ICO Newsletter - 8/6/25
Stand up for the things you care about
Trump has been president for just over six months.
The blows that started on inauguration day have kept coming.
BUT WE ARE NOT GIVING UP!
We are standing up and speaking out, UNITED in defense of fundamental American values and against the corruption, cruelty, and tyranny of the Trump administration.
This Saturday, August 9, is a chance to show how strong we are, and to encourage others who have not yet taken a stand to come out and join us. Please share the sign up information below with your friends – or sign up on their behalf and bring them along with you!
Here are the two steps to sign up:
Sign up via Mobilize HERE, then
Pick a spot along the route via Sign Up Genius, HERE. We need sign ups in segments 19-23 in particular! Please sign up in the spots that most need help so we can make sure to have an unbroken chain all the way along the protest route.
What do you care about?
Whatever issue you care about most – whether or not it’s listed on our Statement of Values – we invite you to come with your signs to join the protest! Below is a guide to how the protest will work.
Get Your ICO Shirts!
Get your ICO shirt in time for Saturday or whatever future event. $10 cash or $12 via our ActBlue link. Pick up at 437 Piedmont Rd at the following times:
Weds, 8/6, noon-5:30pm
Thurs, 8/7, 9am-noon
Fri, 8/8, noon-4pm
(Common Cause Ohio shirts will also be available at the Friday pick up hours.)
⬆️ This is not what the future of education should look like!
Spoiler alert: the vision of the folks on this panel doesn’t include honest education, equity, or fully funded public schools. In fact, their goal is privatizing Ohio schools and tearing apart our public school systems. The folks on this panel have done so much already to disrupt public education in Ohio! Join ICO, Honesty for Ohio Education, Red Wine & Blue, and Ohioans Against Extremism to protest at this event. Sign up for the event – whether you attend or are mysteriously unable and need to leave your tickets unused is up to you. We will have activities nearby from 5-7pm. More details about our joint action and registration HERE.
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
Saturday, 8/9/2025: Hands Along High Street, 2-3:30pm. Join us in forming a human chain along High Street from Route 161 in Worthington to downtown Columbus, delivering the message that WE STAND UNITED against the abuses of the Trump regime and for democracy and basic human values. Register HERE and choose location HERE.
Weekly rallies
Thursday, 8/7/2025: Say Something, Rally the Community, 4:30-5:30 PM, 349 E Livingston Ave, Columbus. Bring your signs, your voice, and a friend and say something about how you are feeling about the current state of affairs in this country. Register HERE.
Saturday, 8/9/2025: Protest in Delaware, noon to 1 PM. Let’s protest together and let folks know that we are tired of all the shenanigans.
Saturday, 8/9/2025: 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, 8/12/2025: Rush Hour Rally, 4:30-5:30pm, intersection of Route 161 and High St., Worthington. Join us to deliver our message of resistance to commuters. Organized by the Worthington Area Democratic Club and Westerville Progressive Alliance. Signup & parking info HERE.
Thursdays: Grandview Rush Hour Rally, 4:30-6pm, alternating sites, Grandview Heights. Join us in standing up for our future and protesting the Trump administration’s reckless economic policies that put profit over people.
Every other week at Grandview Avenue & U.S. RT 33, beginning 8/14. Sign up HERE.
Every other week at Grandview Avenue & West 5th, beginning 8/21. Sign up HERE.
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 8/8, 8/12, 8/15 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!
Two Quick Actions
1. Call for an End to the suffering in Gaza
Our first action this week comes from Indivisible National and focuses on Gaza, which is in the grip of a catastrophic man-made famine. One in three people are going days at a time without food, and children are dying daily of hunger-related causes.
Call your senators. Tell them to push Trump to actually deliver on his offer to increase humanitarian aid and ensure that aid is safely delivered by trusted third parties.
Then, call your representative.
If you like these actions, sign up for the Indivisible National Newsletter. New actions are regularly shared. Or join the weekly chat, ‘What’s the Plan?’ Thursdays at 3pm.
