Jason Russell,
I’m calling on you.
Why?
Because I need help getting to Fourth Estate. We’ve never met, but you follow me on Instagram, and I stalk the
heck out of you and your adorable family. I have, however, met and formed solid
friendships with half of the people you know. How? Because I’ve been involved
in Invisible Children since the rough cut came out- Global Night Commute, “Big
Ideas,” the Rescue, state-wide events, Kony 2012, the whole shebang.
I was just 17 when I learned about IC. I watched a video and my life as I knew
it was over. The impact it had on me would cause me to add a non-profit
management degree and I never looked back. Global Night Commute was my first
event, and not even the sprinklers coming on in the middle of the night could
convince us to leave. When I started college at OU in 2006, I immediately
joined our chapter of IC and helped coordinate events and screenings. In 2009, I
helped plan the OKC rescue, and jumped in the car with friends I had met an
hour before to drive to Little Rock to help their team get rescued (We may or
may not have called the local representatives at their homes…), and from there
we drove to Wichita for the next couple of days. To this day, I have a piece of
the rope that we held as we walked tied around my wrist as a reminder to pray
for peace. I have lobbied with my representatives- both local and nationally-
through events with Resolve and by attending Lobby Days: How it Ends. At lobby
days, I literally went toe-to-toe with Senator Inhofe for saying he loved
Africa, but not being on board with the legislation because it might take away
from *unused* military funding. You see, I’m not afraid to do hard things or
risk someone not liking me, if it furthers justice in the end. In 2010, I slept
outside for almost two weeks with the Coburn Say Yes campaign, leading teams
through OKC to get outside support, making daily phone calls, skipping classes
and birthdays (and showers), and you can bet that I rejoiced and laughed and
cried the moment we got the call saying he would allow the bill through. That
strange little group of us who came together those long days and nights became
an odd sort of family that can never be replaced. I’ve housed countless
roadies, made care packages, and learned how to make vegan meals so that they
feel at home. And once, at SXSW in 2010, I ended up working the Invisible Children merch table simply because no one else was there when I walked in. My husband and I had our first date in silence- using a pen and
paper to communicate- because he happened to ask me out on April 24th,
2011, and I refused to break my commitment to 25 hours of silence. When we got engaged a year later, he even included the 25 card as part of the proposal. I celebrated
the release of Kony 2012, defended IC whole-heartedly against the uninformed
and the relentless critics, and I cried with the IC family as the attacks on
you took its toll. We never gave up on you, and never gave up on our mission.
We are a team.
We are a family.
I joined in with strangers to clean up a park and
post flyers all around downtown Dallas. And the only reason I didn’t attend Move:DC
was because I was on my honeymoon. My closet is most likely around 60%
Invisible Children gear, and my heart is overflowing with the friendships I
have made with roadies, Ugandans, and other IC family.
None of this would have meant anything if there had not been thousands of others
that were standing up for the same thing.
The interns and roadies who give up
semesters or years of their life to devote to ending this war inspire me to do
so much more. We will never do anything if we don’t do it together.
So, Jason, I’m asking you to partner with me in this. I want
to change the world: but I need help doing it. I work for a small non-profit in
Dallas, and my husband works as a contractor until he finds a full time job
with a church or ministry. Most likely, it won’t be long before we transition to a
support-raised income. Needless to say, budget is tight. The summit would be so
helpful for me, I just can’t afford to go, and we are trying to ask our friends
for as little as possible, due to the potential upcoming change in income. I have sent
out emails and posted it on Facebook, but I am still about $500 short. Would
you consider sponsoring me for $100, or getting together with a couple other
staff and supporting me for more? It would be monumental in helping me pay for
the conference and the flight to LA!
Now, we’re getting to the end of this little ramble, but I want you to know why
this summit is so important to me. Jason, my life changed after watching the Rough
Cut. I never felt so much like I had a purpose as I did the minute I began
fighting for a life not my own. It has pushed me to join the non-profit world,
to start an anti-trafficking organization at OU, and to donate time and money
to other organizations that are in it to end suffering and promote justice for
all. And I want to join in, too. I’d like to start a non-profit coffee shop
that helps refugees find work, and partners with a resettlement program to help
provide counseling or fund education fees so they can provide for their
families in a sustainable way. The summit would really help me learn how to
develop effective programs, and it would give me a chance to pick up tips from
men and women I admire for their leadership in the global social sector. I can’t
miss such an incredible opportunity to grow and meet other young visionaries who
I may be able to stand with in this fight for life and peace and justice.
(And hey! Maybe you’ll even get a chance to meet me. You don’t want to miss
that chance.
Jokes. I got ‘em for days.)
So won’t you help me? Will you be willing to partner with me for $100, $200, or
heck- all $500? In a crazy world full of brokenness and suffering, we stand
together to
bring liberty to all- no matter the color of their skin, their place of birth,
or their religious background. “We are shaping human history by closing the divide between resources
and responsibility, distance and
disinterest, awareness and action.”
Help me continue to stand on the front
lines.
Get me to Fourth Estate.
