The Power of Connections

Meaningful change starts small. Rarely, with a rally, a campaign, or even a vote. It starts with connection. A conversation over coffee, meeting someone new while volunteering — or just chatting with a neighbor. Every relationship we build strengthens our community and expands what's possible. (And, wow, do we need that!)

So let’s lean into the Fourth of July weekend by building community. Make July the month you connect with someone new or strengthen an existing connection. Grab someone and head to one of the many events we have listed here. Read on to find out!

🗳️Make your plan to vote

📮Help us show up in mailboxes

👎 Vote no: Hear what the judges had to say

🗓️ Do you have two hours to save the Kansas Supreme Court?

🚨ICE is surging in KC. Get activated.

🎒 JoCo Mutual Aid is filling backpacks!

𖣑 The rural-urban divide is real. Learn how we can bridge the gap.

The clock is ticking down to August 4th. Our surest way to save democracy is to show up. That’s our job as Americans. But it’s not our only job. We have to commit to getting our friends and family to show up, too.

So, accept our challenge. Find five people this week and talk to them about creating a voting plan! Deadlines for registering and requesting mail-in ballots are fast approaching.

✅ Key voting dates: Kansas

• Register to vote by July 14, 2026 ⚠️

• Early/advance voting begins July 15, 2026

• Request mail ballot now - through July 28⚠️⚠️

• Primary Election Day August 4, 2026

✅ Key voting dates: Missouri

• Register to vote by July 8, 2026 ⚠️

• Early/absentee voting begins June 23, 2026 (6 weeks before election)

• “No excuse” in-person absentee July 21 – Aug. 3, 2026

• Primary Election Day: August 4, 2026

Boots on the Ground Midwest is hitting the streets with one of our biggest postcard campaigns yet! Volunteers are handwriting thousands of personalized postcards to voters across Johnson County, reminding them to cast their ballots and encouraging them to VOTE NO on the Supreme Court amendment.

Every postcard is a personal conversation, and every stamp helps us reach another voter. Will you chip in to help us cover the cost of postage and get these important messages into mailboxes across the county?

We are an all-volunteer group that puts 100% of all donations into our work. In other words, your money will be put to GOOD USE! Thanks in advance.

Donate to help purchase postage!

Last week, Chief Judge Karen Arnold Burger and David L. Stutzman, former District Judge, offered first-person insights into the potential impact of SCR1611, the attempt to move Kansas toward electing its Supreme Court justices. (We do not want political justices. 👎👎👎)

Watch the entire panel here.

(Quick review of SCR1611: The amendment on the Aug. 4 ballot seeks to change the way Kansas elects Supreme Court justices. Currently, a non-partisan commission of laypeople and lawyers from across the state pare down applications to three potential justices. The governor at the time selects the final justice. We, the people, then vote to retain — or boot them. IF this amendment were to pass, we’d see money from out-of-state billionaires pouring into Kansas in an attempt to “buy” justices who would push their agenda. Supreme Court judges should NOT be politicians.)

If you’re curious what the current system looks like, the entire process is recorded and posted online. (No smoke-filled rooms, like they’re claiming!)

• Your Kansas Judges (For past evaluations past. New ones will be posted in August)

• Supreme Court Nominating Commission - KS Courts

• Supreme Court Nominating Commission - Initial Procedural Continued Meeting

• Supreme Court Nominating Commission Meeting/Interviews 5-21-26 (PM)

Join Kansans United for Impartial Courts to get the word out about why working Kansans need to VOTE NO August 4. Training provided. Sign up here for all dates.

✅ BOTG is hosting a SPECIAL canvass with KUIC. Join us at 9:30 Saturday, July 11, for donuts and coffee, followed by canvassing!

Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Your immigrant friends and neighbors are being abducted without cause or due process — every day in our community.

ICE abductions have greatly increased in the past two weeks. They are very targeted and sporadic, so they aren’t causing a spectacle like Minneapolis or Portland. That’s intentional. Without the wall-to-wall media splash, ICE is getting away with horrific human rights violations while the rest of us go about our daily lives.

ICEOUT.org provides daily reports, submitted by community members. Thank you to @peopleoverpapers for creating this tool. Please report any ICE activity through this website.

