A Letter to the greater Keep Going Together community from KGT Facilitator, Susan McCulley. Sunday, November 8, 2026
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TL;DR
Wow.
Thank you.
Now:
1. Celebrate.
2. Rest.
3. Imagine what’s next (and offer your ideas below!)
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Sweet mother of mystery, everybody.
What an election!
I had hoped for a positive outcome in the midterms. And since hope is an action, I worked for those outcomes as best I could. What happened honestly left me stunned, amazed, and grateful.
I am grateful for each and every one of you who, over the past two deeply dark and difficult years, showed up, spoke out, made calls, made art, knocked doors, held signs, protested, sang, danced, chanted, worked polls, had difficult conversations, and encouraged each other when it felt like all was lost.
We all did this. Together, we did this. And I could not be more grateful.
I am still processing what this means – for the country, for our community, and for Keep Going Together. So today, just a few days out from the election – after listening to a kazillion podcasts and reading a haystack of articles – please consider the following:
1. Celebrate. As a Type A person, I am quick to skip this part(y). I rarely trust a win. I usually go straight to the OK-what’s-next Camp. Despite my tendencies, I sincerely believe this is a mistake. Please celebrate. Gather with folks you’ve worked with. Share a meal and a bubbly beverage. Tell stories. Remind each other about what we’ve been through and what we’ve done together. Write a note of thanks to someone who inspired you. Share how working in community both helped you through the dark times and showed a way to what is possible.
2. Rest. Take some time. Walk in the woods. Turn off your phone. Dance in your kitchen. Read a book that’s not about politics. Make or take in some art. Snuggle with beloveds – both human and not. Like celebration, our jacked up nervous systems can tell us to skip this. Please don’t. Please rest.
3. Imagine. We have found ourselves in a new landscape – not at a destination but a point of departure. This election was not an endorsement of Democrats but a rebuke of the sh*t show that is Trump and MAGA. Voters said they are sick of the chaos and cruelty and disgusted with where we are. Now we need to take bold, courageous action to actually change things for the better for everybody.
The mission of Keep Going Together is to stand with and support the most vulnerable people, organizations, and environments in our community. So far, we’ve done this by:
Fundraising for local nonprofits
Volunteering our time and skills
Educating by speaking at local meetings, providing community trainings and hosting events
Responding to urgent community needs including joyfully protesting.
Last fall, when the cruelty of the Trump regime stooped to starving those in the deepest need, KGT chose two things to focus on: feeding hungry neighbors and getting out the vote.
We helped provide food in our community by helping to stock the Charlottesville High School food pantry. We volunteered to help pack food boxes for seniors at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
We created and sustained the KGT Bread and Eggs Fund which allowed SNAP recipients to supplement their benefits with bread, eggs, and other staples from the Farmer’s Market at IX. You can see more about it here.
https://www.keepgoingtogether.org/events/keep-going-together-bread-amp-egg-fund
KGT was also part of the coalition of organizations that created the Grocery Card Campaign which offered emergency grocery cards to immigrant families impacted by the ICE raids and other detrimental circumstances. We have raised more than $69,000 which has gone directly to those who need it most. You can see more about the GCC program here.
https://www.keepgoingtogether.org/events/grocery-card-campaign
We also worked closely with Indivisible Charlottesville and other organizations to get out the vote for the historic Nov 3 midterm elections. While the Democrat, Tom Perriello, didn’t win, turn out and enthusiasm was extraordinarily high and all three state constitutional amendments passed.
Now, I’m encouraging us to pause, breathe, rest, celebrate and imagine. Where do you think KGT should focus our energy and attention in the coming months? I’m looking forward to the release of Indivisible’s new guide on November 19 with their suggestions for next steps.
AND while I do believe we have a responsibility to speak up to our representatives at the local, state and national level, I also am committed to continuing our local support of the most vulnerable, the ones who need it most.
So now that we are standing at the edge of a new landscape, I’m asking you to recalibrate and imagine, where shall we move next together? Please comment below with your ideas. What do you have energy and excitement for? Where do you see the highest need? How do you think we can most effectively reduce suffering and harm?
We will gather all our ideas together, add in ideas from trusted organizations and present a more formal poll later this month. Please make your voice and ideas heard and together we will see where we venture out next.
Let’s keep going together,
Susan