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Giving Up Billionaires for Lent

Lent 2025: Giving Up Billionaires


Welcome to week 1 of our Lenten series, “Giving Up Billionaires,” as we call on Congress to give up billionaires so our communities can have what we need to thrive. Click here for the rest of our Lenten reflections and actions.

Why Catholicism Calls Us to Give Up Billionaires

 

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP
March 5, 2025

 

This year, we’re giving up billionaires for Lent. It’s not like giving up a sweet indulgence like chocolate. When we say we’re giving up billionaires, we mean we are working toward a future where no one is allowed to hoard excessive wealth and power–so that we can live in a world that looks more like the Kingdom of God.

This Lent, we are urging Congress to reject tax cuts for billionaires and to protect programs that provide critical services like access to food and health care in our communities. We’ll be doing this by calling Congress, writing letters to the editor, posting on social media, and sharing about the campaign with others in our lives. 

Let’s put “billionaire-ism” into perspective

Billionaires in the United States hold nearly $7 trillion in total wealth. If you earned $100,000 per year, paid no taxes, and had no living expenses, it would take you 10 years to save $1 million. In 10,000 years you could save $1 billion. It would take you 10,000,000 years to save $1 trillion.

It’s not just that it is wrong that billionaires exist while so many of their fellow Americans face homelessness or don’t know where their next meal is coming from: the existence of billionaires is why so many of us don’t have stable housing or food. Our economic system concentrates resources that should be for everyone into the hands of a tiny group of people. This is a policy failure and a moral failure.

Take action

Join us in spreading the word about giving up billionaires for Lent! Save the “imagine where we can go” image I’ve placed below to your computer or phone and share it on social media and in emails to friends and family. And, consider writing a letter to the editor (LTE) of your local newspaper about why Congress must give up billionaires.

NETWORK has more shareable content, sample social media posts, and LTE guidance for you in our Lent Toolkit.

Catholicism teaches: tax billionaires! 

Catholic Social Teaching offers a principle called the “Universal Destination of Goods.” The Catholic Church has long taught that the fruit of creation was given to us by God, and that private property exists to protect access to the fruits of creation for all people. When private ownership fails to do that, “Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good” (Catechism, 2406). It is long past time that Congress makes billionaires pay their fair share in taxes.

Giving up billionaires this Lent and beyond 

So this year, we’re giving up billionaires for Lent. Beyond Lent, we’re committed to coming together to elect leaders who will make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share of taxes so that we can live in a world that looks more like the Kingdom of God: where everyone has clean water to drink, healthy food to eat, a safe place to live, and time to spend with our loved ones.

Over the next few weeks of Lent, look out for weekly emails from me about our “Giving Up Billionaires” campaign, which culminate with our Easter call to tax billionaires out of existence, so that all of us can share in the fruits of creation!

 

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP is NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator. To read more, check out her column in Global Sisters Report, “The existence of billionaires is immoral.”

Holding onto Hope

Holding onto Hope

Grounding Ourselves in Encounter and Community is the Way Forward

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM

Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders stand around the graves of Cesar and Helen Chavez as their grandson, Andres Chavez, leads the Prayer of the Farm Worker’s Struggle.

On a warm, sunny morning in Keene, California, Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders stood around the graves of Cesar and Helen Chavez while Andres Chavez (their grandson) led us in the Prayer of the Farm Worker’s Struggle.

“Show me the suffering of the most miserable. Thus, I will know my people’s plight,” Andres prayed, and we repeated.

As we begin 2025 and gear up for a new administration and a new Congress, I find myself returning to this prayer as a source of encouragement amid the struggle that we will be up against with the new Trump administration. I also find myself searching for hope and encouragement to hold onto as we fight for the rights of so many people.

Nuns on the Bus & Friends was a boost of energy and belief in the power of people who come together in search of the common good. From coast to coast, we were welcomed into neighborhoods and communities. We witnessed the resurrection of a community when meeting with the Resurrected Community Development Foundation in Allentown, PA; celebrated liturgy and broke bread with the community in Cleveland at Blessed Trinity Parish; learned from NETWORK’s Coston Fellows at the Town Hall in Milwaukee, WI; and walked along the Border with Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, AZ.

