For the past several days, we have looked at the murder of George Floyd with such incredible sadness, grief and continued concern for our country. And what fears us most is the eventual fade of the moment, the return to our everyday lives where the moment is remembered, but does not result in change. That can’t happen. The result has to be more than words, a social media campaign. There has to meaningful action. We have to leave this world better than the way it was.
We chose to push pause on social media to turn our attention to how we can take meaningful action. Purposeful and aligned with our core values. We appreciate the social media posts and campaigns, but we chose to place our energy into a plan of action…for the long term. To look within and see what we can do to be part of the best version of our country – for humanity – for black lives – for all lives.
The Rebelle Rally is a strong community. When we created Rebelle Impact, our giving back component, it was with the knowing belief that Rebelles can change the world. At this time, we have women in 188 cities, 38 states/provinces, 8 countries. We believe that change starts at the local and regional level, it’s the place where you know what is going on, your letters matter, your actions matter, your voices matter, and your vote matters. You can make the biggest change at home, right around you. Imagine the world if everyone in your community looked within and tried to be the best teammate they could be, and saw each and every person on that same team.
Through Rebelle Impact, we gave to several worthy causes that we believe are making real change. The Innocence Project – an exceptional organization for fixing wrongs and reforming the criminal justice system. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture – an excellent space to learn important history, and an online space to talk about race and the cancer of bias. We hope you will learn more about them. We supported local La Mesa, CA businesses that were severely damaged in the looting, and are owned by women in our community. And we applied to Salvation Army to serve the underserved in our county.
Rebelles – you are leaders, you are teammates, you are used to moving the goalposts. You overcome adversity, you are solution-minded, you are articulate, you are leading your teams, your children, your communities into the future. Our hope is that you can find your path forward, stay positive, and help create the vision for a place that is the best version of whom we all can be. As an organization and as individuals, let’s keep our compass pointed north.
