Welcome to the May Dispatch! Thank you for being a part of our growing, powerful Moms Next Door program!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"Hope is a Discipline." 
- Mariame Kaba

What’s the Moms Next Door Dispatch? Each month, you’ll receive the Moms Next Door Dispatch (Scroll down!)—a monthly toolkit that will arrive in your inbox to provide you and your community with ideas on how to self-organize and take action; as well as to process and make sense of all that’s going on; AND also ways to remain calm, find joy in community, and recharge as we build a brighter future! Sign up now to get these monthly dispatches in your inbox and learn new ways to connect!

First things first—it was great to see those of you who joined us for last month’s organizing workshop! Your ideas were inspiring, and spending time together was energizing. Here are some of the resources we discussed:

• Make sure you do your powering-up follow-up!
• See when your legislators are in session or in district:
  • State Legislative Session Dates
  • 2025 Congressional Calendar

Now, let’s dive in. Here’s the menu of five ways for you to engage this month, on your own—or with your small group near you:

1. MAY ORGANIZING ZOOM MEETUP: Our third monthly organizing Zoom is happening this month on Tuesday, May 20th at 7:30 pm EST / 4:30 pm PST with our workshop called: “Courageous Conversations.” We will be going over tips and strategies to have courageous conversations with family, friends, or neighbors with shared values but opposing views. We will talk about the best ways to engage your community and people that you care for around differing points of view. Sign up here to join us and learn more!

2. ACTION OF THE MONTH: PROTECT MEDICAID!

• Call your Member of Congress and tell them: No cuts to Medicaid! As we speak, Congress is working on finishing up their budget proposal. The most recent budget resolution proposes cutting at least $880 billion in Medicaid funding through 2034. For the 72 million people who have Medicaid, these cuts would rip away healthcare coverage for critical—and in many cases lifesaving—services and leave families one medical emergency away from crippling medical debt. The time is now to raise our voices and urge Congress: no cuts to Medicaid! Click here, and we’ll connect you to your Representative.
  • Bonus: Click here to write a quick and easy Letter to the Editor of your local paper telling Congress to protect Medicaid! We’ve provided you with a draft letter and all the talking points you’ll need.

3. FUN, JOY & POWER:

• Gather Up: DWC/MomsRising Mother’s Day Town Hall: On Wednesday, May 14th at 8:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM PT, join MomsRising, Mamás Con Poder, and the Democratic Women’s Caucus—including Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (NM), Brittany Pettersen (CO), and Ayanna Pressley (MA)—for the Moms Virtual Town Hall to discuss Trump’s attacks on moms and how we are fighting back. RSVP HERE!
  • Moms Next Door Bonus Idea: Gather your friends for a watch party!
• Write a letter to the editor telling Congress to reject attacks on Child Care & Head Start! Click here to write a quick and easy Letter to the Editor for your local newspaper, calling on Congress to Protect Child Care and Head Start!*Don’t stress - we’ll make it easy and will give you a draft letter and all the talking points you need.
• Tell Your Story! Are you a federal worker or a federal contractors affected by these recent layoffs? Submit your story as part of a national oral history project to document the unprecedented experience federal workers have undergone in 2025.

4. WHAT WE’RE READING THIS MONTH: For people wanting to start book groups for change, or just looking for good books, here’s what’s in our May library:

1. A note on this month’s theme: Courageous conversations in fiction generally refer to novels that explore characters confronting difficult or sensitive topics, often involving social, political, or personal issues. These stories may use fiction as a way to examine real-world problems and spark dialogue, while also being rooted in the human experience of confronting uncomfortable truths. You can find more tools on courageous conversations here.

• Non-fiction: adrienne maree brown’s We Will Not Cancel Us tackles courageous topics like accountability, community healing, and transformative justice, discusses the limits of “cancel culture,” and encourages readers to call-in folks rather than call-out to build a more sustainable movement. I Never Thought of It That Way by Mónica Guzmán offers readers tools to ask vulnerable questions, better understand those they disagree with, and overcome fear and uncertainty around engaging with opposing views, encouraging curiosity over judgment in an increasingly divided world.
• Fiction: For your courageous reading this month, you may consider Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera and Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. Juliet Takes a Breath tackles courageous topics like racial and sexual identity, microaggressions, family relationships, and coming of age. Good Dirt tackles the courageous topics of racism, classism, generational trauma, slavery, and various forms of violence (please research the book prior to reading, for further information on the forms of violence covered to ensure this book is right for you).

Need some book ideas for the kiddos in your life this month? Here you go: 

• Ages 3-8:
  • I Can Do Hard Things by Gabi Garcia is a social-emotional learning book that provides kids with self-confidence and conflict resolution tools.
  • Zuri Ray Tries Ballet by Tami Charles is about two friends facing a new challenge, having a disagreement, and resolving it together, sharing important lessons of confronting hard situations and embracing individuality. 
• Ages 8-12:
  • Running by Natalia Sylvester tackles political differences in families through the story of a Cuban American girl whose father runs for president. 

*Want to support your local bookstore? Use the Bookshop finder to locate bookstores near you and women, Black, AAPI, LGBTQIA+, Latine, and Indigenous-owned bookstores online.

5. MUTUAL SUPPORT OPTION: What is mutual aid? Different from charity— where resources usefully flow in one direction from donors to recipients—mutual aid is community-driven and reciprocal, built on community-based solidarity. And many parents and caregivers are already doing this (think: your local PTA, community gardens, or even kids’ birthday parties). In creating communities of love, we also want to turn them into communities of support, protection, and action to prepare for what’s ahead. Mutual aid is strongest when connected to a political goal defined by participants and building a community of action to advocate for systemic solutions while we support the immediate needs of our community. 

MUTUAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY OF THE MONTH FOR YOU:  
Mother’s Day is this month, and the new mamas and parents are on our minds! According to the National Diaper Bank Network, nearly half of U.S. families with young children report struggling with diaper need, a growing public health issue that leaves parents unable to afford enough diapers to keep their infant or child clean, dry, and healthy.

Let’s get organized.

• Host a Diaper Drive with the National Diaper Bank and fight diaper need in your community. The National Diaper Bank provides a toolkit and everything! *When you host your Diaper Drive, don’t forget to take pictures.

• Bonus idea—use your Diaper Drive as an opportunity to educate your community on Milk Banks to support fragile or premature babies! Think you may be a good candidate to donate extra breast milk, or know someone who might be? Find a milk bank near you and learn how you can donate any extra milk to help parents and babies access milk and save lives.

• And speaking of coupling mutual aid with political action: Tell Congress to pass the End Diaper Need Act—a bill that will address the diaper needs of low-income families and adults.

That’s it for this month! Thank you for being here. We are looking forward to continuing to strengthen connections and community in refreshing, educational, and joyful ways with you in the coming months!

P.S. Missed the April dispatch and looking for more resources? Check it out on our blog.