INDIVIDUALS TAKING POLITICAL ACTION - WORKING TOWARD A BETTER TOMORROW

Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 6:30 pm via Zoom. Email us at valleyactiongroup@gmail.com for Zoom link.

Action is The Antidote to Anxiety 

Whether you have been looking for the right way to engage to protect citizens and the nation against the current administration's onslaught of harmful policies or it is all too anxiety provoking and you need to avoid the news, this message is for you. (Below this message are specific ACTIONS.)

This struggle will take time to fix. Here are tips to right size your engagement to fit your life. Do not despair. It is important to understand that the voters, especially in numbers, have enormous power and impact - so it is important to work together. As individuals we might just work on one thing a day or a week but collectively, we will fight back on many things all the time.

A couple of other reminders.

Elected officials pay attention to public opinion. We will make calls, meet with them, and take to the streets to protest and, with our numbers, get them to do what is right even if that means just demanding they speak out. 

The judicial branch is holding (so far). The legislative branch, under the control of MAGA, has abdicated their responsibility as a co-equal branch of government but many organizations have been successful in their lawsuits against the current administration’s unlawful actions. We will provide updates on where you can donate to support their efforts. 

We will be creative. The current administration is working on behalf of the uber-wealthy. It has the power to issue orders to try and distract us and divide us but always to try and help the wealthy. We will harness our collective power through things like targeted boycotts and protests. And we will continue to engage with our elected officials to work to protect the most vulnerable and regain power in 2026.

ACTIONS

• Email Musk’s “Department of Governmental Efficiency” at DOGE@mail.house.gov and tell them to stop protecting billionaires and start protecting us. Or, tell them to look into the fraud, waste and corruption that is rampant in the Medicare “Advantage” program as reported here and here.

• SHOW THEM OUR POWER - 24-hour Economic Blackout  

  On Friday February 28th from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM do not make any purchases, online, in-stores, anywhere!

• If your work or a family member’s work has been impacted by Musk/Trump’s mindless and chaotic funding stoppages tell your story as widely as you can.  Post it on social media, email your friends (especially those who are not Democrats), submit it as a letter to the editor.

• Talk to moderate Republican friends, family and see if they will make calls to their Republican officials about things like cuts to cancer research, Veterans health, aid to Farmers.

• Republicans cannot afford to lose a single seat in the House before their work is stymied. There will be a special election to replace upstate NY’s Rep. Elise Stefanik (who has been appointed our UN ambassador). The Republicans have not yet announced who will run for her seat but right now you can donate to support Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer, who will be the Democratic candidate.  

• As noted above, the judicial branch is holding (for now). Here are some you might want to give financial support to: ACLU, Public Citizen, Center for Constitutional Rights, Southern Poverty Law Center, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington.

• Make a yard sign with a simple message (“Musk is stealing from you”, “I support transgenders”, “I didn’t vote to cut cancer research”). Write whatever feels right but it’s best to keep it short and punchy.

• Use your purchasing power to send a message. Here’s a list of companies that have retreated from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives since Trump’s election: Google, Target, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Amazon, McDonalds, Tractor Supply, John Deere, Walmart, Ford, Lowe’s. Consider spending your money elsewhere.

This is truly an action driven organization - writing letters and post cards, making phone calls, canvassing -whatever you wish to be involved in, Valley Action has the means to help you do so. Join us for monthly meetings!

Who We Are

Valley Action is dedicated to increasing civic participation through education, support, and action. We mobilize people in the Valley to raise their voices towards a more progressive democracy.

Members come together to work on a range of issues focusing on justice and equity. We are concerned people looking for a way to make a difference.

For more information about what you can do to be active as the nation heads toward the 2022 mid-term elections, please go to the actions page. You can perform actions that will make a difference!

Get Involved

Preparing to March 2018!

Valley Action Discusses Next Steps to Stop the GOP Tax Plan with Congressman McGovern's Office

Valley Action Co-sponsors The March for Racial Justice

in Holyoke, MA (hosted by Massachusetts for Equality and Racial Justice)

Our Work

Read More about Valley Action in the Daily Hampshire Gazette!

Members wrote letters, op-eds, created petitions, marched, made phone calls, wrote postcards, attended town halls, and more. We can't stop--won't stop!
See these links:

Valley Action on CNN

Letters to the Editor:

Elaine Fronhofer: Medicare Advantage policies put profits over people’s care

Fronhofer Urges Senate to Vote Against Republican Tax Bill
Kendra Brown Cites Shortcomings of Tax Bill
Annie Fortnow Criticizes "Reckless" Republican Tax Plan
Elliott Crowe: Urges non-violent response to Nazis, Fascists
NY Times Letter: The Fate of the Illegal Immigrants


Petitions:
Tell Trump, Ryan and O’Connell, No Obamacare Repeal without a Plan:
Petition garnered over 100,000 signatures

Op-Eds
Kate Hartford and Elaine Fronhofer: We the People Need the For the People Act

Elaine Fronhofer: Condemn Violence Whatever the Politics
Gloria DiFulvio: Women will Persist in Leading the Resistance
Gloria DiFulvio: Americans have the ability to Effect Change

Tax March Saratoga

To see more of Our Work click here

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
--Margaret Mead

We are a registered Indivisible Group and Women's March Huddle.