Category: What You Can Do Now - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Inaguration Celebration Help Needed! - What You Can Do Now

11/26/2020

2021 Presidential Inaguration Celebration Planning - Volunteers Needed!

A Message from the President

Hello Progressives!

Interested in ways to get involved? I am looking for a few volunteers to help plan a fun and interactive virtual Inaugural Celebration! Young people, we could really use your perspectives!

This commitment will involve a few idea-sharing meetings and tasks to complete independently, and then meetings to work on the implementation plan. We always have a lot of fun planning events so please JOIN US!

If you are interested or have questions please email me at ambroseallisons@sau.edu.

Allison Ambrose

Contact Legislators to Support Clean Energy Jobs Act

11/17/2020

Contact Legislators to Support the Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA)

Union of Concerned Scientists

Our climate and our communities can't afford to let up on passing clean energy legislation at the state level in Illinois.

We have one last big opportunity to show support for the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) and pass ambitious, equitable climate action in 2020.

The CEJA was introduced over 600 days ago and Illinois decision makers have yet to take meaningful action on comprehensive clean energy policy. Any further delay on CEJA keeps Illinoisans out of work longer, keeps the renewable energy industry at a standstill longer, keeps communities from accessing a clean, healthy, affordable clean energy future, and supports inequitable pollution and energy policies. Read more about CEJA here: https://ilcleanjobs.org/clean-energy-jobs-act/.

Contact Governor Pritzker and your state legislators about your support for this legislation. Click the link above and then select Get Involved/ Take Action. A simple form will send your message.

Lori McCollum

UPDATED - Count Every Vote Rally and Prayer Vigil

11/3/2020

Update: Count Every Vote Rally and Prayer Vigil
is now on Zoom!
Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm

A Message from the President

Due to the high numbers of Covid-19 in Iowa, this event will be virtual.

The link information for this Zoom event is:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86210124966?pwd=ekZ1dGJVeWpzRi9qbkdjYnF3NENaUT09
Meeting ID: 862 1012 4966
Passcode: 773903
Meeting ID: 862 1012 4966
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbMzsjGVM

Our original post from this week's WEU is as follows:

The US has held elections even during times of great strife like the Civil War, the Great Depression and both World Wars. The peaceful transfer of power has never been in question.

The efforts of our forebears gave African Americans and women the right to vote. Today Americans agree that every citizen should vote and that every vote should be counted.

PACG is working with local groups and clergy to organize a rally and prayer vigil on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm. We will meet at the Stone Fountain on the south side of Vander Veer Park.

We support the dedication and efforts of our local election officials to ensure that every vote is counted. Join us for this peaceful rally and prayer vigil to bring people together in support of the values and ideals we share as participants in our democracy.

Allison Ambrose

Open Enrollment for ACA Nov 1st to Dec 15th

10/20/2020

Spread the Word About the ACA! Open Enrollment Starts Soon
November 1st through December 15th

Health Care Reform Forum

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is still the law of the land!

Uninsured families, including those who have lost health insurance or have lost income due to the pandemic, may qualify for insurance and/or a subsidy on the ACA Marketplace. Open enrollment is from November 1st through December 15th.

You can help share this good news by:
1. Encouraging any friend, neighbor or family member that you think might need health insurance to check out their eligibility on HealthCare.gov.

2. Distributing or posting a flier about the ACA enrollment on community bulletin boards, in barber shops, salons laundromats, churches, etc. Place these wherever (especially, low income) people might see them.

3. Download and print “Need Health Insurance?” fliers like the one below, or contact me for copies.

Frank Samuelson

need_health_insurance_2020.pdf
File Size:	42 kb
File Type:	pdf

Your Vote Matters ! Vote Early! - What You Can Do Now

10/14/2020

Your Vote Matters! Vote Early!
Various Times and Dates

PACG Message to our Membership

The 2020 election has begun. Please remember to vote. Support the candidates who best align with your visions and values. Be sure to wear your mask and maintain social distance when you do. For those who prefer to vote early, here are the links to the Scott County locations, dates and times of the satellite voting sites and a list of the same for Rock Island County.

Iowa
Scott County Satellite Voting sites opened on October 5th. Ballots from all precincts are available at each location. For addresses, dates and hours for these sites, go to: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/post/2020/10/05/2020-early-voting-satellite-locations.

Illinois
Early Voting at the County Clerk's Office:

Rock Island County Office Building
First Floor - 1504 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL, 61201-8624 (map)
Monday to Friday, September 24th to Friday, October 16th: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Monday, October 19th to Monday, November 2nd: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 7 pm
Saturdays, October 24th and 31st: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sundays, October 25th and November 1st: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Early Voting at Off-Site Locations (note - there is only ONE early voting off-site location for this election):
Western Illinois University, 3300 River Drive, Moline, IL (map)
Monday to Friday, October 19th to October 30th: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Check this link for more details about voting in Rock County: https://www.rockislandcounty.org/AbsenteeVoting/#Early.

Keep in mind that all of these times and dates are only for early voting, not election day voting.

Susan Leuthauser

MaskIowa Postcard Campaign - What You Can Do Now

9/19/2020

#MaskIowa Postcard Campaign to Mandate Masks in Iowa

A Message from the President

A friend of mine has started a postcard campaign asking for a mask mandate in Iowa because our governor refuses to order one. You may read more about this effort here: MaskIowa.com!

Postcards are to be sent to Governor Kim Reynolds. There was recently an article in the Quad City Times that she is going to stand firmly against this mandate, even though governors in states like Mississippi and Georgia have changed their opinion on this issue:

Reynolds scoffs at calls for a statewide mask order, calling them “feel-good” actions, and refuses to let city officials enforce local mandates, even as the small, largely rural state maintains one of the highest COVID-19 positivity rates and has topped 1,200 dead. While she implores residents to wear masks while indoors when social distancing isn't possible, she has said not everyone believes they're effective and frequently is photographed mingling at crowded events without a mask. Read the full article here.

