ICO Newsletter - 6/25/25
ICO In-Person Meeting Tonight!
Join other Indivisible Central Ohio members for our first in-person monthly meeting – TONIGHT, 6:30-8pm, at the 1st Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W Weisheimer Rd in Columbus. We’re planning to meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month. We’ll cover a range of topics, including:
Our upcoming award at Comfest
Plans for our DooDah float and other July 4 parades
July 4 and 5 fundraising concerts
Plans for July 17 “Good Trouble Lives On” events
Starting up weekly Husted office visits
Voter Registration team meeting plans
Tabling for ICO focus areas
And much more!
Space is limited. Register HERE, and see you soon!
Listen to Lauren: Collect Signatures for the Cbus Safety Collective!
Lauren Wisenbarger is part of the ACLU of Ohio’s Policy and Advocacy Team, and part of her objective right now is to get the Columbus Safety Collective initiative on the ballot!
“...As a recent master's in social work graduate from OSU, I am committed to the Columbus Safety Collective Campaign's (CSCC) mission to stand up a non-police emergency crisis response team to support our community members experiencing mental health or substance misuse crises.”
Read more from Lauren HERE about her background and how to get involved with CSCC, then head to office hours to pick up booklets! You can even sign up to collect with her at Comfest!
Meanwhile, get booklets and training:
ICO Office hours: Mondays, 5:30-6:30pm, Global Gallery, 3535 N High St.
CSC Office hours: Thur, 6-7pm & Sat, 10:30am-noon, Old First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Brydon Road.
For info or materials outside of regular office hours contact Jackie Bird (jackieoep@gmail.com) or Cheryl Grossman (cherylrsgrossman@gmail.com).
RALLIES & PROTESTS
Every week there are rallies and protests all over central Ohio! You can follow what’s happening in the Events section of our website, indivisible central ohio.org.
This Week Only
Wednesday, 6/25/2025: Rally for Fair School Funding, 1:30pm to 3:30 pm, High St side of the Ohio Statehouse. Join us as we rally to demand that the Fair School Funding Formula be included in the Ohio state budget to fully and fairly fund public education! (Note, the weekly Bernie rally will walk down from Moreno’s office to the Statehouse in time for this rally.
Tuesday, 7/1/2025: Pickerington Stands Up for Democracy, 4:45pm to 5:45 pm. 1780 Hill Road N, Pickerington. There are 1000 reasons to be outraged, join us and share yours.
Friday, 7/4/2025: 50501 Rally for Democracy, noon-4pm. Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capital Square.
Weekly rallies
Wednesday, 6/25/2025: Wednesday’s at Bernie’s, 12pm, Bricker Federal Building, 200 N. High Street. Let's hold Moreno accountable to the people and taxpayers of Ohio. We demand to be seen AND heard - just like his rich donors. More info and register HERE. (Note: this week, protesters at Bernie’s will walk down to the Statehouse in time to be there for the 1:30pm rally for fair school funding!)
Saturday, 6/28/2025: Protest in Delaware, noon to 1 PM. Let’s protest together and let folks know that we are tired of all the shenanigans.
Saturday, 6/28/2025: Tesla Protest! 4:30-5:30 PM, Easton Tesla Dealership. Join the weekly Tesla Takedown protest! Even driving by and giving us a supportive honk is appreciated!
Tuesday, 7/1/2025: Rush Hour Rallies, 4:30-5:30pm,
Eastside, Support Veterans: Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center, 420 N James Rd, Columbus. Come out to support our veterans! Registration & more info HERE.
Worthington: Join us to deliver our message of resistance to commuters at the intersection of Route 161 and High St. in Worthington. Organized by the Worthington Area Democratic Club and Westerville Progressive Alliance. Signup & parking info HERE.
Keep the Momentum Building
Building momentum is so important! We are already planning the next big event. SAVE THE DATE: The next big protest is planned for Thursday, July 17, in the early evening. Feel free to sign up HERE but be aware, this is just a save-the-date placeholder! The time, location and details may change. Watch this space (and all our other spaces) for more specific information coming as soon as possible.
Join the Overpass Army!
A fun and easy entry to anti-Trump activism is to join our crew as we hold signs over the highways. Upcoming dates are 6/27, 7/1, 7/3, and more – all 4:30-6pm. Details, directions and sign up are HERE. Bookmark that location as we add dates every week. We have the signs and flags. You bring the manpower!
Crazy Times at the Doo Dah Parade!
We have grand plans for the July 4 Doo Dah Parade! We’re reprising the White House float (with many amendments) and inviting any and all ICO members to join us.
Trump will be riding with us – and we’re putting him exactly where he belongs: behind bars! Lady Liberty will oversee and shower the crowd with the promise of world peace.
JOIN US!
Wear your blue Indivisible Central Ohio T-shirts or, dress up as one of the following:
A tech billionaire,
A “Rich Uncle” Pennybags (aka the Monopoly Guy), or
An ICE agent.
Fellow ICO members in blue shirts will be escorting you to ‘jail’. You can also help carry tombstone-shaped signs of the various programs that have been dismantled by this regime (eg, USAID, Cancer Research, etc). No sign up – just show up!
Note: You can also put on an orange shirt and register voters along the parade route! Check out the sign up HERE .
The Ohio Budget
We were planning to have a section here about last minute calls to the Conference Committee about the Ohio budget – but it looks like that might be headed to DeWine’s desk by the time you are reading this email. Once we have had a chance to figure out exactly what's in the budget, we’ll share info on calling DeWine to pressure him to veto the worst aspects. Meanwhile, we have another action for you instead.
