefitting Ohio Women's Alliance! We enjoyed a drag brunch, live music, a silent auction, and food/drink deals!
$1 of every purchase of draft beer, cocktails and wine was donated to Ohio Women's Alliance and went directly to providing resources, trainings and events to our members!
Self-care
While many were beginning to practice social distancing as preventative measures to flatten the coronavirus curve and prevent the current pandemic from worsening, we created a Self-Care Plan to help with accountability as a part of our members’ ongoing maintenance of self-care planning.
During a time of anticipated isolation, we committed to take care of ourselves both psychologically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. See it here.
wellness experts
One of our first wellness features was Tobi De'Ja-Nicol Ewing, a painter, yogi, creator and founder of Beyond the Clouds, a wellness brand focused on self-care as an act of resistance.
She makes amazing products like her famous Glow Oil and recently co-founded a new brand, The Self-Care Cafe, that offers digital yoga & meditation classes for all people.
Her classes are donation-based, making wellness accessible to everyone. Follow her on social at @beyondtheclouds & @tobiwithani. Stay tuned for future collaborations with Tobi & OWA!
narrative medicine
For a Therapeutic Tuesday in June, Columbus-based writer Amanda Page, joined us to facilitate a Narrative Medicine workshop. Narrative Medicine brings participants together in the act of resonance and intention, creating a safe space for collective healing. We read a text together, then held space for personal writing and reflection inspired by the selection.
black mama’s bailout
In May, we hosted a dynamic discussion with Stacey Little of Black Mama's Bailout & Debra Seltzer of Social Justice Stimulus Ohio to learn more about how we can be a part of bailing out Black mothers so they could spend this Mother's Day with their own children and how we all could best leverage our stimulus check to make a difference in our community.
solidarity with black lives
Early May and June were trying on our community, defending Black Lives, and standing against state violence. Many were active on the frontlines protesting, marching in solidarity, providing first aid, delivering meals, rides, donating money, and so much more. Whichever way our members were showing up, we knew it was important to remind our members that you are loved, valued, and seen. Stay the course, take a break when needed, and remember riots and rebellion have always been used to defend justice.
Financial Freedom event
For a Flow Friday in July, we discussed how insurance can ensure our joy, financial freedom and safety throughout our lives. Insurance can be a daunting topic and we wanted to open it up to be more inclusive to all of us. Nicole Simpson is an insurance expert and answered all of our questions, working towards a more stable future for ourselves together.
building youth power
For another Flow Friday this summer, we chatted with young leaders about their paths to activism and how our ecosystem could do better to support these rising leaders. We strongly believe in building a strong pipeline for new voices to our movement and making space for growth and development and continue to do so today.
Fellowship launch
This summer OWA launched our inaugural Fellowship Program and we are thrilled to welcome 18 young leaders into the cohort.
These passionate change-makers are working collectively to build independent political power in our state through a combination of traditional grassroots outreach and digital organizing.
One of our fellows, Amna Rustom, is a co-creator of the organization Cincinnati for Justice. With the help of her team of supporters, she planned a protest in 24 hours, raised over $1,000 for supplies, and mobilized young people to stand in solidarity with the movement for Black lives.
We are humbled to help build the capacity of young leaders who are actively shaping a new future for Ohio.
Member Spotlights
Katie Holmes
After experiencing some tough times as a young mother and learning about food deserts across Ohio, OWA member Katie Holmes (pictured above on the right with her co-founder, Bethy Spangler) launched The Lunch Box in 2017 as a summer program that travels to neighborhoods to deliver meals to families in need.
To support children impacted by the pandemic who usually rely on free and reduced lunch at schools, Katie re-opened her typically seasonal nonprofit organization in March to meet the growing demand for meals across Central Ohio.
As demand increased, funds quickly became low and The Lunch Box needed some help to keep its doors open. With some encouragement and guidance from our Executive Director, Erin Scott, Katie applied for a grant from The Columbus Foundation and has now received $1,500 to feed more than 100 families! Congratulations, Katie and The Lunch Box team!
Nicole Jackson
Nicole Jackson is a nature enthusiast, birder, and a member of the OWA Cooperative!
She was recently featured in an article highlighting her work in co-creating Black Birders Week, honoring Black naturalists and their safety. Nicole believes nature is healing and should be accessible to us all.
Black birders have come to the center of the conversation after Christian Cooper was harassed and targeted by a white woman in Central Park. Nicole hopes that the dialogue will continue, elevating Black naturalists and raising awareness about racism in the outdoors.
Alana Garrett-Ferguson
Our partners at New Voices for Reproductive Justice held a beautiful March to Defend Black Women in Cleveland on August 30th.
Alana Garrett-Ferguson brought together a community of artists, activists, advocates, community leaders and elected official to demand that we protect Black women and defund the police.
Dawn Watts
OWA member Dawn Watts traveled to DC to be an American Sign Language translator during the National Women's March earlier this year!
She is working to fight for justice for people with disabilities and creating space for all of us. Thank you for your incredible work Dawn.
Cecliy King
If you live in Columbus, you may have noticed the bold signs draped over highway overpasses with the phrase "you are enough" or "you matter" sporadically throughout the city. Cecily King has been creating and posting these affirmative and potentially lifesaving signs to combat these difficult times.
Lynn Tramonte
OWA Member Lynn Tramonte wrote this piece highlighting the many protests and rallies happening all over the state, especially outside the large cities. Solidarity can be seen everywhere and we love to see it. Our small towns are part of our revolution.