Extending Women’s History Month

For the past eight years, I’ve organized mutual aid efforts that are about one simple thing, getting money directly to people who need it, when they need it. A lot of you have been part of that with me. Together, we’ve raised a few million dollars. And still, lately, the ground is shifting in a way that makes everything more urgent.

Over the last few months, I’ve been on the phone with a number of the shelters we’ve partnered with over the years. And everyone has the same tone. The kind where you can hear the pause before they answer my typical question of, “How are things right now?” Across the board, they’ve all said some version of the same thing. Since Trump took office, they’ve seen funding drop. In some cases, by as much as 25%.

That is a heartbreaking number. It means fewer beds. It means staff stretched thinner. It means calls that used to end with “come in” now ending with “we’re full.” It means someone being told there is no help waiting for them.

This is the context for why I do this every year during Women’s History Month, raising money specifically for women’s shelters. I didn’t start it on time this year. There’s been so much happening that it felt, for a moment, like one more ask might just disappear into everything else people are holding. But the reality is, the need didn’t slow down. It never does.

So I’m starting it now. Consider this extending Women’s History Month.

We are raising $20,000. The ask is three dollars.

There are over 95,000 of you subscribed here. About 30,000 typically open my emails. If even 30% of you give three dollars, we can support two shelters with hygiene products, food, and clothing.

What your three dollars becomes is not abstract. It becomes the daily basics for these women that many of us take for granted.

I keep thinking about those conversations, about how consistent they’ve been, how none of them felt like outliers. Just people doing their best with less than they need.

If you’ve ever trusted me when I say something matters, I’m asking you to act on that now.

Start with three.