2. Reinstate the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner
Did you hear about Trump firing the BLM Commissioner after the release of a less-than flattering jobs report? It’s not just outrageous, it’s deeply harmful. Here’s what one of the world’s top economists had to say:
“In my work, I’ve seen governments manipulate official statistics in Argentina (Kirchner), Russia (Putin), Turkey (Erdoğan), and Venezuela (Maduro). And now, with Trump, the U.S. risks joining this infamous club…. Every single one of those countries spiraled into crisis. Every single one.” Roberto Rigobon, LinkedIn, August 1, 2025
Here’s an easy action to take – just follow the instructions in the image below:
After you sign, ResistBot has suggestions HERE for further ways to promote this campaign.
What’s On the Porch this Week?
News Boosting Postcards to Virginia Voters are designed to help likely Democrat voters to better understand the negative impacts the current GOP policies will have on their families and communities. If enough writers sign up, each of the target voters in VA will receive a total of ten postcards from ten writers with different topics between now and the November election. Each packet has 25 addresses and instructions. Our cards are about healthcare funding and are one of the early sets to be mailed out so we need them written and returned by August 12th!
Postcards to Pennsylvania Voters are to rally likely Democrats to vote in their November election. This election is not for Governor or federal Senators or Representatives so turnout may be lower. But there are many judges on the ballot, including PA Supreme Court judges so it is crucial that folks go and vote! Each packet has 25 addresses and instructions. As always, stamped cards are appreciated, but we do have stamps if you need to bring them back for us to stamp. All PA Voter cards are due back on the porch by October 10th.
Million Postcards Campaign. Each month we write three cards – one to each Senator and Representative. Let them know what YOU care about and hope they are working for in Washington DC. Then, simply mail your cards on the first of each month. Cards can be picked up in a set of 30 for sharing or for writing in future months, or you can grab just a few from the loose stack. Direction sheets are available in the box.
Door Hangers. Check out a pack of 20 to place in your neighborhood on doors where you see “friendly” signs!
Your Thoughts on an ICO Reading/Learning Club?
ICO is gauging interest in forming a reading and learning club focused on progressive issues. This concept is still in the early stages, so if you're at all interested, please use this link to let us know what you'd like this to look like. We hope to hear from you!
ICO Gives Back: Volunteer and Donation Opportunities
Donate!
This month, ICO is highlighting one of our partners, Community Development For All People, located in Columbus' south side, at 497 Parsons Avenue. Run by the Methodist church, it has excellent outreach into a poor neighborhood community, including the homeless. Along with a weekly free food pantry and free clothes "closet," they run a variety of free informational and health programs. This group does real on-the-ground work in a struggling neighborhood and is making a solid difference by "...building a community where everyone's gifts are recognized and utilized ... to foster unity, promote justice, and create lasting change." ICO does voter registration and petition gathering at their site. Donations HERE.
Volunteer!
Columbus Food Rescue can use your help! Rescuers are essential in diverting good food from going to waste and delivering it where it’s needed most. Volunteer sign-ups are done in the app, with the schedule of available rescues there. Volunteer FAQs can be found here. In addition to rescuing food, there are opportunities in Ro’s Kitchen, where food donated by the greater Columbus community is transformed into healthy, fresh, and tasty meals. Ro’s Kitchen volunteers help chefs with food prep and meal assembly.
Food Prep: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Meal Assembly: Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays | 2:00 – 5:00 PM or 5:30 – 8:30 PM
There are also opportunities with the Veggie Van Pop-Up Markets
Tuesdays - Dorrian Green Park | 10:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Thursdays - Columbus Commons | 10:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Upcoming Events (Calendar view)
Wednesday, 8/6/2025: Ohio Progressive Democratic Caucus Organizing Committee formation meeting, 7:30-8:30pm, Columbus Main Library, Meeting Room 2B or via Zoom. Join us for our first chance to connect face-to-face, build momentum, and map out what comes next — together. Register HERE.
Wednesday, 8/6/2025: Fairfield County Indivisible Monthly Meeting in the Park, 6-8pm, Pickerington. Sign up and details HERE.
Thursday, 8/7/2025: Thursday Action Group, 12-1:30 pm, via Zoom. Join us and hear from Indivisible Central Ohio member Maqueli Eldredge, director of Legal Immigration Services, LLC, about her experiences assisting immigrants in central Ohio. Join HERE.
