Together Rising

Together Rising celebrates the amazing work you’ve made possible. We have belonged to each other. We always will. ? With Love, Fury, and Relentless Hope, Together Rising

Out Youth is one of three incredible organizations Together Rising is honored to amplify as we sunset our organization. Out Youth’s commitment to creating safety and acceptance for queer youth has lasted decades, and we are proud to announce them as one of our final grantees. As Together Rising sunsets as an organization, we are proud to invest an additional $750,000 in Out Youth to support their critical work “There is no one doing what we do in central Texas. Unfortunately it’s not like we are one of several places these young people can go to. It’s us. Our existence is what’s the most special thing about us.” - Aubrey Wilkerson, Executive Director Out Youth As parts of the world become harder and less safe for those in the LGBTQIA+ community, we must bolster the places of refuge that exist and we are so grateful for the work of our long-term and queer-led partner, Out Youth. Based in Austin, Out Youth serves central Texas LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies. For more than 30 years, Out Youth has carved out a unique model of services – including support groups, counseling, and drop-ins – to ensure these promising young people have the opportunity to develop into happy, healthy, successful adults. Together Rising has existed to be a bridge between this community and boots-on-the-ground organizations doing relentless, world-healing work every day.? Today, we invite you to step over this bridge to connect directly with Out Youth.? Follow them, invest in them, and cheer them on!

Holler Health Justice (HHJ) is one of three incredible organizations Together Rising is honored to amplify as we sunset our organization. HHJ’s approach to funding abortion healthcare has inspired us for years, both in what they do and how they do it. HHJ believes that those directly impacted by an issue are best positioned to design and lead solutions, and their leadership reflects just that - with a majority identifying either as people of color, LGBTQIA+, or from low-income backgrounds. As Together Rising sunsets as an organization, we are proud to invest an additional $750,000 in Holler Health Justice to support their critical work. “The core of Holler Health Justice is mutual aid. We’re not like a large organization swooping down and being saviors, we’re helping our neighbors. That way we can meet people where they are without condescension. All we’re really doing is providing the tools they should have been given already so they can make the decisions that are best for them.” Caitlin Gaffin, Co-Director/Founder, Holler Health Justice Securing safe, accessible abortion and reproductive justice for all is not possible without partners like HHJ leading the way. As increased legislation restricts access to abortion care and reproductive healthcare – especially for the most marginalized, low-income, and rural communities – it is more important than ever to invest in this work. "[HHJ] made the impossible possible. They helped me book a flight, got me to the airport, and even found someone in a different state to go with me to my appointment. They booked a hotel, rides, and made sure everything was taken care of. I owe them my life." Anonymous Together Rising has existed to be a bridge between this community and boots-on-the-ground organizations doing relentless, world-healing work every day.? Today, we invite you to step over this bridge to connect directly with HHJ.? Follow them, invest in them, and cheer them on!

Al Otro Lado (AOL) is one of three incredible organizations Together Rising is honored to amplify as we sunset our organization. Over the years, AOL has become one of our most trusted boots-on-the-ground partners, doing the seemingly impossible as they work to reunify families devastated by cruel separation policies. As Together Rising sunsets as an organization, we are proud to invest an additional $750,000 in Al Otro Lado to support their critical work, which brings our total lifetime investment in AOL to $3,916,520.69.? “The thing that really strikes me especially around our work reunifying families is how long it takes and the perseverance that’s required to make it through that process. Just last week, a family reunified that I met in 2018 the first time I went to Central America. This woman's case was very difficult, we had to fight for many years to get her reunified with her son. It finally happened. This is really the beginning of their journey because with six years of separation there's a lot of healing to do for that mother and son. But as long as there are families separated we’re not going to stop our work.” Erika Pinheiro, Executive Director, Al Otro Lado Al Otro Lado is a binational nonprofit providing legal and humanitarian aid on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. They work to reunify families separated under policies of both the Trump and Biden administrations. This crisis needs champions for the long haul, and the tenacity and endurance of organizations like AOL continue to provide hope and lasting impact for those they serve. While they fight for families to be reunified and for the ability to legally claim asylum, AOL also advocates for policy changes preventing family separations from ever being able to occur again. Together Rising has existed to be a bridge between this community and boots-on-the-ground organizations doing relentless, world-healing work every day.? Today, we invite you to step over this bridge to connect directly with AOL.? Follow them, invest in them, and cheer them on!

