At times the last few months of 2025 and beginning of this year have felt like a brutal slog from one hard thing to another. A beloved extended family member died too young, work was especially demanding as we closed out our year-end fundraising and horrific local, national and international headlines trumpeted one catastrophe after another. I attended graduate school at Brown University and images of students cowering in buildings I recognized and spent time in while a gunman roamed the campus was gutting. I have family in Minneapolis and my mom is trained as an ICE verifier and is heavily involved in local immigrant justice work, so the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were not only tragic and terrifying, but also felt personally threatening. A dear friend from high school lives in Australia; watching anti-Semitic violence shatter lives in a country with stricter (and much more sensible) gun control laws exacerbated the feeling that there was no safe place left in the world.
In the midst of what felt like extended darkness, I am profoundly grateful for the RFC community. While processing year-end donations I opened so many envelopes that included notes of encouragement, support and solidarity along with the financial support that continues to make our work possible. Messages included:
“A good cause and worthy objective. These are cruel times, so all efforts…. are encouraged. Have faith and perseverance.”
“Happy Solstice. Good wishes to you and yours. Thank you for the work you do. Things are tough but we ‘keep on walking.’ Thanks for the Harriet Tubman stamp! She was one who kept on walking.”
“Thank you for doing this! What a great fund.”
These messages encouraged and sustained me, as did communication from our beneficiary community. As our granting coordinator Cleo shared in a blog earlier this year, so many families are dealing with heartbreaking challenges. She writes, “Some are progressive activist parents whose children’s safety and stability has been profoundly affected by the targeting they have faced… Some are in hiding, the threat of repression so severe that maintaining a public life is no longer an option.” In the midst of these stark realities, grantee updates also included amazing stories of resilience and triumph, including activist parents’ major court case wins, young adult beneficiaries graduating from college and pursuing professional degrees or entering the workforce while their younger siblings won track meets, joined youth symphony orchestras and celebrated academic, social and artistic strides.
I also take comfort from our longevity. The RFC turned 35 in the fall of 2025; we’re planning to celebrate this milestone with a public event in April (more details in the cover story, I hope many of you can join us). And a little later this spring, I’ll mark my 19th year at the RFC! The growth of this organization my father created from both the pain of his childhood and the solidarity of so many people who stood with his family has expanded beyond our wildest dreams. I am honored to continue to nurture and shepherd his vision and profoundly grateful for everyone who continues to make it possible. As a local activist I recently met shared, “Action is an antidote to fear.” Thank you all for being part of the action that allows me to push back the fear and continue doing the work of standing with the children of resistance.