I came back last night, and now I am heading to work. (And I will probably finish this post after my workday). For those wondering why I didn’t mention anything happening at home and whether I’ve shut myself off from all the news, I didn’t. I was closely following the news. I just do not see much point in expressing my outrage without being able to do anything constructive.
When I stopped by my neighbor’s to pick up my mail for the past two weeks, she told me that she opted not to listen to the news for these two weeks, because “she didn’t want to get upset.” That’s not for me either. I need to be informed, and I need to make informed decisions.
During the past two weeks, many not-for-profit organizations where I am a donor or a member sent emails to inform me about the staff cuts and/or program closures. One of the most upsetting was the closing of four clinics of Planned Parenthood in Illinois. These announcements make me think about whether I should re-distribute my donations, which I already planned for that year, but I haven’t made any significant changes yet.
Today was a quarterly meeting of the Howard-Evanston CC Community Board which I am a member, and the agenda looked different from what was emailed to us ten days ago. All of us were focused on the report about the readiness to resist the ICE raids and protect both program participants and staff. I was happy to learn that we have counsel available to interfere with ICE during the raids and a law firm that can provide free services when needed. However, no matter how many times during the meeting the HECC Director repeated that we need to focus on providing services to our clients, it was difficult to focus on the future and to look at it with certainty.
We will try our best, and it feels good to see how many people think that way!
it is a disaster in so many ways.
I work for non-profit , international exchange of students and fellows.
it is in panic mode.
and changing “wording”
already for programs and initiatives.
M.
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I can only imagine!
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