Please watch this important announcement from Together Rising Founder and President Glennon Doyle. After 12 beautiful years of turning heartbreak into action — and supporting families, individuals and organizations with $55,118,582.16 — the Together Rising Board of Directors has unanimously determined it is time to sunset the organization. This huge decision has been painstakingly made with steady and grateful hearts, knowing, yes, it’s time. Because it is as important to know when to end a beautiful thing as it is to know when to begin a beautiful thing. And it has been beautiful. Because of your love, trust, and generosity, together we’ve provided 11,713 grants to people who needed a loving hand in moments of crisis. We’ve kept the lights on, kept food on the table, paid the utility bills, provided the tuition, covered the medical bills. Over time, we became a bridge, not only between you and individuals, but between you and trusted boots-on-the-ground organizations who are leading through some of the most vital work of our lifetime. Together, we have provided critical funding to 298 incredible organizations — providing food for refugees across the world, urgent relief in natural disasters, shelter for queer and unhoused youth, reunification for families torn apart at the border, wraparound support for teen parents in addiction recovery, and on and on and on. None of this happens without YOU. We will be forever grateful for how you have shown up for us so we could show up for the world. The sunsetting of Together Rising does not mean the end of heartbreak or the end of action — we will all keep showing up in new and different ways to heal our hearts and heal the world. Over the next week, right here, we’re going to reintroduce you to several of these organizations so that you might walk across that bridge one last time and offer some of your time, attention, and investment directly to the organizations we so deeply believe in.?? With love, fury, and relentless hope, Together Rising

Sometimes it seems like no matter how much you try, you just cannot catch a break. Philece, an educator and mom of 5, wrote to us saying just that. She was facing eviction after a new job left her with unpaid maternity leave and even though she was paying the balance down each month, they weren’t stopping the process of eviction. “Paying my rental balance would allow me to get back on my feet and have stable housing for my children. I feel terrible that they will be uprooted.” Because of YOU, Philece and her five kids were not evicted. Because of YOU, we were able to cover five months of rent and give this family some much needed respite from a series of hard circumstances. When Philece sent us the picture of her family, she shared, “I am extremely thankful for this blessing! This is an opportunity for stability and security for my little ones. It is an opportunity to get Mr. Henry (my baby boy) all the things he needs. I was afraid for what the future held for us because it seemed like I could not make it out of this bind. I have been severely depressed because of my circumstances…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US!!!!” Thank you for meeting Philece at her breaking point with generosity and relief. Together, we are able to make a difference in the lives of so many people with love, fury, and relentless hope.

What would you do if you were facing the stress of a high-risk pregnancy? Where, or to whom, would you turn? When Stephanie was unable to work due to pregnancy complications, she became unable to pay her rent. Her family faced the very real threat of eviction and the uncertainty of when she would deliver the baby. Having been diagnosed with fetal growth restriction, she needed to be closely monitored and would likely deliver earlier than expected. Stephanie found out about Together Rising, and when she reached out to us, she asked for assistance paying one month's rent. But we didn’t approve that request. Because of YOU, our incredible community of supporters and believers in a We Belong to Each Other vision, we were able to pay for an entire year of Stephanie’s rent. Now Stephanie will not only be able to avoid the stress of eviction, but also spend a longer time bonding with her new baby and recovering from labor and delivery without having to return to work immediately. When Stephanie found out what you all had done, we got this message: “Thank you so much for the great news! Me and my family are so grateful and thankful. This has been the hardest time. I can't stop the tears from falling. Just when we didn't know how we were going to pay May's rent. This is amazing.” This is amazing. What we can do together is indeed amazing. And we can’t do it without you. Thank you for helping make stories like this possible. *Name has been changed