Thursday, 8/7/2025: Article V & Ohio: Ultimate Stakes for the US Constitution, 6-7pm, via Zoom. Wealthy special interest groups have been urging state legislators to call for a new constitutional convention, as allowed under Article V of the US Constitution. But with no rules in Article V to protect us, all of our constitutional rights and liberties could be up for grabs. Join an expert panel for a discussion and learn what you can do to push back. Sign up HERE.
Saturday, 8/9/2025: Young Democrats meeting, 2:00 pm, Democrat HQ, 146 Muskingum Ave., Zanesville.
Saturday, 8/9/2025: Hands Along High Street, 2-3:30pm. Join us in forming a human chain along High Street from Route 161 in Worthington to downtown Columbus, delivering the message that WE STAND UNITED against the abuses of the Trump regime and for democracy and basic human values. Register HERE and choose a location HERE.
Saturday, 8/9/2025: Community Development for All People, “Avenue for All Fair," 11am to 3pm, 497 Parsons Avenue. Join in the fun of a street fair!
Tuesday, 8/12/2025: Town Hall on the Future of Public Education for Children with Disabilities, 5-7pm, Southwest Public Library, Grove City (Large Meeting Room A), 3959 Broadway. Join us to raise awareness about the policy changes impacting the education of all children, while elevating the voices of parents, educators, and students with disabilities. Register HERE.
Wednesday, 8/13/2025: One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism, 8-9:30pm. The No Kings team has organized a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. Join this training event HERE.
Friday, 8/15/2025: Wave for Democracy, 5-7pm, Corner of Milton and W. North Broadway. Join your neighbors for protest, resist, and protect. Bring a friend, a beverage, and a costume, if desired. Bring a sign or make one there.
Saturday, 8/16/2025: MCDC Annual Dinner, 6:00 pm, IBEW Hall, 5805 Frazeysburg Rd., Nashport. We have guest speakers (Dr. Amy Acton, Elliot Forham, Laura Sirot, Jason Adams). Dinner catered by our chef, Al Zakany! Tickets are $30 each. Payable by cash or check at the door, or HERE.
Sunday, 8/17/2025: Rise Up and Sing Together, 7-8:30pm. Join us in the power of singing together to build community. Location provided on registration. Register.
Tuesday, 8/19/2025: Testifying Tuesdays with Southwest Progressives of Franklin County, 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! Register HERE.
Wednesday, 8/20/2025: The Future of Education in Ohio, 6-8PM, the Makoy Center,5462 Center St, Hilliard. This panel’s vision doesn’t include honest education, equity, or fully funded public schools. Sign up and take up space or come and protest with us at the event! More details to come.
Saturday, 8/23/2025: A Town Hall without Rep. Troy Balderson, 2-4pm, Mount Vernon (Address sent upon registration). Knox Co OH Indivisible is hosting a Town Hall. Representative Troy Balderson, OH-12, was invited to speak at our Town Hall, but he declined. Imagine that! Speakers include Glouster-native Jerrad Christian, former Team Rubicon President Ken Harbaugh and Marine Corps veteran Mason Blankenship. Register HERE.
Sunday, 8/24/2025: Postcard Party! 4-6pm [NOTE THE NEW TIME!], 219 W Dublin Granville Rd, Worthington. Let’s stand up for democracy while building a community via a postcard writing party. We will supply cards, snacks and drinks. Feel free to bring anything to make the postcards more fun to read with stickers or markers. For those who are able, stamps are appreciated. Register HERE. (Note, the earlier time for this postcard party is because at 6:30 the host will be showing a screening of the HBP documentary, Surviving Ohio State.)
Wednesday, 8/27/2025: ICO In Person Member Meeting, 6:30-8pm, First UU CHurch, 93 West Weisheimer Rd, Columbus. Join other members of Indivisible Central Ohio for an in person member meeting. We will discuss current actions and activities and hear from you about your ideas for new actions. The meeting will also include a work session to make progress on our plans and projects! Register HERE.
Mia & Linda for the Indivisible Central Ohio Team
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