Message from the Chair
Volunteering for a cause has to be one of the most meaningful actions we can do in life—especially if it is for a cause we believe in. I have done it here and there, from my church soup kitchen to local street clean-ups. But the commitment I see from the volunteers at Democrats Abroad is beyond what I have experienced. Before I became chair of DA Austria, I thought surely there was a paid staff running the show, But no—everyone, I mean every single person, is a volunteer. And in some cases, at the global level, people take a sabbatical to devote all their time to DA. On Sunday, December 5, the world marked International Volunteer Day. I want to say a big thanks to all my fellow volunteers at DA Austria and around the world for your immense contribution to our cause.
— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria
In This Issue —
Events:
- Vorarlberg – Holiday Happy Hour
- Vienna – Punsching for Democracy
- ProDa – UNFINISHED BUSINESS—Nina Turner on Victories, Lessons Learned, & the Progressive Road Ahead
- ProDa – Monthly Mondays for Your Progressive Minds
Issues & Actions:
- Set a Calendar Reminder! Request your 2022 Ballot
- Call for Sustaining Donors
- Tax Relief Bill
Reviews:
- Solidarity Sundays
Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, January 12, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.
DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!
Events:
ProDa
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—Nina Turner on Victories, Lessons Learned, & the Progressive Road Ahead
When: Saturday, December 11, 2021
Time: 3:00 p.m. CET
Where: Online
Happy Holidays Happy Hour
When: Saturday, December 11, 2021
Time: 7-9:00 p.m.
Where: Online
Punsching for Democracy
When: Monday, December 20, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Punschstand in 1010 Vienna
ProDa
Monthly Mondays for Your Progressive Minds
When: Monday, December 27, 2021
Time: 6-7:30 p.m. CET
Where: Online
Issues & Actions:
Set a Calendar Reminder! Request your 2022 Ballot
December will be busy. So now is the time to mark January 15, 2022, on your calendar to go to Vote from Abroad to request your ballots for every election in 2022 and automatically renew your voter registration. This is required by law for Americans who live overseas and, as you know, Republicans are in a flurry to keep us from voting.
Call for Sustaining Donors
We greatly appreciate those of you who regularly support the work of DA Austria for our local get-out-the-vote activities. We now need people in Austria to give financial support to DA Global, which will cover the costs of our phonebanking system and other activities that are crucial to our work in 2022 and beyond. Please consider giving a recurring donation of $5,$10, or more a month to DA Global. Every dollar you give supports our work to elect Democrats who will fight to make a better life for ALL Americans. Go to https://www.democratsabroad.org/donate.
We have a Tax Relief Bill!!
Click here to read about the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act.
It will provide consequential tax relief for the majority of Americans living abroad. This is a major achievement in the work of Democrats Abroad to lighten the burden we bear due to US taxation. But to help, the bill needs to be enacted into law THIS YEAR.
YOU can help make that happen.
Call your Representative and Senators in our Congressional CallStorm and add your voice to fight for tax relief for Americans abroad. Click here for how to call and what to say.
Questions? Contact: [email protected]
Give the Gift of Democracy
Having a strong digital presence will be more important than ever for finding and mobilizing voters abroad for critical races in 2022. That’s why Democrats Abroad has prioritized redesigning its website in the first quarter of 2022.
At the top of the to-do list is making our website more engaging, accessible, and user-friendly—something we know needs to be done, but which comes with a price tag of $30,000.
Help us in this longer-term investment so that we can better attract and support our online visitors—and in turn, convert site visits into activism and votes! Please chip in today at www.democratsabroad.org/website.
Reviews:
Solidarity Sundays: Postcard Writing Party
November 28, 2021
Solidarity Sundays’ postcard writing party was canceled due to the national lockdown—our first cancellation in four years. We return to exploring and protecting our democracy on January 30.
A personal Season’s Greetings to DA members who have attended a Solidarity Sundays meetup over the years and those who made extraordinary efforts during the pandemic. In 2021 we pivoted from resisting an antidemocratic administration to inquiring how to support our democracy. We’ve learned a great deal about how our system works. Thank you for your focus, not just on what’s broken but on what we can do to fix it. You inspire me.
With holidays approaching, I‘d love to share a podcast episode perfect for a cold winter afternoon—a conversation with fiction writer George Saunders on what it means to be kind in an unkind world (listen here).
Stay safe, friends, and einen guten Rutsch.
Tanya Lolonis
Co-coordinator, Solidarity Sundays Europe
Email: [email protected]
Thank you for reading the December Newsletter!
We'll see you in January, 2022.
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