I Give to GAR to Empower Working-Class Communities to Dream, Organize and Lead
Written by Jenn Ching, monthly sustainer to GAR
I’m going to tell you a story about how I came to be part of the movement that GAR plays such a vital role in today - and why? Because I want you to join me in giving to them.
But first, the story.
In 1992, I tore a telephone number off a printed flyer—remember those?!—hanging in the lobby of a Boston Chinatown elementary school where I was volunteering as a tutor.
That flyer introduced me to Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW), a grassroots group down the street that was training youth to become community organizers and a member of GAR. I was accepted into the training program, and when the program ended, I stayed on as a youth organizer for a groundbreaking environmental justice campaign.
Becoming an organizer changed my life. I relearned my own history, unlearned the lies that had been taught to me—and started building the muscle of solidarity required to envision a different future.
Decades later, I now work every day to support emerging movements. I am constantly reminded of the arduous, disciplined work needed to build sustaining relationships in organizing that allow people to dream big, and fight harder.
That’s why I’m asking you to join me in making a gift today in support of Grassroots Asians Rising. GAR is building a powerful, pan-Asian, working-class movement across America. GAR leaders provide critical tools, programming, and shared spaces for organizers to grow movements, together.
I’m a monthly donor to GAR not just because I was trained at a GAR member organization, but because I have seen the impact of GAR’s work—wins across the country, like defeating corporate sports arenas that threaten to destroy our homes, securing better working conditions and wages across industries, and defending our immigrant and refugee neighbors from ICE.
But at the same time, with rising authoritarianism in our country, our communities face well-funded, organized attacks. In the face of these threats, our movements must be even more organized, strategic, and committed to the long-term work of developing working-class leadership and power.
Let's resource the future that grassroots organizers are building. Invest in GAR’s vital mission to empower working-class communities to dream, organize, and lead us all to a world of dignity, safety, and justice.