Midlands Gives: Tell Them

Midlands Gives is a day for the midlands to give back to their community; for 24 hours on May 3rd, we come together as one community to raise awareness and funds for our local nonprofits.

Auntie Bellum’s staffers have chosen a few of the many midlands charities to highlight in the week leading up to Midlands Gives.

Brittany’s choice: Tell Them

Last night, when I sat down with Tell Them’s Director of Advocacy, Eme Crawford over a glass of wine in the broken shade of my balcony, I told her, “Every time I talk to you, I get so angry.” She laughed. My anger is usually quickly diminished because while it is endlessly infuriating the lengths to which the legislature will go to attempt to stifle or outright refuse the rights of women in our state, Tell Them will always be there to take a stand, and as they’ve proven over the years, often come out victorious.

For ten years, Tell Them has worked to build a network of over 20,000 South Carolinians in support of responsible reproductive health policies. Each legislative session, they organize community members to advocate for women’s health initiatives, reproductive rights, prevention of STIs and pregnancy in young people, and whatever else the House and Senate decide to throw their way — which lately has been quite a lot. This past year alone, Tell Them has won several hard-fought battles. The Cervical Cancer Prevention Act, sponsored by Representative Beth Bernstein among others, was finally signed into law even after Senator Lee Bright attempted to kill it. Tell Them successfully stopped a personhood measure through subcommittee by gathering dozens of women to give testimony — this just a day after their annual Bee Day. They have kept the 20-week abortion ban at bay, a feat quite incredible considering the climate in the states surrounding South Carolina. And in an effort to broaden their efforts they have worked in coalition with SC Equality and Planned Parenthood to squash S.1203, the infamous bathroom bill. Not only has this measure been a giant leap back in the fight for civil rights for the transgender community, but it has also proved economically catastrophic in other areas (see North Carolina’s HB2). We can probably thank the efforts of Tell Them and the people they have gathered for putting the pressure on Governor Nikki Haley to ultimately veto the bill should it ever reach her desk.

These are just some of the things that Tell Them is doing, and has been doing for some time, to be certain the women, young people, parents, and countless other communities can sleep soundly knowing that we won’t take unfair and inhumane legislation lying down.

But now for the fun part: Prizes!

If you are the highest donor between 10:00 – 10:59 AM you’ll have lunch with Katrina Shealy, who has worked closely with Tell Them to close loopholes for perpetrators of domestic violence.

If you are the highest donor between 4:00 – 4:59 PM you’ll have lunch with Beth Bernstein, an ally of Tell Them and most recently the sponsor of the successful Cervical Cancer Prevention Act.

AND when donations reach the $5000 mark, those dollars will be matched by a board of directors working closely with Tell Them on an upcoming project you’ll hear more about in the fall.

Please keep Tell Them on your list of organizations to support for this year’s Midlands Gives! We know you care. But on Tuesday, care more. 

Visit the Tell Them website here.