No matter where we were, we heard about the struggle to ensure that all people—no matter their country of origin, faith tradition, economic status, age, or gender—have what they need to thrive. We learned about people who saw a need and did all they could to meet that need in their communities.

Sometimes it included feeding people out of the trunk of their car; other times it involved launching an internet service provider to ensure that neighbors had access to the internet.

Everywhere we went, we heard stories about people seeing a need and meeting a need. This was the gift of the Bus – to give us enough hope, joy, and courage to hold onto as we head into this upcoming year.

As we all know, less than a month after the Bus ended, a stark reality descended upon us. Our fight for thriving communities, for an Economy for All, will be much more difficult.

Make no mistake: the next four years will be difficult and filled with challenges. But we cannot let ourselves lose focus.

We cannot let ourselves be swayed by angry rhetoric that attempts to divide us by demonizing so many members of our communities: immigrants, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who depend on life-saving programs like SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid.

Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders visit the National Chavez Center.

These are times that will require us to dig deep, to root ourselves in our communities across the country, to hold onto hope and joy, and to continue the fight for equality and justice.

We must work together to create a country where all people are welcomed; where all people are seen as created in the image of God; and where all people have what they need to thrive.

As we begin 2025, we may find it easy to think about giving up hope and to throw in the proverbial towel. We must reflect on the words of the Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle, so that we can “let the spirit flourish and grow so that we will never tire of the struggle.”

For some of us, that means we cannot allow our privileges of being safe from deportation or discrimination of any kind to lead us into complacency. With a renewed commitment, we must be led into authentic solidarity with our neighbors, our communities, our cities, and our country.

This story was published in the Quarter 1 2025 issue of Connection.

The Whole Body Suffers

 

The Whole Body Suffers

This Black History Month Tests the Health of Our Union and Communion 

Joan F. Neal
February 25, 2025

Joan F. Neal, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer at NETWORK

Joan F. Neal, Interim Executive Director at NETWORK

This Black History Month has been hard. I simply cannot sugarcoat it. Just as cold and flu season have ravaged so many people during the month of February, this month has also offered one terrible episode after another which should make all of us worry about the health of our country.  The destruction of government infrastructure and institutions combined with the normalizing of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment have ravaged the U.S. in ways that put all of us more at risk of being less financially secure and even less healthy. 

For years, the United States has been credited with having the “best health care in the world.” But if that is true, what else is also true is that access to that system is not equitably shared. Health care continues to be an issue for Black communities, and Black History Month reminds us of that fact.  It shows us how the structures of society can be weaponized against people just as easily as they can promote stability and justice. 

In the U.S., structural racism can be as simple as where a hospital or a grocery store is built; which communities can receive urgent, life-saving care and which lack even adequate transportation to access quality health care.  Structural racism decides which neighborhoods have ready access to the fresh fruits and vegetables so essential for a healthy life and which communities are literal food deserts with only small grocery stores and limited options or fast-food outlets. Caring for our health involves both being able to access medical care when needed as well as being able to maintain good health by eating well. 

And while we may not realize it, these healthcare gaps are at the heart of today’s debates over the federal budget. Republicans in Congress have once again proposed to slash essential food and health care programs to give tax cuts to billionaires, balancing the budget on the backs of children, families, and ordinary people, many of whom are Black and Brown.  These actions not only exacerbate the healthcare situation but also perpetuate the racial wealth and income gap and reverse the gains that Black History Month celebrates.   

Families should not lose the ability to feed their babies through SNAP benefits in order to give Elon Musk another tax break. Nor should they lose their Medicaid in order for Jeff Bezos to further pad his considerable bottom line. Our very health and lives are literally caught up in this budget fight, and it is time for all people to speak out! 

Families should not lose the ability to feed their babies through SNAP benefits in order to give Elon Musk another tax break … Our very health and lives are literally caught up in this budget fight, and it is time for all people to speak out! 

Troubling signs are all around us. At the beginning of February, the report emerged that Black women die at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women around the time of childbirth, an increase from 2.6 times higher only a couple years earlier. The Black maternal mortality crisis is real, a concern of NETWORK, and just one of many indicators of persistent structural racism in U.S. health care. And if the proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid go through, they will be no exception. 

