|
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN 2026? WE DON’T KNOW, BUT WE ARE CHOOSING TO DIVE IN WTH HOPE AND OPTIMISM FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE. At the end of every year, I am excited to take stock of what we have accomplished in the previous year, and what is going to be the work we have ahead. Being at the helm of a grass-roots, pro-democracy organization, at a time when authoritarianism is desperately trying to take hold in our nation, this kind of reflection takes on new meaning for me and the team at Wake UP Sonoma. I find myself saying all the time, as I am sure you do too, “wow, what crazy times we live in”. I now go into this new year with great hope that we will accomplish a lot in 2026 in strengthening community and fostering a vibrant, just, respectful and welcoming Sonoma Valley Community - just as we did last year. All the while we are fostering DEIA and Democracy. Reflecting on our accomplishments has left me somewhat breathless and astonished - LOOK at what we (YOU ALL and us) have accomplished! To name a FEW of these: Six major protests against this administration with up to 5,000 participants.
We stood up for the 27 amendments of the constitution on the 4th of July.
We birthed the Signs of Fascism - Sonoma style.
We began Community meetings monthly with deep and enlightening conversations and strategic resistance.
We initiated the Arts for Inclusion program with Art Escape- more on that next year!
We brought community together for three - inform and educate films and panels - the core of our mission. Then we brought the joy with our annual CommUNITY fundraiser and silent auction at Sonoma Cheese Factory - new trusted friends.
We extended our umbrella to Sonoma Valley Pride to more effectively collaborate on incredible PRIDE events.
We raised $12,000 in grocery cards with our SNAP BUDDY program to help support food insecure community members during the Government shut down.
We succeeded in getting the month of June declared PRIDE month by the City of Sonoma - and created our biggest ever PRIDE weekend.
And, lets not forget Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Slay O’ Ween, beacons of abandon and joy in our little town. We refuse to lose our joy or become invisible!
It goes without saying that we continue to keep the community informed on the LeFever/Mattson drama and implosions.
2026 will bring more of the same, but as we move into this next year, it feels a bit more dire, and we must be ready. As we hear the whimper of this autocracy dying out (because it will - and it is), the struggle for it to gasp air will ultimately bring more pain and suffering in it’s wake. The extinction burst. We are preparing. We will train our community, what to do if ICE is in your neighborhood, we will strategize about how to build neighborhood pods, we will show movies and bring panels that will keep us on our toes about issues that are local, national, and beyond. We will participate in providing a community dinner to HAS again. We will be bringing PRIDE to Sonoma in ways that we didn’t think possible, but then to find out - it IS possible! Get ready for DRAG Bingo and some rocking music and entertainment. We will continue to support and elevate the good work being done in our community with our own Mutual Aid efforts to work with them on food insecurity, supporting un-housed neighbors, and seniors. We are grateful to be partners. We hope to collaborate with local health partners to report on developments with healthcare and how to take local action. We will fight for the safety and security of our immigrant community and in building systems of safety. And, so much more. Please stay tuned by visiting our dynamic Website - www.wakeupsonoma.org
And, yes, all of this work takes funding, volunteers and community connections. So, if you have not already done so, consider a donation to Wake UP Sonoma in this last 24 hours of 2025. Donate — Wake UP Sonoma. If donating is not possible, we look forward to your donations of time, even if it means just making sure to get the word out about our work, enlisting your friends and neighbors who can help financially or otherwise, and showing up at Wake UP Sonoma events. Every time you show up, you build OUR community. Happy New Year CommUNITY!!! We look so forward to working with you in the New Year. Lisa Storment, President, Wake UP Sonoma
Enormous gratitude to the board that continues to show up for this organization:
David Eichar, Josette Brose-Eichar, Martín Gobbée, Gary Saperstein, and Matthew Long.
|
