3rd Annual Women’s March
The 3rd Annual Women’s March will be held this year on January 19th and locally, men and women of all ages and generations will be gathering at the John Dam Plaza in Richland for a rally and march, with a resource fair to follow at Fuse!
The goal of the annual marches is to advocate direct action and intersectionality regarding human rights and other issues including women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, worker rights and tolerance. The mission of the Tri-Cities 3rd annual Women’s March is to foster personal responsibility, commitment, vulnerability, connections, and gratitude.
In a conversation with Carly Coburn, Communications Director of Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and Idaho—one of this year’s organizers, Coburn expressed that, “a lot of people show up to this march and there is an air of hopefulness that surrounds everyone”.
Last year’s event brought over 1,000 community members and with already well over 600 people planning on attending in this year’s march, the community involvement for this year is inspiring and met with excitement by organizers putting together this year’s march.
The event will kick off with a rally featuring speakers including Zahra Roach, former candidate for Franklin County Commissioner and wife of our own Fuse member, John Roach; Nancy Peterson, disability advocate with Columbia Basin College; Blanche Barajas with Pasco City Council, and many more!
Following the rally and march, there will be a Resource fair held at our very own Fuse SPC. Organizations including PFLAG Benton Franklin, Tri Cities Pride Festival, Planned Parenthood, Spectra Gallery, and vendors, will be ready to answer questions, provide information, and share opportunities for involvement. This event will be a great place to get more information on how you can donate your own time or resources with local organizations that help so many people in our community every day. A canned food drive will also be held during the resource fair for New Horizons High School located in Pasco. Food collections from this drive will go towards benefiting students from New Horizons and Columbia Basin College, who utilize the food pantry located at New Horizons.
The 3rd Annual Women’s March is an opportunity for the Tri Cities to connect with one another for the purpose of advocating change, while also celebrating unity and love for each other in the Columbia Basin. Join the movement at the John Dam Plaza on the 19th at 2:00pm. Let us support, celebrate, and advocate for the friends, colleagues, and loved ones in our lives!