We are asking our members to consider downloading postcards and sending them to the Governor's office. Each card you send asks you to state "I wear a mask for..." which means you may wish to write multiple postcards for the multiple reasons you believe mask-wearing is important.

Postcards may be printed here and should be mailed to:

Office of the Governor
Iowa State Capitol
1007 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319

If you'd also like to mail them to other members of the Iowa legislature, click here.

Share this fun and effective campaign with your friends! I believe it is very timely because I believe in science! We should all be wearing masks! In addition, I feel this is especially important as we approach flu season!

Allison Ambrose

Voting for Health Care In November - What You Can Do Now

9/16/2020

Voting for Health Care
Early Voting and by Tuesday, November 3rd

Health Care Reform Forum

As progressives we know that government support for good health care is a central issue in the coming election. We know that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has been weakened and the number of uninsured Americans has increased over the past four years. An estimated 5.4 million have lost their health insurance since the start of the pandemic. And there is currently a court case seeking to repeal the law completely, with no plan to replace it.

If you believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, please support candidates committed to improving and expanding health insurance, toward the goal of universal coverage for all Americans. You can help by being a health care voter yourself, and also by encouraging others - family, friends and neighbors - to vote for candidates who promise to improve and expand health care and health insurance for all Americans.

Please join us in sending letters to the editors of the QC Times and the Dispatch/Argus in support of this issue. Help us send a flood of letters that will encourage our QC neighbors to make health care a priority as they vote in the coming weeks.

Your letter may be brief or detailed, personal or general. If you have a personal experience, or know a friend who, for instance, has pre-existing conditions, tell that story.

To send your letter to the Quad-City Times click here: Submit a letter.

To send your letter to the Dispatch/Argus click here: Submit a letter.

Letters should be 250 words or less.

Frank Samuelson

Deportation Defense Summit via Zoom

8/13/2020

Deportation Defense Summit via Zoom
Saturday, August 22nd at 10:00 am

Deportation Defense Summit Registration

Join us for a virtual Deportation Defense Summit on Saturday, August 22nd from 10:00 am to noon, to learn how you can help in the fight to stop deportations and keep families together. This dynamic training will offer an orientation on protective accompaniment and how we can use organizing, direct action and movement building to win!

Read more about the Deportation Defense Summit in Newsweek.

Registration is free, but required. Speaker announcements will be coming soon.

Julie Ross

Support the Y15K Initiative - What You Can Do Now

7/25/2020

15 Years - Y15K - $15,000

Please help us celebrate our 15th Anniversary by supporting our Y15K fundraiser! Our goal is to raise $7,500 from donors, matched with PACG funds on hand, for a total of $15,000. We will donate the $15,000 raised to nonprofits in the community serving those in need. We especially want to help those negatively impacted by COVID-19.

Our funds will benefit:

The residents of Cobblestone Place which provides low-income housing;
Immigrants negatively impacted by COVID-19 through Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees (QCAIR);
Families experiencing hunger due to job losses through Heart of Hope;
Immigrants (and others) by providing food service job training and commercial kitchen support through Catalyst Kitchen.

To help you learn more, we are hosting Understand the Need Zoom webinars where representatives from each group will explain how they function to benefit our community and why they are in additional need today.

Please click on one of the links below to register.

If you try to register before the event and the registration says it is closed, please contact our Office Manager at (563) 676-7580. She will send you a webinar link.

Y15K - Understand the Need - Tuesday, August 4th at 5:30 pm
Register: https://pacg.z2systems.com/eventReg.jsp?event=489&

Y15K - Understand the Need - Saturday, August 8th at 10:00 am
Register: https://pacg.z2systems.com/eventReg.jsp?event=494&

Download the flyer below to invite your friends!

y15k_flyer_.pdf
File Size:	527 kb
File Type:	pdf

A Message from the Board

Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG) is celebrating 15 years of working tirelessly for liberty and justice in the Quad Cities! We organized out of the belief that bringing progressives together on the issues that matter to them is important for democracy to succeed. Your support has allowed us to defend and advance progressive causes. In celebration of our 15th Anniversary, we would like to give back to our community and, in particular, to those who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to announce the Y15K (15 years/$15,000) initiative. We will match donations to PACG in the hopes of raising at least $7,500 from members so that we can infuse $15,000 into our community. These donations will be threefold:

to Cobblestone Place to help meet residents’ needs;
directly to immigrants who have been affected by COVID-19 (with the help of Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees - QCAIR);
to local non-profits that serve populations of interest to our Issue Forums.

You are someone who has supported PACG in the past. We ask you to consider donating to our Y15K initiative. Remember that PACG is a 501(c)(3) organization and your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

We are hosting Zoom presentations so that members can learn more about who we will support with Y15K. I hope you can join us! Please see the flyer for more information about this fund drive and our presentations. Thank you for your continued support for progressive issues and for PACG.

Allison Ambrose

What You Can Do Now - Plastic Free July

7/17/2020

Be Part of the Solution - Plastic Free July

Environmental Forum

Plastic Free July

The Plastic Free Foundation in Australia initiated the annual Plastic Free July campaign in 2011 to challenge world citizens to stop plastic pollution. By 2019 this global plastic free movement had over 250 million participants. They avoided over 900,000 tons of plastic waste, which included single-use beverage containers, straws, plastic bags, packaging materials, and more.

Visit July Plastic Free Challenge to register. Or start by refusing single-use plastic. See how much plastic waste you can reduce in your life.

You can be part of the solution and make a difference.

Susan Leuthauser