 NETWORK is fighting against these discriminatory policies through our new policy agenda: An Economy for All, which presents a clear plan to create an inclusive economy where everyone thrives – no exceptions.  This is the vision that is central to the celebration of Black History Month. 

Moreover, in areas such as health care, impacts spread.  Scripture tells us that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers (1 Cor 12:26). This is important to remember as the Trump administration rolls out its cruel and discriminatory agenda. No one can say “this won’t affect me.” Everyone should be concerned. This month’s Senate confirmation of vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary portends a picture of a future where the health of all people in the U.S. will be weakened, where women won’t be able to get the health care they need, where children will die from easily preventable diseases, undoing decades of medical progress that made this country—and the world—healthier. 

The whole body also suffers from the moral wound that is inflicted on society by the acceptance of racist policies, whether in health care, foreign assistance, or immigration. It is all morally unacceptable, and it hurts our souls to permit it, even passively. For U.S. Catholics, this Black History Month has tested our Union, the structures that enshrine  “We the People” of the country. But it has also tested our Communion, our capacity to be one Body with all God’s children. If we are indifferent to our Black or immigrant friends or abandon our fellow neighbors abroad, we have lost our sense of Communion. 

I believe that our country and the church are still healthy enough to rally and offer the moral witness necessary to fight off the harms of entrenched racism and Christian nationalism now ravaging our body politic. But it will require a renewed sense of solidarity, a commitment to being not just one people, but one Body, accountable to all its members without exception. That is a history well worth writing with our actions today. 

Honoring Black History Month: Immigration is a Civil Rights Issue

Honoring Black History Month

Immigration is a Civil Rights Issue

Black History Month isn’t just about the past—it’s about fighting for justice today. Immigration is often overlooked in these conversations, but the struggle against nativism and xenophobia is deeply tied to the Black freedom movement. From restrictive immigration policies to the mistreatment of Haitian migrants, we see how racism shapes who is welcomed and who is excluded.

In this powerful reflection, Adam Russell Taylor, President of Sojourners, reminds us that a just and humane immigration system is essential to the fight for civil rights. If we believe in justice for all, we must challenge the policies and attitudes that harm immigrant communities.

Watch the video below, and join us in action!☀️

Want to dive deeper into the systemic inequalities that keep racial and economic justice out of reach for so many? Sign up for our Racial Wealth and Income Gap workshops to learn how we can take action together! Sign up here.

NETWORK Condemns Unconstitutional and Malicious Policies, Destruction of Federal Government Under President Trump and Elon Musk

NETWORK Condemns Unconstitutional and Malicious Policies, Destruction of Federal Government Under President Trump and Elon Musk

Joan F. Neal
February 11, 2025 
Call Congress to stop the illegal and cruel actions of President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk

Visit this page to see what you could say on your call: https://networklobby.org/actnow/

Recent actions by the Trump administration during its first three weeks in office, enabling Elon Musk’s attempt to shut down and dismantle key parts of the federal government, fire federal employees, stop federal funding, and shred hard fought civil protections for all of us, amount to an unconstitutional and illegal power grab. “These actions violate protections in our Constitution and founding documents, Catholic social justice teaching, religious freedom, and the dignity of the human person,” said Joan F. Neal, Interim Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. She added that all Catholics, indeed all people across the country, should oppose this Administration and these actions. Her full statement follows:

Catholics believe in the God-given dignity of each person, the right and responsibility of every person to participate in society, and justice as the definition of right relationship between all people, God, and God’s creation. The illegal and cruel actions by Elon Musk, an unelected private citizen, violate our basic democratic principles, the rights of We The People and the Constitutional power of Congress.

They foster injustice and tear apart the fabric of our society. His unfettered access to the internal functions of the federal government and his attempts to destroy it from within are absolute threats to our freedoms and the rule of law, principles that make our country what it is – a democratic republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. Government by autocracy and oligarchy is diametrically opposed to the ideals of a more just, inclusive, and pluralist country.

All of us must take action together against such attempts to erode the very foundations of our democracy.

