Nov. 26, 2021

Hello everyone,

Yes, Nov. 30 is Giving Tuesday, a “global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” (So says Wikipedia.)

Anyway, you’re going to be getting a lot of appeals from a lot of organizations, many of which do very good work and deserve your support.

Here’s one more deserving group: The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality.

Founded in 2002, we’re an all-volunteer, grassroots activist organization that’s been in the forefront of many of the struggles that have defined progressive work in Virginia over the past two decades. That includes:

• The ongoing struggle to reclaim and properly memorialize Shockoe Bottom, once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade.
• Supporting prisoners and fighting for justice in Virginia’s prison and jails.
• Being an early and active opponent of Confederate statues and memorials.
• Supporting labor, community, LGBTQ and environmental struggles.
• Opposing U.S. wars and military interventions through local, national and international campaigns.
• Publishing The Virginia Defender newspaper, which works to bring together all these struggles and more to help build a united, multi-issue, independent movement for Jobs, Peace and Justice.

Every dollar you donate to the Defenders goes right into our organizing work, not salaries or overhead. That’s because we all volunteer our time, and our members’ dues cover the office rent, phone and other day-to-day expenses.

This is our only big appeal of the year, so if you believe in our work, please help support it. No donation is too small. (Or too large, for that matter …)

Here’s how to make a one-time donation:

1. Send a check or money order made out to “Defenders” to: “Virginia Defenders, PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223.”
2. Log onto the Defenders Blogspot here and click “Donate” on the right side of the home page. From there you can use a debit or credit card or PayPal to make a one-time donation to The Virginia Defender, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project or General Support. (Just choose one from the pull-down menu.)

To make a regular monthly contribution to the Defender Supporter Program:

Just go to the Defenders Blogspot, click “Donate” on the right side of the home page and then click the box that says “Make this a monthly donation.” (And choose The Virginia Defender, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project or General Support from the pull-down menu.) You can change or end that monthly pledge at any time. This is a great way to support the Defenders and helps us budget for the organizing work.

And here’s how to make a tax-deductible contribution:

Send a check or money order for $25 or more to our fiscal sponsor, United Parents Against Lead, a nonprofit with 501c3 status. Make the donation payable to “UPAL” with “Defenders” in the subject line and send it to: “Virginia Defenders, PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223.”

Folks, we’ve been fighting the good fight for nearly 20 years. With your support, we can keep up the struggle and do it from an even stronger base.

Thanks for reading this, and we hope to hear back from you soon,

From the Virginia Defenders Steering Committee: