Year End Recap!

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ky unitarian universalist justice action network

From the Coordinator

What a year we have had!!!

We made some tremendous strides this year in our efforts to develop ourselves as a network and having an impact across the state. I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to work with and alongside you all in engaging in this growth. This end-of-year newsletter will highlight some of our main accomplishments over the year, as well turn to preview some of what we will likely be focusing on in 2023.

We could not have accomplished what we did without the core team that is KUUJAN. Firstly, there is the Board of KUUJAN: Andrew Miller, Angela Arnett Garner, Danielle Gibault, Doug Lowry, Eric Huffer, Rev. Lori Kyle, and Tim McGaughey. They have all worked very hard this year to help develop KUUJAN’s organizational capacity and strengthen us as an organization.  I am in awe of your generosity of spirt, your commitment to our collective work, and your energy.

In addition to the work of the board, there are several key individuals who have done a tremendous lift in terms of engaging of our work. We would not have had the impact we’ve had if it weren’t for the work put in by these activists. These include: Beverly Moore, Elwood Sturtevant, Joetta Prost, Lisa Dalporto, Natalie Barman, Pat Papero, Roxanne Sturtevant, and Trish Ramey. Yall’s individual and collective efforts were huge in us achieving what we did this year.

And lastly I have to share a deep appreciation for Mandy Olivam. As you all know Mandy came on board in early September as our contract GOTV organizer. She demonstrated tremendous grace in working alongside me while I learned the roped of GOTV organizing while facilitating our efforts. She carried a heavy load, in a short amount of time, with humor and passion that made the experience even more fulfilling for me.

Sometimes the words “thank-you” are simply inadequate to convey the feeling of gratitude and appreciation I feel.

Not only were we able to make some significant accomplishments this year, but we were also able to do so in ways that helped strengthen our organizational infrastructure — which will allow us to continue to make our voices heard in the future.

I hope you join me in appreciating the board and other volunteers for all the work they have put into KUUJAN this year.

Thank-you all for your support and participation.

Review of 2022

Last month, I sent out the highlights of our efforts with GOTV and to defeat Amendment 2. I am not going to repeat those highlights here. It’s clear to say that those efforts were significant.

In addition to those efforts, I was able to visit several of our congregations in person (Lexington, Bowling Green, and the three congregations in Louisville). The Board was also able to meet in person for our first ever board retreat in June of 2022. We expanded our donor base and received generous support from several of our congregations (and one in Cincinnati where several Northern KY UU’s attend).

Through all of our work, we were able to deepen our relationships with several partner state-wide organizations with whom we will continue to work in 2023 and beyond; and we demonstrated to them the value of what we offer. Several of these partners have shared that they were impressed with what we were able to offer given our small size (both in terms of our level of staffing (.25 FTE), and the number of UUs and congregations that make up KUUJAN).

Preview of 2023

As we look to 2023, we have several areas of focus that have emerged. Note that the Board will be meeting in January to finalize these plans.

Focus on Networking

We have realized a need to re-focus some of our time and energy on the networking of a network. In 2023, we plan to spend more of an effort on strengthening the relationship between KUUJAN and each congregation, and (perhaps more importantly) between the congregations and individual UU’s with each other. Each of you as individuals, and each congregation, has its own areas of expertise and experience. We intend to develop efforts to highlight some of this expertise and experience. We also want to focus some time and attention to finding ways that we can support each other (as individuals UU’s and as congregations) in some of justice areas that we all are focused on.

(continuing to) Protect Kentucky Access

As you all know, even though we were able to defeat Amendment 2, we still do not have meaningful abortion access in Kentucky. The Reproductive Justice Team will continue to work with some of the lead organizations of Protect Kentucky Access to continue to advocate for changes in law and policy in Kentucky, as well as mobilize ourselves to find ways to provide concrete supports to ensure women have real access to abortion services that they deserve.

If your congregation has a committee or team that focuses (in part or wholly) on reproductive justice, or if you know of individuals in your congregation or community who have time and energy to work on this issue, please contact me directly at rus@kuujan.org.

Reclaim your Vote

As you may recall, a significant portion of our GOTV efforts this past year focused on people who have felonies in their past. As a result of these efforts, KUUJAN has joined the Reclaim Your Vote Coalition — which is working to more substantially ensure that people who have felonies in their past reclaim their right to vote. Specifically, this coalition is working with the state legislature to pass a constitutional amendment this year that will appear on the ballot in 2024.  This constitutional amendment would allow people who have felonies in their past to automatically reclaim their voting rights when they have completed their sentence (just like 32 other states).

If you are available to work with us on this effort, or know of people in your congregation or community would have time and energy to work with us on this please contact me directly at rus@kuujan.org

The 2023 Governor’s Election

Lastly, as you all know, 2023 is another big election year for Kentuckians. This summer, we will once again gear up for an active Get Out the Vote effort! Stay tuned for more information and for ways that you, your congregation and/or your community can join in our efforts.

Supporting our Work

As you can see, we’re increasing our efforts and expanding our impact!  We need your support to continue our efforts. The work of coalition building, congregational organizing, voter mobilization is time consuming… and as such, expensive. We were able to do what we did this year due to support from UU The Vote.

As you consider your end of year contributions, please consider a gift to KUUJAN. Some of you have been so generous in your support of our network and we very much appreciate it! Your gift of $100 would helps us greatly to sustain and grow our efforts.