Change.org Petition: Shut Down the Austin Aquarium

Shut Down the Austin Aquarium 2,100 have signed Madhavi Subramaniam’s petition. Let’s get to 2,500!

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The Austin Aquarium is a for-profit, private business that has been cited for violating the Animal Welfare Act just last year, and isn’t certified under the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). A two-month long undercover investigation revealed that the aquarium regularly abuses its animals and displays a lack of care for both their visitors and employees. Animals are kept in cramped conditions, are denied veterinary care, and are regularly subjected to "interactions" with their often-young visitors with little to no supervision. Due to these conditions, animals exhibit strange, repetitive behaviors due to their lack of enrichment and constant (and forced) interactions with visitors.  The lack of supervision makes it so that it’s not just the animals that are hurt by the aquarium – it’s their patrons, who are often children. That same investigation showed that 12 visitors were bitten by lemurs and a kinkajou in just a two-month period, including a boy as young as 7 years old. The Austin Aquarium has a practice of not caring about their visitors, their employees, or their animals. That practice is reflected in the owner’s history. The Covino family, the founder of this aquarium, has faced hundreds of incidents including visitor attacks, animal injuries and deaths, and USDA citations over the past decade.  By allowing this company to continue operating in Austin, we simultaneously endorse the abuse that it imposes on their animals and visitors. For this reason, the Austin Aquarium should not be allowed to continue operating in our city. Sign this petition now to end the abuse, suffering, and needless pain that this aquarium necessitates.

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Change.org Petition: Ensure Equal Access to Life-saving PrEP Medication!

Ensure Equal Access to Life-saving PrEP Medication! 15,512 have signed Heba Mohiuddin’s petition. Let’s get to 25,000!

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My dad was nearly my age when he left his family and everything he knew to move to the United States completely alone. He came seeking a better life for his children. Better education, better opportunity, and, above all, better healthcare. He reasoned a healthcare system that offered an additional ten years of life for his children was worth it.   Unfortunately, the healthcare system as we know it is eroding. Slowly, but surely, political extremists are filing cases to try and deny Americans access to lifesaving medication, including HIV-preventing medicine (PrEP). With cases in Texas, California, and Pennsylvania (and many more), scientifically inaccurate and discriminatory ideas have been used to justify blocking equal access.  These targeted attacks to equal access are specifically horrific when it comes to PrEP, an HIV-preventing medication. We have medicine that is more than 99% effective in completely preventing the contraction of HIV/AIDS, yet hundreds of thousands of lives are taken each year from HIV/AIDS. PrEP is so effective, in fact, that when it was introduced in 2012, HIV diagnoses dropped from 11.1% to 0.7% IN ONE YEAR. Every single President of the past 2 decades has promised to end the HIV epidemic and we have the medicine to end it, so why do we still have to fight for it?  These attacks on our freedom and health are even more unfathomable as we recover from the destruction of COVID-19. Even wIth 2 years of readily available COVID vaccines, we are only now able to imagine a world without COVID. We are aware of how important access to medicine is and it is absolutely imperative for our healthcare system to prioritize our health and justice over inequity.  Every case attacking equal access brings us further from the country my father imagined for his children. It is time to end the HIV epidemic. This petition recognizes the need for equal access to PrEP, an HIV-preventing medication. Join us in ensuring Equitable Access to life-saving medication and help us pass our bill, The Strengthening Advancements in HIV Prevention Act.

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Change.org Petition: Strengthen North Carolina Hazing Laws In Colleges - Harrison Kowiak Anti Hazing Bill

Strengthen North Carolina Hazing Laws In Colleges - Harrison Kowiak Anti Hazing Bill 2,532 have signed Lianne Kowiak’s petition. Let’s get to 5,000!

