Work With Us To Effect Change
2022 Events and Achievements
Remembrance and Call To Action
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In response to the school mass shooting in Uvalde, BID participated in an event on June 5th sponsored by Leonia Action and Bergen/Passaic Moms Demand Action, which also included representatives of Students Demand Action and BID. Each group had a voice in speaking to the need for common sense gun control legislation and changes in composition at all levels of governments to help protect our children and communities from gun violence.
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Protect the Vote: Preserve our Democracy
Because of the new election laws passed in the post 2020 election cycle – designed to suppress the vote of minorities and people of color – BID organized a series of events to help protect our fundamental right to vote. The first, held in coordination with The Action Network NJ on April 20th, was a letter writing campaign that appealed to select individuals, encouraging them to register and vote in advance of the New Jersey Primary. Dedicated volunteers prepared registration materials and wrote personal notes to hundreds of individuals in the top 10% of those MOST LIKELY to lean Democratic in District 3 (Representative Andy Kim), District 7 (Representative Tom Malinowski), and District 11 (Mikie Sherrill).
Postcard Writing Campaigns
To encourage voter engagement, BID conducted active postcard-writing campaigns in May, June and September targeted to swing states with key Senate and state races. These carefully chosen initiatives in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan successfully contributed to fighting off Maga election-denying candidates and strengthening our democracy.
Between attendees at all events – in person and those who picked up cards to prepare and mail from home – we processed several thousand cards.
All of these initiatives, in combination with those of thousands of organizations across the country like ours, demonstrate the commitment on the ground by thousands upon thousands of volunteers to protect our fundamental right to have all of our voices heard. Postcards to Swing States, who we partnered with, issued 7,000,000 cards nationwide and ran out as a result of overwhelming demand!
Focus for Democracy
As the election drew closer, BID partnered with Larchmont/Mamaroneck Indivisible, a powerful community activism group in Westchester, to present a State Races zoom meeting on September 14. Presenters included Aaron Frank, the Founder of Focus for Democracy (which identities programs that have the highest impact for winning critical state races), and State Representative Kyra Harris Bolden, a Michigan Supreme Court candidate, who explained why the state Supreme Court and other state elected bodies matter so significantly on both state and national levels. The goal of the evening was to educate people about how critical state races are in protecting our democracy. Often overlooked, state offices – legislatures, supreme courts, and Secretaries of State – are at the center of protecting our elections and making sure all our votes are counted and recognized.