WEEKLY ACTION PROMPTS

WEEK 1: Divest from Elon Musk-Related Companies

Week 1: Divest from Elon Musk-Related Companies, Write to Your Reps Begins

🔴 Boycott/Divest: Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter (X), Neuralink, Starlink, The Boring Company
📧 Write your reps: Contact your congressional reps (template below)

WHY: Do we really need to explain? Besides being a key figure in the hostile takeover of key government agencies and using hackers to get access to all of our personal records from the US Treasury, Elon Musk's businesses have been involved in numerous controversies, from unsafe working conditions at Tesla factories to his involvement in manipulating public discourse through Twitter (X). Musk's companies benefit from heavy government subsidies and tax breaks, yet his wealth continues to skyrocket, while many of his workers are underpaid and overworked. SpaceX’s rocket launches create environmental concerns, and Neuralink has faced accusations of unethical animal testing. Additionally, Musk’s behavior on social media has fueled political division and promoted misinformation, all while influencing policymakers to support his personal agenda. Also, The federal government has awarded over $20 billion in contracts to Elon Musk's companies, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest. As a self-proclaimed "special government employee," Musk has the ability to influence spending decisions that could directly benefit his own business interests. It's time to say "no" to Musk and his companies.

SUGGESTED APPS: Goods Unite Us (see which companies fund red or blue candidates) andr Buycott (an app that let's you choose a cause and shows you which companies support or oppose your cause).

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Cancel Subscriptions to Musk-Related Services:

• Close your Twitter (X) account or significantly reduce your activity on the platform. Leave a review in the app store of why you are leaving.

• Stop using Tesla and consider switching to more sustainable alternatives like electric vehicles from other companies, such as Rivian or Lucid Motors.

• Completly boycott Tesla Chargers

• If you’re invested in any Musk-related stocks, such as Tesla or SpaceX, consider selling them. This sends a direct message to his companies.

✔️ Sign up for ResistBot:

• Text RESIST to 50409 to receive prompts about upcoming elections in your areas, ways to resist, and other important items. It's the most helpful text bot you'll ever meet.

✔️ Switch to Ethical Alternatives:

• Use social media platforms like Mastodon, BlueSky (preferred), or Post for more responsible engagement.

• If you own a Tesla or thinking of purchasing one, then please look for eco-friendly, sustainable vehicle alternatives, such as electric cars from independent manufacturers.

• Cancel Starlink and switch to one of its direct competitors.

• Instead of Tesla Chargers, use ChargePoint or other car charging stations.
  
  

✔️ Take Action to Impact Policy:

• Write to your representatives in Congress with this or a similar message calling for the ending of Musk contracts.

• Sign Common Cause's Fire Elon Musk petition.
  
  

✔️ Invest in Ethical Companies:

• Shift your investment towards companies that prioritize sustainability, fair labor practices, and responsible leadership. Research companies that actively work toward reducing inequality and environmental harm, like Rivian, Lucid (Telsa's Competitors).
  
  

✔️ Post Public Reviews and Feedback:

• If you have used any Musk-related services, post a public review explaining why you are divesting from these companies. Use platforms like Google, social media, or review sites to voice your opinion. Ask others to divest and use #FireMusk #BoycottTesla on your posts. Feel free to share THIS graphic with your post.

  
  

💡 Learn:

• Start researching about carpooling and other alternatives to driving solo. Could you form a carpool with your group?
  

👯‍♂️👯‍♂️ Four for All Group Activity (optional)

Purpose: Come together with others in person or on a call to share your experiences and resources after divesting from Musk-related companies.

Share:
a. Check in and see how you are all doing
b. Share your concerns related to Musk
c. Share ways you are learning to deal with anxiety

Create a “carpool” with your group (if you live nearby) or a carpool with 1-2 others in your local community (if your micro group lives distantly from one another).

Ask group members:
a. How their attitudes toward consumerism and corporate influence have changed.
b. What impact they’ve experienced from moving away from Musk-related companies.
c. How they feel now that they are free from supporting his businesses.
d. What they will continue to do to support ethical companies moving forward.
e. What new alternatives have they discovered that they plan to use in the future?
f. Keep Group Members accountable and ask if they have completed one of the actions.

WEEK 2: Amazon Detox

Week 2: Amazon Detox Begins

🔴 Boycott/Divest: Amazon (Prime, Kindle, Audible, Whole Foods, Alexa)
📢 Share: Urge others to do the same and list the reasons why

WHY: Amazon has faced multiple allegations of violating workers' rights, pays zero to very little taxes despite earning billions of dollars, dominates marketplaces cutting out small businesses, creates massive waste and other environmental concerns, and has been alleged to misuse users’ private information. Amazon also spends millions of dollars annually to lobby congress to pass laws in big corporate’s interest.

Bezos donated to 47’s inauguration and he owns the Washington Post which allows him to shape the political narrative. Recently the Washington Post refused to run an ad by Common Cause calling for Musk to be fired, and Bezzos has dictated what the Post’s editorial department can write. Free press? We think not. Also, Amazon recently bough MGM Studios, which will further allow the corporate overlord to control the messages to the public. Say “no” to Bezos and Amazon.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THIS APPROACH: "I can't do without my 2-day delivery."

REBUTTAL: Can you do without your freedom?

