The community gathering is a part of an initiative stemming from the Jan. 21 Women’s March in Washington D.C.
After attending the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, Moorestown resident Lauren Romano, her sister Alisa Thiede and their friend Jack Fairchild sought to bring the day’s messages back home. In doing so, they have taken on the roles of organizers of several follow-up actions, with a second community “huddle” to be held on Sunday, March 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Moorestown.
“I didn’t want to exist in a solely negative space about the (presidential) election results,” Romano said. “I wanted to find ways that I could bring about small positive changes.”
Part of the Women’s March “10 Actions for the First 100 Days campaign,” these community-wide “huddles” are designed to help communities “be positive, inclusive, action-oriented and grounded in the tradition of nonviolent resistance.” Thus far, there have been 5,107 organized huddles nationwide.
“[The huddles are] providing an opportunity for people to voice their concerns, hear the concerns of others, offer guidance and ideas, support and resources as we establish community-based actions,” Romano said.
She added the Moorestown huddle has enabled community members who were previously unfamiliar with each other to come together to voice to their concerns with a particular emphasis on existing community resources and opportunities. Separate to its original purpose, the Moorestown huddle has also served to provide a sense of community to the residents who feel alienated by the current federal administration, and who need affirmation they live among like-minded individuals.
In creating this sense of comfort in numbers, Romano considers the organized charter bus she rode to the Women’s March as the official launch of the Moorestown Huddle group. From there, the group hosted its next event, a postcard writing party, on Saturday, Feb. 4. With 20 people in attendance, the organizers handed out already-stamped envelopes for people to send hand-written letters to the administration.
Then, on Monday, Feb. 13, the group held its first huddle at a supporter’s home in town. With a turnout of approximately 60 people, the group saw its efforts had not been going unnoticed, and many others around town have gained interest.
“We encourage participation by anyone interested, whether they attended the first huddle or have connections to anyone who did,” Romano said. “I am confident that it is helping to act as a vehicle to help galvanize social action. I am satisfied that it has begun to bring people together, new and longtime members of the community who are alarmed by today’s state of affairs.”
However, Romano added she thinks it is impossible to qualify the success of the group at this stage, as it is so new and is “still finding its footing.” Yet, with 77 people who have asked to remain up-to-date on the huddle events via email, she is proud to be involved in the community’s participation in an ongoing conversation on intersectionality.
Demonstrating the profound impact this group has had on the community thus far, during their participation in the first huddle, Jen Hilinski and Dave Khanlian, owners of the Abandoned Luncheonette, shared their store had been displaying an “All are welcome here” sign. In response, others from the huddle joined as they all walked to other businesses around Moorestown to ask if they wanted signs as well.
“It has been amazing seeing these signs pop up around local stores as a result of their idea and the follow-up from people at the huddle,” Romano said. “We hope to use the concerns of the group to offer specific issue-based huddles going forward with experts to speak to the legal and social reality as well as ways people can become directly involved.”
For more information on the next huddle, visit the group’s Facebook event page.
