Youth led climate advocacy group the Sunrise Movement is asking supporters to host launch parties on Wednesday for the 2020 effort to pass the Green New Deal and back the presidential candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has made addressing the climate crisis a major issue in his campaign.
The launch is aimed at raising energy around the “Our Plan to Win” strategy the group is employing to help Sanders win the Democratic nomination and then the White House.
“For the first time in our lives, we have an opportunity to elect a president who will stand up to fossil fuel billionaires and fight with the urgency science demands to give all of us a chance at a just and prosperous future,” the group said in a statement.
“But to make that a reality, it’s going to take all of us,” Sunrise continued. “We need millions of young people along with allies of all ages to join climate strikes, organize their communities and then turn out in force in November to decide this election.”
In a video announcing the launch, a member of Sunrise addresses the camera and tells viewers that the fate of the country—and maybe the world—is in their hands.
“Whether we can pull it off,” the Sunrise member says in the video, “is up to you and me.”
According to the group, all potential hosts need to have are:
- A screen (a laptop, a TV or a projector)
- A couch
- A handful of people from your dorm, class, workplace or neighborhood
The group provides “two epic mini-documentaries taking us through what’s at stake, why we need a Green New Deal and our plan to win; and a suggested format for the evening and all the support and training you need to pull it off with confidence.”
According to the Guardian, Sunrise is using the parties as part of a strategy to rally its large base of supporters:
Through 2020, the Sunrise Movement will similarly activate its 300 chapters in support of Bernie Sanders, leveraging 10,000 volunteers in most of the 50 states for door knocks, voting pledges, and climate education. Sunrise endorsed Sanders as the best-positioned candidate to lead a Green New Deal and address income inequality.
The launch parties are scheduled across the U.S. all day Wednesday, January 29.
We are now only ONE DAY AWAY from our 2020 launch parties where people across the country will be gathering to learn what it will take to make 2020 the historical year we need to win.
There still time to sign up to host your own! https://t.co/7yndXCjXg4
— Sunrise Movement (@sunrisemvmt) January 28, 2020
Find an event near you, or register to host a party, here.