I recently enjoyed posting my fan letter to Joan and I appreciate all the supportive responses. I got so much positive feedback, it made me want to ask: What organizer fan mail do you wish you could send? Who is someone who has impacted your life/organizing that you’ve never had a chance to honor and acknowledge? Who has inspired you, without ever even knowing it? What would you say to them if you had the chanc

All too often we consider organizing and community organizing limited to the political realm. Sometime between the 70’s and today many of us lost the connection to the personal is political. In my hometown of Lewiston, I got to see an incredible intersection of the personal and the political. She Doesn’t Like Guthries – is a locally owned business that has been supporting community gatherings, movie

Dear Joan, I found you racist, sexist, vulgar, sad… and I loved you. This is the fan letter from deep down inside my organizer heart that I should have written to you years ago. Last week I started training a new class of comedy improv students – thinking about your roots in Second City, my hometown. It didn’t take 90 minutes for us to start talking about the deep connection between laughter and sad

We’re live! Up With Community is up and running bringing you fresh tools, stories of inspiration, and community resources for systemic change. Dive in, take a look around and don’t miss: — What are we up to here?  — How did I get started and what am I doing now? — Laugh out loud and become a better organizer at the same time We are looking for more stories, resources and tools to share &