From attempts to defund Medicaid, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, and other vital programs that working families and vulnerable people depend on every day, to dehumanizing attacks on immigrants at schools, churches, and hospitals, to shutting down USAID and firing its personnel, we are a nation under siege by the unchecked power of the richest man on the planet and an Administration that is more concerned with punishing its enemies than lowering the price of eggs and gas for ordinary people.

Joan F. Neal, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer at NETWORK

Joan F. Neal, NETWORK Interim Executive Director

These actions should give us all pause and motivate all of us, no matter our religion, political party, or station in life, to oppose this Administration’s attempts to dismantle our democracy. No one voted for a king or for rule by an unelected band of billionaires.

History, including U.S. history, is filled with examples of brave everyday people coming together, organizing and resisting efforts by governments to destroy their freedom and safety. Now it is our turn to do the same. Now is the time to take action against this direct attack on our democracy. Now is the time to call our members of Congress and tell them to resist the unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral actions of this Administration. Now is the time for all of us to come together, hold our leaders accountable, organize for justice, and say, “Not this time! Not in our country! Not on our watch!”

Together, we can shine the light of truth and lead the way to a more just, inclusive, and promising future where everyone thrives, no exception.

Ralph McCloud

Honoring Black History Month: Advocating for Workers’ Rights

Honoring Black History Month

Advocating for Workers’ Rights

Black History Month is a time to honor the resilience, leadership, and contributions of Black activists, labor leaders, and faith-driven advocates who have fought for justice and human dignity. From the Civil Rights Movement to today’s ongoing struggles for economic and racial justice, Black leaders have shown us the power of collective action in the fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and policies that uplift communities.

At NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, we recognize that this legacy calls us to action. As people of faith, we are called to uphold the dignity of work and ensure that every person—regardless of race, background, or economic status—has access to the protections and resources they need to thrive.

This Black History Month, our Government Relations Fellow, Ralph McCloud, reflects on how our faith compels us to advocate for worker protections and human needs programs. Too often, workers—especially Black and Brown workers—face systemic barriers to fair wages, paid leave, and safe workplaces. As Catholics committed to social justice, we must continue to push for policies that protect workers, dismantle economic inequities, and promote the common good.

Watch the video below to hear Ralph’s powerful reflection, and join us in taking action. Justice is not just a historical movement—it is a present and urgent call. ✊☀️

Want to dive deeper into the systemic inequalities that keep racial and economic justice out of reach for so many? Sign up for our Racial Wealth and Income Gap workshops to learn how we can take action together! Sign up here.

Immigration Policy in the 2nd Trump Presidency

President Trump’s first days in office were filled with a flurry of executive orders targeted not only the safety of our immigrant siblings, but the time-honored U.S. asylum and legal immigration process. Content, which is available at the links below, is accurate as of January 22, 2025.

NETWORK has categorized the Executive orders into four categories:

  1. The entering of refugees and people seeking asylum
  2. Birthright citizenship
  3. Rescinding earlier executive orders
  4. Enforcement, detention, and deportation  (This is the executive order category that most concerns NETWORK).

Below are summaries of the Enforcement, detention, and deportation executive orders. You can see more complete analysis on our sister site, networkadvocates.org.

