20250826 STAND Newsletter – Mutual aid at it’s best
What’s new with STAND
STAND seeks peace through justice, equity, and the raising of all voices. We will celebrate that pursuit of peace on September 20th. Until then, we have work to do and we need your help. Please read below.
Action NOW!
On Saturday, this Saturday, we will remember members of our community that have been snatched from their families and communities by our government. Find the details here.
The following week, on September 6th, we will remind ourselves of what commitment to peace through non-violence looks like as a community. Also, I’ll be making Chili – please come try some!
Then we prepare to STAND for Peace on the 20th. Bubbles, music, and the stories of our neighbors.
Dear Friends,
This week’s newsletter was going to be a little dark. I had a lot to say about ICE, the national guard, and other things facing our nation, our community, our families, and STAND. Instead, let me tell you a beautiful story about who STAND is and what we are all doing here.
Late last week, as you may have seen from my email, there was a fire in an apartment complex in Clarkston that displaced 32 families, many with young children. I learned about that fire because one of our members reached out to me to see if our colleagues at the Afghan American Alliance of Georgia knew anyone organizing a response. Because we have been speaking with the AAAGA and building our relationship with them, I was able to reach their leadership who was rapidly developing an aid strategy. I was able to relate those details with you all, and as the circumstances on the ground changed, I was able to update that guidance because a second STAND member was plugged in and asked us to broadcast the call. The result is that I’m aware of more than 10 members who have now engaged with this community at a time of critical need. If you’re still looking to help, please take a look at the attached flyer.
That’s what building community does, and I hope that you can see as clearly as I can that this kind of rapid response to support our community fully justifies all of the work that we have put into STAND. This is what peace looks like – not an absence of conflict or challenging times, but a community that lifts up those in need at a time when they most need it.
And we will continue to work for it. This month, I need your help to continue to breathe life into a message of justice and equity-driven peace in our community. We must start by remembering those who have been harmed so that we remember who we are working to lift up. You can do that this Saturday at 7pm, as we remember those who have been disappeared from our communities in the name of a false peace. Then, on September 6th, we will remind ourselves what it looks like to commit to peace in the midst of chaos by learning from those at the front lines of the Israel/Palestine conflict but have chosen a better way.
And finally, on September 20th, we will show our friends and neighbors how we intend to build the community we want to see in our world. We will have music, snowcones, bubbles, and most importantly, we will hear from our neighbors whose stories are frequently lost. STAND will help raise the voices of the silenced, and we will all be better for it. This may be the most important event that STAND holds this year because it will show the world exactly who we are and what we are working for. I will need your help to do it, please keep an eye out.
STANDing with you,
Matt