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At the age of 19, our beautiful son and brother, Harrison Kowiak, lost his life senselessly to a fraternity hazing. He was attending Lenoir Rhyne University on an academic and golf scholarship.  No parent should ever send their child off to college and not have them come home. No one should have to die to belong to an organization. Hazing causes physical and emotional harm. For the survivors, the long-term after-effects are similar to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  The loss of a son/sibling/grandchild/cousin/nephew/best friend is devastating. Harrison had so much potential, a life tragically taken from him at 19. Sadly, nothing will bring him back. This is why I speak on college campuses across the country sharing Harrison’s story. TOGETHER, we must stand up to hazing to ensure this doesn’t happen again and again.  The laws in North Carolina need to be strengthened to deter individuals from hazing. Basically, those involved in Harrison’s hazing received a "slap on the hand", it was a misdemeanor. I wanted to see Harrison graduate from college and secure his first job, and marry and have children one day. All of that was taken away from him.   In 2008 when Harrison died from his injuries on a field off campus, he was tackled multiple times and was severely injured from a traumatic brain injury. I implore you to call 911 should there be an emergency. Don’t waste precious minutes wondering what to do! Your actions to call 911 could possibly save a life! Hazing happens as young as middle school through high school and college and it’s not limited to fraternity and sorority life. It happens in the military, athletics, performing arts groups, bands, camps, etc.  Not taking action now in strengthening the North Carolina hazing laws can lead to more hazing injuries and deaths. We must stand up to hazing to ensure the safety of students. The hazing bill in Harrison’s name will hold individuals accountable for their actions. Individuals and loved ones will be able to research an organization at a university to see if they have any infractions. Greater transparency will enable individuals to make informed decisions as to whether or not they want to join an organization.  Tougher hazing laws in North Carolina will make individuals think twice about hazing others if they know they could be charged with a felony or serve time in jail and jeopardize their future with a record.  The time to act is NOW, before the NC legislation reconvenes in January 2023. This bill needs to be voted upon swiftly to ensure no one else is injured or dies from senseless hazing. Please support me and my family in our efforts to create a safer environment for university students in N.C.   Thank you. https://www.antihazingcoalition.org/

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Jinishian Jottings - Conditions are Dire in Lebanon

Glimmers of hope in a failed state

The past four years have been turbulent for Lebanon. Like ripples in a pond, each difficulty has had a pervasive effect — leaving its people on the verge of hopelessness and despair. Skyrocketing unemployment rates, a currency devaluation of more than 90%, medication scarcity, zero electricity, high rent and the deterioration of health sectors are causing people to live in dire conditions, affecting the mental health of people old and young and leading to family breakdown and violence. Armenian families living in Lebanon find themselves feeling hopeless and paralyzed. Families who used to lend a hand to help others now need help for themselves.   Yet, in these dark moments of despair, JMP serves as a beacon of light for thousands of Armenian families. With your help, JMP puts faith into action delivering a variety of services with a staff that operates with compassion and respect. We witness lives change — children experiencing academic success and improving their social skills, vulnerable seniors smiling with dignity, families moving toward sustainable and self-reliant lives, and chronic patients regularly receiving their medication.   We’ve watched the transformation of Azad, a 76-year-old woman with chronic illness. She lives with her physically and mentally challenged brother in a dank basement with a cracked and rotting ceiling. An accident had left Azad, the main provider, without work and any means of income. She was terrified that she and her brother could starve to death, and she was burdened with despair. Now, JMP provides a monthly allowance for their basic needs, free medication and help with hospitalization payments. Azad feels at home when she comes to the office, knowing that the social worker will boost her self-esteem and give her the hope she needs to survive. She feels dignified, cared for and supported. In her own words and fighting through tears, Azad says: “Without Jinishian, life would have been hell for me and my brother. I don’t know if we would have survived.”

We’ve seen a remarkable change in Diana, a 17-year-old who lives in a small, run-down apartment with her parents and three younger siblings. Her father is unemployed, and her mother works as a cleaning lady earning minimum wage, which doesn’t even cover rent.   The family struggles to survive from day to day with no proper food, hygiene, clothing and furniture. They sometimes eat only once a day and most nights the children go to bed on an empty stomach. Diana dropped out of school because of the family’s financial difficulties and her broken self-esteem. Desperate, her mother was encouraged to seek help at the JMP office where she enrolled Diana in JMP’s program for teenage girls. Through weekly gatherings and one-on-one sessions with a social worker, Diana regained her self-esteem. With JMP’s financial support, Diana is currently studying child care at a technical school and has dreams of having her own nursery. Diana credits JMP for “bringing her out of a dark abyss” and changing her life. For the first time since she can remember, Diana feels hope for her future.

Please consider making your best gift to help JMP serve the most vulnerable in Lebanon. Your gift can make a difference to a senior, a teenager or a family in need. The scope of needs is vast, but knowing they have support, we strive to give people, like Azad and Diana, the gift of hope and dignity.

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14)

Eliza Minasyan, Executive Director Jinishian Memorial Program   In gratitude

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Your gifts go directly to build up health, faith, farms and businesses by empowering local JMP teams in Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Artsakh and Georgia. To make the greatest impact, consider making a monthly gift.   Thank you for standing in unity with Armenian Christian leaders to share God’s love with the most vulnerable and to build a brighter future for all!

Spreading the Vision of Matthew 25 across the Church

The PC(USA) believes that we are called to serve Jesus by contributing to the well-being of the most vulnerable in all societies – rural and urban, small and large, young and not-so-young. From affordable housing to community gardens to equitable educational and employment opportunities to healing from addiction and mental illness to enacting policy change – there is not just one way to be a part of the Matthew 25 movement.

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