EO action NETWORK analysis Known legal challenge
Expands expedited removal Expands Homeland Security (DHS) application of expedited removal, or the government’s power to quickly “remove” someone from the U.S. without due process. Previously, ICE and CBP were authorized to arrest and remove people within 100 miles of the border, within 14 days of their arrival. This EO allows for the deportation of any noncitizen found anywhere in the United States who cannot prove to the satisfaction of a U.S. ICE agent that they have been in the country for more than two years, unless they can prove credible fear of persecution. Expedited removal is being enforced immediately, but there are no reports of arrests as of Jan. 23. ACLU filed suit. No hearing set.
Freezes funding for NGOs Paused federal funding to organizations that support immigrants in “any way.” The Administration directed an immediate review and audit of all contracts with such organizations and will terminate any contract if found guilty of “fraud.” This would impact faith-based organizations like Catholic Charities and Annunciation House. Effective immediately, many organization’s funds have been suspended. However, we have yet to hear of organizations being asked to provide documentation or dates for audit.
Criminalizes aid Organizations and individuals who support or shelter immigrants may be held criminally liable for supporting “invasion.” Not in effect immediately.
Increases funds for U.S. detention centers No impact immediately.
Designates cartels as terrorist groups This could impact churches and faith leaders who work with immigrants across the border and who cross the border to work with immigrants in Mexico. This is effective immediately but there is no impact as of Jan. 24.
Allows ICE and CBP officers into sensitive and sacred locations The Trump administration rescinded the Sensitive Locations Memo, which for many years protected churches, hospitals, and schools from invasion by ICE and CBP officers seeking to arrest undocumented people. This is effective immediately. We have not heard reports of any arrests or raids except for instances of ICE “visiting” churches–not for prayerful purposes, and making no arrests. NETWORK has Know Your Rights guidance for Immigrants to help you know what to do if ICE or CBP approach. Filed. No hearing set
Allows ICE and CPB in judicial areas The Judicial Locations memo was rescinded, ending the policy of keeping public spaces inside or outside courtrooms free of ICE and CBP. Now, all judicial areas, except judicial chambers, are subject to ICE or CBP activity. Effective immediately. No impact reports yet.
Ends sanctuary cities The federal government will now condition state and city funding on their cooperation with ICE and CBP. This is effective immediately, but the impact will be felt later when funding cycles come up or if there is a natural disaster. No litigation yet.

You can see  more at our sister site, Network Advocates

Everyone in the U.S. has Constitutional rights, including including immigrants, with or without a document status. It is important that all of understand your rights if you are approached by law enforcement. NETWORK has created Know Your Rights one-pagers for this purpose. Click to download:

Know Your Rights for Immigrants – Bilingual One-pager
Know Your Rights for Immigrants – One Pager English
Conozca Sus Derechos – Half page Espanol
Know Your Rights for Immigrants – Half-pager English

Where Do We Go Now?

 

Where Do We Go Now?

From Sadness and Fear to Community and Hope

Joan F. Neal
January 30, 2025

Joan F. Neal is NETWORK’s Interim Executive Director.

It has always been true in our country — and reflected in our experience at NETWORK — that our greatest strength is in our communities, especially our grassroots friends, neighbors, and families. We were inspired and overwhelmed with gratitude at every stop of the Nuns on the Bus & Friends “Vote Our Future” tour last fall, with the good people and the good work we encountered along the way.

In the wake of the outcome of the recent federal election, we now know these neighborhoods, parishes, local service agencies, and mutual aid networks will be even more important in the years ahead. The incoming administration’s agenda will likely prove disastrous for many of the places we visited. They have promised to slash funding for communities who rely on federal housing, food, and health care programs. The president-elect promised mass deportations of our neighbors, violent repression of our Constitutional freedom to protest, retribution against political opponents, and so much more. This agenda threatens to destroy rather than support our communities.

For many people this is the cause of great fear, grief, disappointment, and even anger. Sadly, Catholics played a consequential role in the outcome of the Presidential election. Exit polls reported that, despite Catholic teaching and Gospel values, 61% of white Catholics voted for Donald Trump and 58% of all Catholics voted for him, an increase in Catholic support compared to 2020, when 50% of Catholics voted for him. This support carried him to victory. On the other hand, according to a National Catholic Reporter poll in seven battleground states, nearly 7 out of 10 Hispanic Catholics and more than 80% of Black Catholics supported Kamala Harris.

Beneath these numbers lie deep-seated beliefs and attitudes. In the PRRI American Values survey, 61% of white Catholics canvassed agreed that “immigrants should be kept in armed camps,” a view that directly contradicts the Catholic teaching about welcoming our immigrant neighbors. This is a systematic failure of catechesis when so many purported followers of Jesus are unable to look beyond a small handful of wedge issues to see how their views and their vote are disconnected from the common good and our shared humanity.

We justice-seekers have some choices to make. We can surrender, or we can speak out and resist every attempt to curtail our freedoms, deepen our country’s corrosive wealth gap, push people to the margins of our society or out of our country altogether, and demonize anyone who disagrees.

We can use our vote, our voice, our values, and our agency to defend our inclusive community, our way of governing ourselves, our principles, our respect for truth and the integrity of our faith, the dignity of all people, and the sacredness of creation. We can be the change we want to see in our neighborhoods, our country, and our communities of faith. But it will take affirmative and consistent resistance to do it.

