Mutual Aid in the Mountains: Learning from Asheville
Thanks largely in part to the members of Academic Grappling and KruFit, I was able to visit Western North Carolina recently to take part in hurricane and flooding relief efforts. I cannot say enough good things about the members of our BJJ and Muay Thai gym. So many individuals came together and donated goods, tools, and funds to go to our friends and neighbors in the affected areas. The community we have built truly came together in a special way. Ultimately, we filled my Jeep front-to-back and top-to-bottom before I left (and we have since filled it twice more!) and headed south.
Demolish the Closet Recap
On Easter Sunday, we helped organize and sponsor an event called Demolish the Closet in which we showed up and showed out in support of our transgender friends and family. As many know, we have had a rising tide of anti-trans legislation sweeping across the nation riding on a wave of misinformation and outright falsehoods. This surge in anti-trans laws has also sparked a surge in violence against the trans community.
From Pancakes to Provisions: How We Became Mutual Aid Over Everything
Last November, we began volunteering with a local mutual aid organization, Because of Adam in order to provide food to our unhoused neighbors here in Indianapolis. The service we provide has since grown and expanded and shifted and I felt it would be good to update everyone on what we do and how we have changed our goals over the last year, and how we went from calling ourselves Indy Pancake Popup to Mutual Aid Over Everything.