There's ALWAYS blood drives happening in community locations, and you can go to banks to donate as well.

www.redcross.org/give-blood.h...

If we really get to make a wish list, I'd like us all to be on MediCARE. An absolute gamechanger for my parents, especially my dad's complex issues, and that's from a family that had "decent" private coverage before.

We are in a new, complex, ever-changing era of policymaking. Intermediary orgs like mine (www.instituteforchildsuccess.org) and others are incredible resources to help states & local communities interpret federal changes, to plan and to pivot. We need this sector.

Change is constant. Collaboration is essential.

When SNAP funds ran dry, states talked to each other & experts in and out of gov't to act quickly. I saw resources from @centeronbudget.bsky.social & Natl Center for Children in Poverty esp used www.instituteforchildsuccess.org/state-snap-p...

Even for non-funding responses, states got creative - activating National Guard and emergency protocols that are intended for natural disasters. (And, some states noted they COULDN'T issue states of emergency as the conditions were not met)

What really caught my interest was where states FOUND THE MONEY for either strategy when #SNAP froze. We found a tremendous range of innovative, nimble funding strategies, from unspent TANF to health care savings to - in Alaska- a water infrastructure program

About 2/3 of states/territories increase funding specifically to food pantries/banks which saw a tremendous demand increase as SNAP funds disappeared.

Next most common strategy was actual $$ to SNAP recipients - but just 24% of states did this.

This really struck me from how people reacted to your posts (and challenged my internal biases). If you tweeted you were having a diabetic emergency AND you'd spoken to your doctor, had a care plan etc - no one would be emailing your husband or calling 911. They would trust you and your med team.

The hardest thing will be leaving our school, ps33. Apparently once our older kid told the class the news got outside of his classroom to the extent where the principal asked me about this rumor she was hearing LOL

Thank you! If you had asked us even 6 months ago we were not planning on leaving Jersey City but we sort of stumbled into the conversation over the summer and it just made so much sense. It will be Bittersweet for sure!

Rahway, which is very very funny as someone who grew up in Linden! We'll be closer to our support network and have a garage that can support my husband's business. It's a walkable neighborhood too which is very exciting!!