✅ Want to learn more about how to protect our community, reach out to our team at info@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org. We’d be happy to host a free community training for your group.

JoCo Mutual Aid is joining forces with the amazing folks at Center of Grace in Olathe to fill backpacks for students heading back to school next month. Last year, COG served some 30,000 people in the area with a range of services, including ELL classes, computer literacy — and, of course, the Boys and Girls Club.

Help us fill backpacks to hand out at their summer celebration. (The average family spends more than $800 to send kids back to school with clothing, supplies and electronics.)

Drop off supplies and/or backpacks!

✅ Wed. July 8 | 5 - 7 p.m. | Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church | 9400 Pflumm

➡️➡️ The Olathe student school supply list is here.

➡️➡️ Donate directly to the COG back-to-school fund here.

Join us!

If you vote regularly, you’re probably bombarded with mailers, texts, calls and canvassers. But not everyone is receiving all this election information. Campaigns usually target their limited outreach dollars on likely voters, leaving infrequent voters -- including young, new and unaffiliated voters -- stuck in a low-information loop.

Our “Boots in the Wild” team is tackling this by meeting voters in their everyday lives: at farmers’, markets, concerts, festivals and the county fair. We need your help!

Make a big impact by having quick, easy conversations about voting basics. Training, a t-shirt and amazing company provided!

Volunteer Opportunities in Kansas

• Overland Park Farmer’s Market - Sign up here.

• Johnson County Fair - Sign up here.

• Questions? Email: meredith@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org

For Missouri Opportunities email: erin@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org

Young Voter Outreach (Led by young voters!)

• Opportunities for young voters to volunteer at events and on our social media campaign

• Email: meredith@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org to be connected with this team

In both Missouri and Kansas, more than one-third of the population is defined as “rural.” How do we bridge the divide between rural and urban values to build a united coalition? Hear from three highly respected speakers who will talk about specific strategies to close that gap and join together in state-wide resistance. Join IN PERSON or LIVE on ZOOM

• Suzanne Mettler is an American political scientist and co-author of Rural VS Urban: The Growing Divide That Threatens Democracy. Suzanne is known for her research about the way Americans view and respond to the government.

• Jessica Piper ran for the Democrat Party for election to the Missouri House of Representatives to represent District 1. She hosts the popular podcast Dirt Road Democrat.

• Don Coover, a Democrat and political newcomer, is challenging incumbent Republican Derek Schmidt, for KS-District 2. Don is a West Point grad, army veteran, rancher, veterinarian and small business owner.

You must register here to receive the zoom link

✅ Monday, July 6 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | Trailside Center | 9901 Holmes Rd, KCMO

Each month we host five Community Hubs in the KC area. Every meeting includes time to chat with like-minded friends, plus info about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. This month at the Kansas hubs, we’ll also be writing postcards to voters. Waldo: Stay tuned for info about our guest speaker. Attend whichever location works for you. Plus, coming soon: A midtown hub starting in August at the KC Oasis facility!

✅ Leawood | Monday, July 6 | 1:30 - 3:00 pm | REGISTER HERE

✅ NE JoCo | Wednesday, July 8 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | REGISTER HERE

✅ Shawnee | Thursday, July 9 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | REGISTER HERE

✅ Lenexa/Overland Park/Olathe | Thursday, July 9 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | REGISTER HERE

✅ Waldo | Saturday, July 11 | 10:30 - 11:30 am | REGISTER HERE

Join Kansas Interfaith Action to discuss the importance for people of faith and conscience to support the campaign to protect Kansas’ Supreme Court. Learn more about how you can use your voice to advocate for our communities and our rights.

✅ Tuesday | July 14 | 6:30 p.m. | St. Paul’s United Methodist Church | 7740 Lackman Road, Lenexa

The Boots on the Ground calendar offers a curated list of action items in Kansas and the KCMO metro.

Please submit items for the calendar to: calendar@bootsonthegroundmidwest.or

First, thanks for being part of the resistance. We need every one of you!

We keep our work free because we want everyone to have access to information and resources aimed at preserving democracy and fighting authoritarianism.

You can support through Substack by opting for a paid subscription. Or, you can donate through here. Thank you so much!