It’s an understatement to say that it has been an eventful few months since our last newsletter.

The American election and its aftermath, the Canadian government’s turn about on election reform, the continued government failure to address and alleviate significant issues in indigenous communities, the Ontario Attorney General’s lobbying for the elimination of preliminary inquiries in criminal trials, the absence of meaningful police reform, the City of Toronto’s budget cuts to housing, the federal Conservative party’s leadership race, the federal NDP leadership race….not to mention the many events outside of North America. It seems like we are heading for some darker times.

But not necessarily so. Our collective efforts are needed now, more than ever. Voices of reason, of inclusiveness, of acceptance, of truth and honesty, and of compassion must rise together and push back against voices of polarization. That’s where you and we come in.

There are two steps you can take to easily grow our movement:

Make a $10 donation to All IN by going here. If every person on our list donates $10, then we will be able to rent part time space at the Centre for Social Innovation for 6 months, where we’ll be able to more easily collaborate with other progressive organizations and individuals, and organize two public events. But we need each and every one of you to make that donation, now. If you prefer to send a cheque, please write to our Founder, Dyanoosh Youssefi, at [email protected] for details.

Get involved, share your ideas, and contribute your expertise. We need people with accounting and fundraising experience, as well as those interested in communication. If you want to get more involved, send us your resume along with a cover letter. We are all volunteers in this together!

The last couple of months:

On December 14, 2016, All IN participated in a City of Toronto Budget Town hall, organized by Social Planning Toronto. Dyanoosh Youssefi moderated the event. We are looking forward to continued collaboration with Social Planning Toronto and like-minded organizations in the future

Dyanoosh wrote a letter to then Honourable M.P. and Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion about Canada’s responsibility to help end the devastating war in Syria. She also wrote a letter to Marco Mendicino, M.P. for Eglinton-Lawrence, about the government’s abandonment of its promise to reform the Canadian electoral system. Because of timing issues, these two letters were sent personally, and not on behalf of All IN.

What’s next:

The Steering Committee and interested others will meet later in March to discuss next steps.