Dear ,

Last week, VICPP leaders and activists and VICPP Economic Justice Program Manager Jase Hatcher joined airport workers and SEIU 32BJ in a rally at Dulles Airport, coinciding with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) board meeting that day. Workers reiterated their call for living wages, paid sick days, and affordable health care. VICPP supports these workers and their plea for pay and benefits that can enable them and their families to thrive. Virginia must ensure that its prosperity is shared with its workers. 

If you weren’t able to join the rally, you can still help, click here to sign this petition calling upon the MWAA to set a standard for all airport employees. The petition will be delivered to MWAA board members.  

The airports have had physical facelifts. Now, they need moral facelifts to ensure that all workers get living wages, paid sick days, and affordable health care. We all want these benefits from our jobs, so we must want them for our neighbors who work at the airports.      
  



Standing with workers,

Kim Bobo
Executive Director 

VICPP and the PUSH maternal health campaign invites you to join us in the observance of October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month by holding a prayer vigil in support of the International Wave of Light, observed on Saturday, October 15. You can gather a few members of your congregation or campus, ministry or group, or family or neighborhood to offer prayers on Saturday, October 15 or Sunday, October 16 on the grounds of your house of worship, school, or neighborhood or outside your office or home. Invite friends, loved ones, advocates, and allies to illuminate your remembrance of babies gone too soon, and in support of their families.

For details on how to participate in the Wave of Light, click on the button below for a one-page action guide. Don’t forget to take pictures of your gathering or social media post and send to VICPP Health Equity Program Manager Dora Muhammad at dora@virginiainterfaithcenter.org so we may acknowledge your participation and support!

VICPP invites you to join us in the observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 to honor the children forced into Indian boarding schools, celebrate the resilience of Indigenous Peoples against genocide, and affirm a commitment that every child matters.

Commonly referred to as Orange Shirt Day to show solidarity and support, the remembrance promotes awareness about the residential school system still impacting Native American communities in the United States and Canada, and creates an opportunity to discuss the effects of residential schools and the legacy of the church involvement in running these schools in collaboration with the government or independently. By 1900, there were 20,000 children in U.S. Indian boarding schools, and by 1925 that number had more than tripled.

The truth about the U.S. Indian boarding school policy has largely been written out of the history books, and we still don’t know how many students attended. Many have estimated that there were nearly 500 government-funded Indian boarding and day schools across the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition has identified 357 boarding schools alone. Indian children were either voluntarily or forcibly abducted by government agents from their communities, sent to schools hundreds of miles away, and beaten, starved, or otherwise abused when they spoke their native languages.

We encourage houses of worship and people of faith to engage in sacred remembrance and continue to take steps of lamentation, confession, reconciliation, and healing.

The national Election Protection program is managed in our state by the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET). Volunteer roles for the General Election in November are now available, each with a required training session. The training session is designed to give you tools and resources you will need, prepare you for what to expect, and run through a number of practice scenarios. Click on the buttons below to register for the training(s) you want. For more information, please contact Nick Gothard at: nick@engageva.org

The governing council of the Virginia Lutheran Synod, representing 11 regional conferences across the state, gathered in retreat in Roanoke on Friday, September 23 to learn more about maternal mortality and implicit bias. VICPP Health Equity Program Manager Dora Muhammad delivered a special presentation on the issue, our PUSH maternal health advocacy campaign and coalition, and engaging the ministry of the church. VICPP extends its gratitude to the ELCA for its invitation, warm hospitality, and enthusiasm to get involved and support efforts to eliminate racial disparities in maternal mortality in Virginia.

VICPP is training people to send their friends and family members texts about registering and voting. If you are tech savvy, you can download the phone app, Impactive, and enter the VICPP campaign code, which is 206173. If you’d like help with setting up and using the app, VICPP is conducting Impactive training sessions every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. from now till the elections. Click the button below to sign up for tomorrow’s training, or pick a date that works better for your calendar!  

Share this easy-to-remember registration link with your congregation, campus, and community: tinyurl.com/vicpp-impactive

• Northern Virginia, Monday, October 10, 7:30 p.m. 
• Henrico & Greater Richmond Metro, Monday, October 17, 6 p.m.
  
• Greater Prince William, Wednesday, October 19, 12 p.m.
  
• Hampton Roads, Monday, October 24, 6 p.m.
  
• James River, Wednesday, October 26, 12 p.m.
  
• New River Valley, Tuesday, November 1, 12 p.m.
   
  Click the button below to check out our upcoming events list on our website for details and links to RSVP or register!

For a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, please click the button below to check out the VICPP Events webpage.  

Early voting in-person at local registrar offices in Virginia began last Friday, 45 days before the November 8 General Elections. The Saturday before Election Day, November 5, will be the last day to vote early in-person. You do not need to have a reason or fill out an application to vote early in-person. However, you must provide your name, address, and an acceptable form of ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement. Visit elections.virginia.gov for more information.