“Shelter is so much more than four walls and a roof... It’s a space to rest and recover when dealing with intense trauma. It’s a place where people can come together and build collective resilience. It’s a foundation for family, for community, and for life.” - ShelterBox Conflicts around the world have created an unprecedented need for shelter. Sudan is currently facing a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. This past year, as conflict between rival military factions in Sudan erupted, more than 8.7 million people have fled their homes, including 4.6 million children. What resulted is one of the largest displacement situations in the world. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, "more than 553,150 new refugees from Sudan had been counted by mid-February, making the country the largest host of refugees fleeing Sudan since the brutal war erupted in mid-April 2023.” This number is rapidly rising, making the need for emergency shelter and basic household items dire. Only 2% of new arrivals have access to emergency shelter. “We are deeply concerned about the unrelenting violence in Sudan,” said Kerri Murray, president of ShelterBox USA. “This is a crisis on top of another crisis. Chad already had extremely high humanitarian needs. This new influx of refugees – the vast majority of which are women and children – will further strain the region. ShelterBox is working as fast as possible to assess the greatest needs.” ShelterBox is on the ground working to support at least 6,500 newly arrived displaced families (approximately 32,500 people) in Chad with emergency shelter and basic household items. ShelterBox is well-prepared to respond to these disasters with their strong history of responses in both Chad and Malawi and having provided over 2 million people with emergency shelter solutions in over 100 countries. Thanks to YOU, Together Rising has invested $100,000 towards our trusted partner ShelterBox and their critical work. Thanks to you, thousands more will have access to shelter, and ultimately, access to safety, privacy, and dignity. Photos courtesy of ShelterBox

Dear Lindsey, Hi! Thanks so much for reaching out to us, doing the sometimes scary thing of asking for help. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot in your life, and that your family wasn’t always what you needed. You shared that growing up, you experienced religious, verbal, and sexual abuse at the hands of people who were supposed to build you up. Instead, they tore you down again and again — and even more so when they suspected you were gay. They left you with no one in your family believing you. In your words, they destroyed you. You did not deserve any of that. It seemed like so much was turning around for you in this last year, as you shared with us about getting into grad school, your work in therapy (including an adorable therapy dog), and having a good and flexible job. But you reached out to us because you were recently fired, leaving you with just dollars in your pocket. You reached out because you were scared of this job loss turning into the loss of your apartment, your grad school, your therapy and therapy dog, and everything else you’ve fought so hard to secure. Even though it can feel like it at times, you are not alone. Thanks to Together Rising’s community of supporters, you are receiving a grant to cover several months of rent, medical bills, and the cost of a laptop so you can continue grad school and look for a new job. Cheering you on, Together Rising Dear Together Rising, Thank you so, so, so, so, so much. I cannot begin to explain how much relief this brings me. I cannot stop crying. I feel scared to show a photo of myself with such personal information, but I've attached a photo of myself as a child. This means so much to me. I have had so much heaviness and tension, not to mention blind panic, that I have been trying to keep at bay. I still feel some panic, but I also feel so much relief right now and like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I just got a part-time job writing for a company, and have been borrowing a friend's laptop but only have it for another week. This is perfect timing. Thank you so much for seeing me and hearing me and validating me. It means more than the grant. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Lindsey

As a Black woman- and survivor-led organization, me too. International is on a mission to provide free and much-needed resources directly to survivors of sexual violence. Working directly with survivors has shown the me too. International team that healing is the foundation of all transformative action. They are also channeling their desire for change into a movement for systemic transformation. It is a unique space to occupy, but is vital that the work of addressing and interrupting sexual violence holds space for both healing and action. Thanks to YOU, our incredible Together Rising community, we have invested $300,000 to further support the vital work of me too. International. That work includes resources such as the Survivor’s Sanctuary, a free, safe, and accessible online platform that offers 36 healing lessons to meet survivors where they are while also moving them toward post-traumatic growth. As a result, many survivors are able to make healthy and meaningful connections with others, access and cultivate calm in their bodies, and recognize that they have a choice in how they define their own stories moving forward. “Because sexual violence is a community problem that deserves a community response, there is a role for everyone to play.” –me too. International We all have an immense responsibility — and opportunity — to help harness the pain of the millions of people who shared the hashtag #metoo and transform it into radical healing and collective effort. This work is bigger than a hashtag, it’s a survivor-led movement to end sexual violence, and its future lies in the multifaceted healing of individual survivors on their own terms. Thanks to the work of experienced and trailblazing leaders like me too. International Founder Tarana Burke and her entire team, we get to be part of that healing and change.