FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2024
PHILADELPHIA—The Nuns on the Bus & Friends kicked off their 2024 “Vote Our Future” nonpartisan voter education tour with a rally in JFK Plaza in Philadelphia on September 30. Catholic Sisters and multi-faith and secular coalition partners will ride the bus from Philadelphia to San Francisco, September 30-October 18, visiting 20 cities in 11 states and calling on Catholics and all people of goodwill to be multi-issue voters to protect democracy and build a future where everyone can flourish.
“We know, no matter who we are; no matter our race, religion, gender or economic status, we all want the same things for ourselves and our loved ones. We want the freedoms that only a vibrant democracy affords its people!” said Joan F. Neal, NETWORK Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer, in her opening remarks at the rally.
Other rally speakers included U.S. Representatives Brendan Boyle and Mary Gay Scanlon, Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, University of St. Joseph student Baylee Fingerhut, and Faith in Action Executive Director Bishop Dwayne Royster.
The bus riders participating in the day’s events were Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould of Faith in Action, Sr. Catherine Ferguson, SNJM, Sr. Erin McDonald, CSJ, Kristen Whitney Daniels of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sr. Quincy Howard, OP, Sr. Robbie Pentecost, OSF, Sr. Romina Sapinoso, SC, and Starsky Wilson of the Children’s Defense Fund. The second stop of the tour was to be a “Town Hall to Vote Our Future” scheduled for the evening of September 30 at St. Joseph’s University.
Nuns on the Bus & Friends is a nonpartisan voter education project of NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice. This first in-person tour in six years—and the eighth since 2012— will emphasize the freedoms that are essential for an inclusive, multiracial, multi-faith democracy. It will also equip and mobilize people to exercise their right to vote – and to make sure that their friends and family are voting too.
Sisters and their coalition partners on the bus will meet with people and organizations across the country to talk about the freedoms at stake in this election and how multi-issue voting helps our communities to thrive. The tour will include town halls, rallies, and press conferences, as well as site visits to local social service agencies and community organizations.
Founded by Catholic Sisters in 1972, NETWORK is an inclusive, national, Catholic advocacy organization open to all who share our values, working for justice and equity for everyone. For 52 years, NETWORK has educated, organized, and lobbied for federal policies that serve the common good and honor the dignity of all people.
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