PUTNEY – The Southern Vermont Sister District Project has reached its $100,000 milestone in political donations.
Created and energized in response to the 2016 national election, the Southern Vermont Sister District Project’s purpose is to empower local individuals to play a role within larger political systems and to do so by supporting grassroots change in progressive issues in state legislatures across the country.
Through creative fundraising during a series of targeted election cycles, Southern Vermont Sister District has raised a total of $100,000.
Recognizing that Vermont was a sustainable Democratic blue state, the Southern Vermont Sister District Project has used the guidance and resources of the National Sister District Project to partner with and support Democratic state legislative candidates throughout the cycles elections in the key Purple swing states of Virginia and Pennsylvania.
State legislatures are where many of our most vital political issues of the day are debated and decided, including reproductive health and abortion, gun control and crime, and the minimum wage and unionization. Although sometimes under the radar, US state legislatures contribute strongly to the quality of life of local citizens and often play a leadership role in moving the nation in different directions.
The National Sister District Project identifies local leaders and activists in winnable state legislative races, most with female and gender minority representatives and candidates of color. And since 2016, Vermont’s southern sister district has supported a total of eight such legislative candidates, seven of whom won election and thus helped turn the Virginia House of Representatives Blue in 2018 and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Blue in 2022. Southern Vermont Sister The district project directly affected positive progressive change.
However, the southern Vermont sister district project has achieved its success by going beyond the more traditional political activism of canvassing, phone banking and mailers, raising money in creative and engaging ways.
Southern Vermont Sister District Project is best known for its soup subscription, where subscribers receive a monthly quart or two of healthy and delicious homemade soup. Volunteer soup makers follow standardized recipes and donate ingredients, while subscribers donate money to specific state legislators.
Southern Vermont Sister District has also held several “Save Our Nation Vacation” fundraising auctions. Prospective guests offer holiday homes donated during a generous community meal that includes musical interludes with popular local bands
Additionally, the Southern Vermont Sister District Project has hosted several annual Fourth of July croquet events with innovative and politically themed wickets. These celebratory “Blue States USA Croquet” events are both fun for the whole family and patriotic.
With the most recent soup subscription cycle for Winter 2023, the Southern Vermont Sister District Project has now reached a total of $100,000 raised. Described as “small but mighty,” the Southern Vermont Sister District has the lowest membership of any sister district chapter in the nation, but ranks in the top ten for fundraising.
“This is a testament to how small actions can have big results,” said group co-founder Peg Alden. “Not only are we honoring our beliefs, but we’re having fun and building community at the same time,” noted co-founder Diane Shamas. Building on this fundraising milestone, the Southern Vermont Sister District Project now looks with energy to making a difference in the 2024 election.