At NETWORK, we will be joining our coalition partners — faith-based and secular — to stop bad federal legislation and to support positive policies wherever possible. We will mobilize our grassroots members and supporters to lobby their Congressional Representatives and Senators to pass legislation that promotes the common good. We will call out nefarious tactics and promote opportunities for good legislation to pass. We will hold our elected officials accountable at every opportunity.

What we need is to gather our collective courage and move forward, in community, toward the future we all want. As people of faith, we must reactivate our call to civic discipleship — to join in partnership with our brothers and sisters and continue with fervor our quest to protect, preserve, and promote our democracy and the freedoms that only democracy affords its people. Now is a time for unity and affirmative resistance.

But this sort of work requires hope. And there, Pope Francis has provided us with the perfect opportunity. He has announced a worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope, beginning December 24, 2024, and ending January 6, 2026. “[B]y looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision…the forthcoming Jubilee…can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire.”

We must use hope as our strategy to overcome the sorrow of today and carry us into the light of tomorrow. As Catholics and people of faith, we know God has not abandoned us. Even in the face of the abyss, all things are possible. So join us as we go forward in hope and faith toward the Beloved Community and a new day in our country and in the church.

This story was published in the Quarter 1 2025 issue of Connection.

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The First 100 Days

Strategy & action for the 2nd Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

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Join with Advocates! Visit your Representative’s local (district) office.

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How to Visit Your Representatives Local Office

During the House January Recess (Jan. 27-31), NETWORK advocates across the country are visiting their Representatives’ in-district offices to share information about NETWORK and our 2025 Legislative Priorities. You don’t have to be a policy expert to participate. This is a quick, relationship-building activity that is focused on values. We hope you will join us!  

Making the most of your visit to your Representative’s in-district office
Whether your Representative is brand-new to Congress or has been serving your district for 20 years, it’s important for you to build a relationship with the staff in their in-district offices and tell them about NETWORK and our policy priorities. In-district staff are members of your community, and getting to know them and demonstrating that you care about your district is your first step to building or strengthening your relationship with your Member of Congress.  

While this visit is not a formal lobby visit, it is an effective way to introduce yourself and NETWORK to the in-district staff—and increase your chances of getting a meeting with your Representative the next time they’re home.  Here are some tips for having a successful visit:  

  • Confirm the office’s location and hours. Depending on the size of your district, your Representative may have one or several offices, and their addresses and phone numbers will be listed on their official house.gov website. Call ahead to confirm the location and find out what days and times you can visit. If you’re going in a group, make sure that everyone knows what time you’re visiting the office.  

Important Note: While we are hoping for the visits to take place during January Recess, we also recognize that newly elected officials may not have all their in- district offices set up yet. If your local office isn’t open yet, please maintain communication and visit as soon as you’re able. It’s crucial for new Members of Congress to meet you and learn about NETWORK!  

  • Connect with other local advocates: There is power in numbers! If other NETWORK advocates from your district sign-up to participate, we will do our best to get you all connected. We also encourage you to think about who in your personal network you could invite to join you in your advocacy! 
  • Prepare your materials. In addition to the About NETWORK handout and NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Priorities, you will also want to include a brief cover letter and make it clear that these materials are for the Representative and the District Director. In your letter, be sure to name that you’re a constituent and what town/neighborhood you live in, and include affiliations such as your parish or community, ministry or workplace, or where you volunteer. 
  • Prepare for your conversation. While this will most likely not be a long meeting, it’s important to think about what you will say. You will of course want to introduce yourself, NETWORK, and our 2025 Legislative Agenda; and if you’re going with a group, make sure that everyone briefly introduces themselves, and you can divide up what you are going to say. Remember: as this is a relationship-building meeting, it’s important to keep the tone friendly and respectful. This is not a time to debate policy. Also, please stick to the policies outlined on NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Priorities; our Government Relations team has done the analysis, and we know that these are the first issues that the House is going to tackle through the budget reconciliation process. We also want to make sure that the staff understand who NETWORK is and what we work on.  

