Dear ,

During this past General Assembly, VICPP promoted a bill to require health professionals to acquire training in unconscious bias. There are many kinds of unconscious bias, but one of the most pernicious is racial bias, which leads to shocking health disparities. Earlier this month, the American Nurses Association publicly apologized for racism – past and present – that has affected health outcomes of their patients. See the article HERE, or in this newsletter's "In the News" section. 

Join a Religious Fact-Finding Delegation (Listening Session) on August 11 at Dulles International Airport to learn more about working conditions for airport workers. Approximately 2,000 essential airport workers at IAD (Dulles) and DCA (Reagan National) airports – including wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers, terminal cleaners, cabin cleaners, and non-TSA security – have no paid sick days or employer-provided health insurance. This creates a crisis for the largely Black, brown, and immigrant workers performing critical jobs who must choose between taking care of themselves or their children and getting paid. Workers who go to work sick endanger their co-workers, the public, and passengers. Many workers have lost their lives due to COVID-19 and/or the lack of access to health care.  

VICPP is working with SEIU 32 BJ to get these essential workers the protections they deserve. On August 11 at Dulles International Airport, we will be hosting a religious fact-finding delegation. The delegation will learn directly from impacted workers and make plans for encouraging the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to set a standard for how workers at the airport are treated.

Email VICPP Economic Justice Program Manager Jase Hatcher (Jase@virginiainterfaithcenter.org) with any questions. 

Click HERE to read our Fact Sheet to learn more!

Are you a health care professional? Do you know any health care professionals within your congregation or organization? This call to action is for you! The PUSH maternal health coalition will be elevating the voices of health care professionals, particularly OB-GYNs, this summer in our effort to dispel the current discourse in Virginia that racial disparities do not exist in health care to the extent that would warrant prioritizing and addressing them. Add your voice and/or urge the health care professionals you know to add theirs, too! Click the button below to email Dora at: 
dora@virginiainterfaithcenter.org

VICPP was delighted to celebrate the partially refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) with our friends at The Commonwealth Institute who led the fight on this issue. In the above picture, faith organizer Sheila Herlihy is talking with Delegate Ken Plum and Delegate Marcia Price, who have been champions on this issue. We have great partners, and the hard work of the past 15 years has paid off. The new refundable EITC will give money back to hard working Virginians.

Our chapters have been having their summer engagement meetings! Click the button below to see all our upcoming events and register for the New River Valley chapter open house this Friday, July 29, at 12 noon. If you missed your meeting or want to find out more about what's happening around Virginia, see the recordings: 

• James River Chapter Meeting (CLICK HERE to watch)
• Northern Virginia Chapter Meeting (CLICK HERE to watch)

Join the Virginia Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus -- a member of the PUSH maternal health coalition -- for a conversation about improving Virginia's care of Black mothers to ensure a healthy pregnancy and childhood for their babies. Featured speakers include Delegates Jackie Glass, Sally Hudson, and Shelly Simonds, and Birth in Color's Executive Director Kenda Sutton-El. Click the button below to register!

On the 5th anniversary of the attacks in Charlottesville, VICPP invites you to join us for a community symposium to culminate our “Together in Faith” project in partnership with the Prince William County Police Department. We are excited to add to the program a special message from U.S. Senator Mark Warner and keynote remarks by Delegate Michelle Maldonado. We will be joined by Prince William County Board of Supervisors' Margaret Franklin, who represents the Woodbridge district where hate crime incidents have occurred within the past five years. Joining the program will also be representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office covering Virginia, the FBI Virginia field office, and the Prince William County Police Department to provide insight on the work of protecting houses of worship against hate crimes and investigating and prosecuting cases that occur.

*PLEASE NOTE that all registrations must be approved in advance of the Monday, August 8 deadline. This event will be held virtually only so register today by clicking the button below!

Late Aug./Early Sept. Date TBA: Join a Solidarity with Farmworkers opportunity to hear from farmworkers and join a farmworker mass in the fields. The date is not yet finalized but you can click the button below to express your interest and be the first to learn of the date when it's announced. This opportunity is on the Eastern Shore. For more information, email VICPP Faith Organizer, Sheila Herlihy, at: Sheila@virginiainterfaithcenter.org