Field + Outreach, September 2024

#Fight4HER Summer Highlights

Over the past few months, our 2024 #Fight4HER organizers in Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have continued guiding our reproductive health and rights campaign with impactful local events, ambitious petition gatherings, and dedicated planning for the end-of-summer regional HER Summits.

Melvine Ouyo, a member of our Board of Directors, an independent consultant for Population Connection Action Fund, and the Founder and Executive Director of Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative (HKSAI), which is profiled in this issue of the magazine here, shared her experiences and insights with audiences while joining our organizers on a recent tour of our target locations.

Reflecting on her participation, Melvine says, “I think we reached new advocates for reproductive freedom who will, in turn, spread the message to their neighbors and friends. We helped more people understand our policy priorities and why the harmful Global Gag Rule and Helms Amendment must be permanently repealed.”

Melvine’s standout moment during her campaign tour was at the Juneteenth Ohio Festival in Columbus. “It was truly exciting and inspiring to see many Ohio participants sign up as volunteers for the #Fight4HER campaign and support the petition to pass the Global HER Act. Meeting us at this event helped deepen their understanding of our policy goals.”

Guy Dale

Columbus, OH

Guy is a dynamic organizer who spearheads the #Fight4HER campaign in Columbus with remarkable dedication and strategic vision. His journey with us has been marked by significant milestones and inspiring interactions with volunteers who share his commitment to reproductive rights.

At the Juneteenth Ohio Festival, Guy talked to festival-goers who approached his table throughout the day, and he collected over 200 new #Fight4HER pledges! Melvine and Grace, our Field Coordinator, took the stage to emphasize the importance of voting, ending the Global Gag Rule, and supporting the #Fight4HER campaign.

At the Columbus Book Festival in July, Guy gathered over 150 #Fight4HER pledges. His community-focused approach yields tangible results, expanding our base of campaign supporters in the Columbus area. Reflecting on the invaluable contributions of dedicated volunteers, Guy shared his appreciation for Iye Bako. Iye found the #Fight4HER campaign on Mobilize, a platform that connects activists with nonprofits, labor unions, political campaigns, and grassroots organizers, and signed up to volunteer at the Book Festival. Even though she only registered a week before the event, she was able to get three others to volunteer with her, and together they collected over 100 signatures! Iye has extended the time she’ll work on our campaign so that she can be involved in the Columbus HER Summit.

Hannah Lammers

Manchester, NH

Since she hit the ground in March, Hannah has collected 1,520 petition signatures toward her 2,000-signature goal while organizing eight partner-led events with a total of 342 attendees.

Hannah recently mobilized a team of volunteers to table at a special Art in the Park market to celebrate Concord Pride. The event was hosted by Capital City Pride and Queerlective, an advocacy and education organization that uses art as a tool to create more inclusive spaces for queer, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities. That day, Hannah realized the level of dedication of her volunteer team. “We had a volunteer scheduled to table with us. He was coming to Concord from Manchester, and, unfortunately, the bus system wasn’t running on time. Instead of canceling, he biked 14 miles to be there! I was so moved by his drive (literally and figuratively) to be a part of our event and the #Fight4HER community.” That was a pivotal day, as the #Fight4HER campaign in New Hampshire reached the milestone of 1,000 petition signatures from people who also provided phone numbers.

Hannah’s lead volunteers inspired her at Portsmouth Pride as well. “#Fight4HER had been put on the wait list for Portsmouth Pride, one of the largest pride events in the state. I met the person coordinating the entire festival at a networking event, and the next day, she told me she could take us off the wait list! Unfortunately, I had planned an out-of-state personal event long before, and knew I couldn’t make it, so my lead volunteers took it upon themselves to coordinate and table the event.”

Jorden Lauterbach

Tucson, AZ

Jorden has worked tirelessly to engage his community in the #Fight4HER. The oppressive heat has limited clipboarding opportunities in Tucson over the past few months. To overcome this challenge, Jorden has planned thoughtful volunteer meetings, created engaging social media posts, used Hustle (a peer-to-peer texting platform) to send messages to our activists, and sent targeted emails to recruit new volunteers and potential partners.

Jorden is working closely with his summer fellows to plan the Tucson HER Summit in September and to engage with more volunteers while brainstorming creative solutions to beat the heat and maintain the momentum of his and his volunteers’ advocacy efforts.

On June 19, Lucien Maggert, a lead volunteer and summer fellow who is working with Jorden, attended the 54th Annual Tucson Juneteenth Festival. He came out to educate community members about the US policies that affect global reproductive health and encouraged everyone celebrating freedom from slavery to fight for reproductive freedom by ensuring access to contraception and safe abortion for all.

Looking ahead

As the #Fight4HER campaign continues to gain momentum, the collective efforts of our dedicated organizers and volunteers demonstrate the power of community engagement in the fight for reproductive rights. From Guy’s astute leadership in Columbus to Hannah’s exceptional organizing in New Hampshire to Jorden’s creative community building in Tucson, every organizer involved in the #Fight4HER campaign makes a significant difference in their communities.

The journey ahead is filled with promise as we prepare for upcoming events, including the highly anticipated HER Summits. With new fellows ready to join our local organizers and the unwavering support of passionate volunteers, the campaign is expected to expand its reach and deepen its impact. We invite you to join us in this vital work as we empower communities and champion the rights of all individuals, reminding people that together, we can create a world where reproductive health and rights are a reality for everyone, everywhere.

Sign the Population Connection Action Fund #Fight4HER petition to urge Congress to permanently end the Global Gag Rule by passing the Global HER Act!