This is also a time to gather important information about the office and your Representative.  Here are some things you should learn during your visit:  

  • The names and emails of the District Director and Scheduler. This is key for scheduling future lobby visits! 
  • How you sign up for your Representative’s newsletter 
  • If your Representative is having any public events for constituents, such as town halls, virtual or in-person, in the next few months 
  • Be flexible during your visit. As this is not a formally scheduled lobby visit, you will most likely not know who you are going to meet when you go to the office. Since the House is on recess, you may actually get a few minutes to chat with your Representative. However, it’s more likely that you’ll speak with a District Director or someone in constituent services. Remember that not everyone in an in-district office deals with policy, so you may have to adjust how much you speak about NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Agenda. Regardless of who you meet with, this is still an important first step to building a relationship with your Representative. 
  • Finishing touch and follow-up. If they’re available, be sure to get business cards for the District Director and Scheduler. Also, sign up for the Representative’s newsletter. And—just like you would for a lobby visit—a day or two after your visit, email the District Director and attach the About NETWORK and the 2025 Legislative Priorities documents to the email. If you met with them, of course thank them for their time. If you didn’t, simply let them know that you dropped by the office and that you’re looking forward to meeting with them in the future.   
  • Follow-up with NETWORK. As you know, we here at NETWORK love to see you in action. Please send us photos of you visiting the office, and, if it’s appropriate, include the person that you met with—especially if you do get a few moments with your Representative! About a week after January Recess, we will be sending out a report-back form so that we can collect information. Please take time to fill out the form!  
2025 Legislative Priorities - District Office Leave-Behind
About NETWORK - District Office Leave-Behind

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Welcome, Y.A.L.L.

Welcome, Y.A.L.L.

Young Advocates Leadership Lab Promotes Political Engagement on College Campuses

Jane Sutter
September 5, 2024

Baylee Fingerhut, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is one of ten students in NETWORK’s new Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.) Y.A.L.L. serves as a training space for faithful young adults to build the skills needed to be advocates for justice in the world today. Photo: Min. Christian Watkins.

When Baylee Fingerhut, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, read about a new program seeking college students to become advocates for social justice, she was intrigued.

“I thought how amazing it would be to be a part of that, not just something that would help me grow my professional skills and help me network but to be part of something so impactful, like this inaugural group of youth leaders who want to go out and advocate and make a change,” she says.

Fingerhut is part of the first cohort of ten students in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab. Y.A.L.L. is a leadership and advocacy skills development program for college students, serving as a training space for faithful young adults to build the skills needed to be advocates for justice.

Building Up Y.A.L.L.

 

Over the years, NETWORK has offered training for college students, but Y.A.L.L. offers a new, deeper level of engagement with young justice seekers. It’s a natural outgrowth of NETWORK’s vision to mobilize a diverse national movement of justice-seekers.

For Fingerhut, a public policy major, the opportunity to participate in Y.A.L.L. has given her the opportunity to both advocate for others and “do the grassroots, boots-on-the-ground work” such as registering fellow students to vote and having conversations with students about why their vote matters, she says.

Choosing the ten students for the inaugural class of Y.A.L.L. was a competitive process as 60 students applied, according to Chelsea Puckett, NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Outreach and Education Specialist, who acts as the convenor and staff liaison for the program.

Recruitment involved outreach to Catholic Sisters, advocates, and colleges where NETWORK had a relationship, as well as utilizing online tools for making professional connections with college students.

“We wanted to build a cohort of people to adhere to NETWORK’s mission of working for justice and equity for all people,” Puckett says.

Diversity of all kinds was an important factor. Not all the students are Catholic, but as part of the interview process, students were asked how their values, faith, or morals drive their advocacy work.

“We wanted to be inclusive of all different belief systems and backgrounds,” Puckett says.

Y.A.L.L. runs in two 13-week phases. The first phase took place from March into May, followed by a summer hiatus. The second phase will run from August into November. Each student commits to five hours per week and receives a competitive stipend.

Engaging With College Students

Katie Crump, left, and Anna Kopsick of the University of Dayton pose with the 2024 Equally Sacred Checklist, the central resource of NETWORK’s voter education campaign. Crump, class of 2025, is a member of NETWORK’s Y.A.L.L. cohort.

