Hello, Supporters!

Last week was full of positive developments. This week has been a little slower and I’ve been watching and waiting a bit to see how things played out. A court ruling this past weekend, as I understand its effect, limits the governor’s ability to use executive orders to mandate long-term protocol in schools. 

I’m no legal expert, but after consulting with others more versed in the area, I think it’s best we re-focus our efforts on Kentucky’s Legislature and the Kentucky Board of Education. It’s a little ambiguous at present who holds which exact powers and the limits of said powers, but one thing remains clear: a unified, organized, publicly-advocating group of Kentuckians (and others!) who love a Kentucky child, will effect change much more successfully than if we are disconnected and disorganized. FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS HERE! Call, email, and write your legislators and respectfully demand a virtual option be made available to all Kentucky students. We are still applying pressure and confidently moving forward - but we need to shift our heading slightly. We remain committed and we aren’t giving up.

The petition signatures have slowed a bit this week. We are nearing 10,000 signatures at this point and it’d be pretty powerful if we met that goal by the end of the week, and ramped our pace back up a bit. Please help us do that! As a reminder, we have a non-partisan Facebook group of supporters who, through a coordinated effort, fulfill quick calls to action on social media as their time allows. You can REQUEST TO JOIN HERE! Please remember to answer the group questions so you can be allowed immediate access. We are using #KYVirtual on relevant posts across Facebook.

If you have any helpful connections, now is the time to tap into those. Please feel free to contact me directly with any useful resources or suggestions. If you have an extra $1 or $2, paying for a promotion on the petition is helpful. These boosts significantly increase our visibility. Many of you have donated $20, $30, $50 for promotions. That is so appreciated! But literally every $1 increases our visibility and signatures roll in when our visibility is up. The cause is worthwhile, if only people know. $1 from each of you would buy the petition literally hundreds of thousands of views. Financially contributing isn’t the only way you can help by any means, though; we are also battling an influx of excessive COVID news and the subsequent fatigue. Meaningful visibility is most significant, so please share the petition and comment why you’re sharing. Do the appropriate thank-yous and follow-ups as your time allows. 

Thanks to each of you. There are nearly 9,000 of you now, which is absolutely incredible. I started this petition from my living room while lounging on my recliner. I sat praying and wrestling with internal debate and worry for my kids and yours - and I’m endlessly shocked that it’s been seen nearly 100,000 times and been shared thousands of times, too. In other ways, though, I’m also not so shocked, as the cause easily crosses party lines and appeals universally. In this time of absolute madness, maybe it will bring us comfort that there are literally almost 9,000 others right here in the Bluegrass State who feel similarly. Take care. 

Back to work!

AR McCrady