TAKE ACTION: Phone Bank to Save Medicaid
This week, Indivisible (national), along with multiple other organization partners, has a phone bank with a goal of calling millions of Medicaid recipients about stopping the Medicaid cuts that are included in Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill. Volunteers are needed to make calls to voters – and once you reach a voter you will be able to connect them directly with their senator.
Volunteers are needed this evening, June 25, or tomorrow evening, June 26, from 6pm to 8 pm. Sign up for a 2 hour shift HERE.
Calling All Postcard Writers
Million Postcards Campaign Signs of Justice is coordinating a campaign to flood members of Congress at the beginning of each month. Their goal is to mail 1 million postcards, in sustained waves, to members of Congress each month. The next wave should be mailed on or about July 1. Instructions for the Million Postcards Campaign are HERE. We have postcards that can be picked up at 437 Piedmont Road!
Postcards to Swing States is back with cards to rally Pennsylvania Democrats to vote in their November 4th election. We have 5,000 cards to write, so if you love writing postcards we have plenty of them! Cards are bundled in sets of 25 with directions and addresses and are available on the porch at 437 Piedmont Rd. We are asking that all cards be returned back to the porch to be held for the mailing date in mid-October. We especially love it when the postcards come back stamped and ready to go!
Questions? Please contact Michelle at mlerner5@gmail.com or 740-258-8343.
June is Pride month! To celebrate and support Pride, Indivisible Central Ohio has identified two local organizations that provide support to LGBTQ+ folks across the age spectrum.
First, Stonewall Columbus with a mission to increase visibility, inclusion, and connection for the LGBTQ+ community for adults and older adults. Please support their work at this link.
Second, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, the largest and longest standing organization in Ohio solely dedicated to serving and supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Support them HERE.
Upcoming Events (Calendar view)
Find Local Pride Events HERE
Saturday, June 28: Join us at Comfest (2:45pm at the Bozo Stage in Goodale Park) as we receive Comfest’s Honored Community Organization Award. Show up in your ICO blue shirt, or wear an ICO-original orange voter registration shirt and grab clipboards so you can register voters in the crowd! Voter registration and CSC signature collection sign up is HERE.
Saturday, 6/28/2025: FIRST ever Save Ohio Parks Central Ohio group meeting, 4-5:30pm, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Main Library branch, 96 S Grant Avenue, Columbus, in Meeting Room 3B.
Sunday, 6/29/2025: A Musical Tribute to Peter Paul and Mary, 4pm, Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Avenue. Bill Cohen, Joanne Blum, and Joe Lambert will sing and strum the most beloved songs of Peter Paul and Mary and recall the group’s history of linking music and activism. Free parking will be available on nearby streets and in lots owned by the North Broadway Methodist Church. $15 donations per person are suggested at the door, but all donations will be welcome. Half of the proceeds will go to the Clintonville Community Resource Center, which helps low-income, homeless, and older residents of the area.
Sunday, 6/29/2025: Postcard Party! 6-8pm, 219 W Dublin Granville Rd, Worthington, OH 43085. Join us while we stand up for democracy while building a community via a postcard writing party. We will supply cards, snacks and drinks. Register HERE.
Friday & Saturday, 7/4 & 7/5/2025: LOCAL MUSIC VENUES “JULY FOUR THE PEOPLE” Benefit Concerts for CRIS and ACLU. Check the amazing line ups above! Tickets and info at this link. Representatives from Indivisible Central Ohio will be there to share information and recruit members!
Tuesday, 7/8/2025: Become a “How Things Work at the Statehouse” Presenter, 6-8pm, in person, in Columbus, plus online on other dates. Attend training sessions to learn from the best in the game, Rachel Coyle, co-founder of “How Things Work at the Statehouse” (and OAE’s Programs Director), and practice your skills with Rachel and OAE Executive Director Maria Bruno. After completing this 2 part program, you’ll be able to confidently train up your own community to advocate at the Statehouse. Sessions are offered in person and virtually. There is a fee. Registration and more information HERE. This same training will be offered virtually on July 9.
Sunday, 7/13/2025: Rise Up and Sing Together, 7-8:30pm. We believe in the power of singing together to build community. We invite you and anyone passionate about freedom, justice, and community to join members of Indivisible Central Ohio in song. Members are invited to recommend songs from Rise Up Singing, Rise Again, or other sources for us to sing and play together. Whether you sing, play an instrument, or just love the idea of connecting with like-minded people through music, we welcome you. Previous gatherings' songs have ranged from "This Land is Your Land" to "I Will Survive." The location is in Clintonville and will be shown once you register.
Tuesday, 7/15/2025: Testifyin’ Tuesdays, 6-8pm, La Matraca Mexican Grill & Cantina, 5000 Gender Rd, Canal Winchester. Join us for a monthly social/political dinner, where we write to legislators or voters, or plot and plan more events, about issues we care about! We meet in Canal Winchester with activists and volunteers from around central Ohio on the third Tuesday each month. We are a community of people who still believe strongly in democracy and the goal of social justice. Don't be shy! We are friendly and committed to creating a community of progressive, engaged Ohioans. We'll suggest actions anyone can do, resources anyone can gather, and small steps toward the goals of equity and positive change. Register HERE.
Mia & Linda for the Indivisible Central Ohio Team
Questions? Please reach out to us at indivisiblecentralohio@gmail.com or reply to this email.
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