With Y.A.L.L.’s focus in 2024 being voter education and mobilization, in the spring, students hosted voter registration drives on their campuses, staffing tables in prominent campus locations, such as outside a student center or inside a cafeteria. They used the opportunity to introduce the 2024 Equally Sacred Checklist, NETWORK’s multi-issue voter education resource, to their peers.

At Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Y.A.L.L. leader Kaila Crouch and Puckett helped students check online to see if they were registered to vote.

“It’s something you don’t really think about until, unfortunately, it might be too late,” Crouch says. She notes that students who registered to vote at the Y.A.L.L. table seemed relieved and made comments such as, “Wow. I’m happy this is checked off on my list of things to do.”

Crouch, who will return to campus in the fall to study for an MBA, and Puckett also visited a leadership and development class of senior students to discuss multi-issue voting.

Y.A.L.L. participant Imani McClammy, majoring in political science at Barry University in Miami, Fla., enjoyed teaching fellow students about multi-issue voting, quoting a line she learned from Puckett: “We’re multi-issue voters because we live multi-issue lives.” She told students how true that is. “I care about housing, I care about education, I care about minimum wage. These are all things that impact our lives.”

Imani McClammy, class of 2026, Barry University, Miami

Participating in the Y.A.L.L. program has been revelatory, several participants say. Theresa Lindberg, a freshman majoring in English literature and Spanish at Mt. Mary University in Milwaukee, Wis., says she discovered in talking with students that “some people just are not going to be interested in voting.”

McClammy says she believes the biggest challenge on her campus is explaining to students why voting matters. When she hears students say, “I don’t like politics,” she tries to explain: “Your life is full of political issues, even if you don’t think so.” McClammy researches laws or potential legislation to use as examples of what affects students’ lives, and she encourages them to find out what legislation the candidates support.

Puckett says the on-campus experience has been revealing. “Students are busy people,” she notes. “To hear what issues matter to them based on what they’re studying or their lived experiences was really insightful as we continue this work with young people.”

Breaking Through the Noise

Chelsea Puckett of NETWORK assists a student during an on-campus voter registration event at the University of Mount Mary in Milwaukee. Y.A.L.L. events on campuses will focus on voter awareness and engagement.

A key part of the Y.A.L.L. initiative is the weekly virtual trainings offered to the participants and conducted mostly by NETWORK staff. For the spring effort, students participated in a variety of workshops, including how to conduct a voter registration drive, multi-issue voting, breaking through the election noise, deep canvassing and door knocking, and appropriate use of social media.

One key training was on how to have difficult conversations with fellow students who have different viewpoints. The Y.A.L.L. participants did roleplay to practice, Puckett says.

Lindberg says those exercises were valuable “because we live in such a polarized country.” McClammy agreed. “Doing that workshop helped me more in having those difficult conversations and always finding a way to tie it back to Y.A.L.L.’s mission—being multi-issue voters.”

Y.A.L.L. participants also spent time in the spring laying the groundwork for campus initiatives in the fall. This included forming partnerships with appropriate student groups, campus ministries, and political science professors. The core mission for the fall will be get-out-the-vote efforts, so students are planning voter registration drives at orientation events for freshmen and transfer students. They’ll also knock on doors in student housing and off-campus apartments.

Ishara Baez, a student in the class of 2025 at the University of Mount St. Vincent in the Bronx, NY, is among the ten students participating in NETWORK’s Y.A.L.L. program.

Y.A.L.L. students will inquire if students have a plan to vote and if they have a way to get to the polls. For those hesitant to get involved in the democratic process, students will use their conversational skills to try to convince them to do so.

Puckett notes that NETWORK’s involvement on campuses has been met with a warm welcome. “We plan for these to be sustainable relationships over many, many years,” she says. A new cohort will be selected for 2025, Puckett says.

Fingerhut, at St. Joseph’s University, says she already had some background in Catholic social justice, having learned about it in classes, but she had never seen a tie-in with politics. Participating in Y.A.L.L. has been “transformative to see it come to life on a stage such as a federal election.”

Learn more about NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.) here. 

 

Jane Sutter is a freelance journalist based in Rochester, N.Y., and is part of the NETWORK Advocates team in New York State.

This story was published in the Quarter 3 2024 issue of Connection.