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Cancel Subscriptions to one or all of these: Amazon Prime, Amazon Video, Amazon Music, Audible, Washington Post. Quit shopping at Whole Foods. For those hardcore folks, we dare you to go cold turkey and completely stop using all Amazon services. For those more chill folks, please start phasing out all Amazon services one by one in your own time so as not to shock your system. Don’t have a prime subscription but still shop with Amazon? Then start reducing your purchases with Amazon by 20% every month. We’ve provided a list of alternatives to all Amazon companies mentioned later on in this article.

✔️ Sell any Amazon stocks if you have them (if you can bare to). This may be a hard one for Amazon Shareholders, but it’s a move that really strikes home with the company.

✔️ After leaving Amazon, review each company app in the app or play store and explain why you will no longer interact with the company. Leave 1 star. "I'm leaving Amazon Music because I can't support a company that spends millions to lobby congress annually, uses media (Washington Post) to control the political narrative, and creates massive waste. #DumpAmazon"

📢 Share on social media. Urge others to divest from Amazon too with THIS image and text prompt 👉 : 🚨 It’s time to divest from #Amazon! Your money has power—don’t fund corruption, exploitation, monopolies, and oligarchies. Switch to ethical alternatives today! ✊💰 #DivestFromAmazon #PeopleOverProfits #EthicalInvesting #BoycottAmazon

ALTERNATIVES:

🟢Audible Alternatives: Audiobooks.com (paid and better than audible); Libby App (Gives free access to thousands of audiobooks and multiple libraries with a library card); Libro.fm is an app to stream audiobooks through your chosen bookstore, giving you the power to keep your money within your local economy.
🟢Free Internet Libaries: Internet Archive (Free access to millions of digital books from libraries in the US and around the globe).
🟢Books: Bookshop.org offers tons of books to buy online, and unlike Amazon, it's ethical and every book you buy supports an independent bookstore. Buy your books at These are just a few to name.
🟢Prime Video Alternatives: PBS App (free, but you can upgrade for a donation to the full PBS library of videos and shows including NOVA and Masterpiece theatre); Kanopy lets you stream thousands of films for free with your public library card. Netflix, yes it's still a big Corp, but it's upholding its DEI policies and donates to progressive candidates and causes; IndieFlix has a bunch of the contemporary and classic films to stream mixed with some indie films.
🟢Prime Music Alternatives: Jango is a free internet radio app with NO ads! Deezer is a streaming app that pays artists more and has a free version (with ads). Bandcamp lets you support your favorite indie artists. Soundcloud has a free version with ads. iHeartRadio lets you stream your favorite AM/FM radio stations to your phone for free. And you can always get a regular old radio from the thrift store and tune in to the AM/FM stations the old school way for free!
🟢Amazon Online Shopping Alternatives: Ebay, Healthier Homes (non-toxic home decor, furniture, rugs, paint and more), Etsy (Independent sellers), BLK & GRN (online marketplace for black women entrepreneurs selling non-toxic, eco-friendly or 'green' goods)
🟢Tech: Back Market has a great selection of used and refurbished tech. Great deals. Why by new when you can buy used and refurbished at a discount?
🟢Whole Foods Replacement: Thrive Market has all the same organic food, beauty, cleaning products and home goods as whole foods but for less! Imperfect Foods picks up the gaps at Thrive Market. Azure Standard is a wonderful place to get organic, non-gmo foods in regular and bulk portions. Azure has just about anything you can imagine. Type your zip code and find a pickup area near you.
🟢Local: Local shops always win. That doesn't mean Walmart, Target, and other big box stores. Your local mom and pop, independently owned stores and businesses are always the best place to shop first when possible. You may pay a bit more at first, but your dollars are staying in your local community instead of going to a corporate overlord who spends that money on yachts and to influence political policy. Also, check local farms for deals on animals that they raise, butcher and sell. It’s usually less expensive that the retail store and much healthier (no antibiotics and chemicals).
🟢Thrift Stores and 2nd Hand: Buy something second hand. The moment a product leaves the store after purchase (cars, clothes, tech etc) the product value declines. You can usually buy 2nd hand items for a fraction of the price and get the same great usage. Save big. Offer Up is a decent app to buy and sell things second hand also.

💡Learn: Think of a new skill you can start working on to replace something you buy. Suggestion: How to sew basic clothing repairs rather than throwing away items of clothing. Or learn how to make your own vitamin C serum. Why? Because this reduces your purchases, saves you money, and keeps your money out of the hands of corporate oligarchs who are taking over our government.

🧘Daily Meditation Prompt: (optional) for those spiritual (or anxiety rich) folks
💜Take a moment to pause. Breathe in deeply... and exhale slowly. Again... in... and out. One more time... in... and out.
💜Now, listen. What are two things you are grateful for right now? Let them fill your heart with warmth.
💜With that gratitude in mind, close your eyes and imagine the best possible outcome of events unfolding. See the world you long for—the kindness, the justice, the peace. Let it become vivid in your mind.
💜Hold this vision for a few moments. Let it guide you today.

👯‍♂️👯‍♂️Four for All Group Activity: (optional)

Watch the documentary- Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy. (Preview) It's a 2024 Netflix documentary that explores how corporations like Amazon manipulate consumers into overspending. The film includes interviews with former Amazon employees and other industry insiders. Then, get together in-person or on a call and share specific resources, tips, and hacks group members have discovered since beginning your Amazon Detox.

1. Share:
   a. Favorite local shops or small businesses.
   b. Websites or apps that offer products you used to buy on Amazon.
   c. Strategies for finding the best deals and discounts.
   d. Sustainable and eco-friendly shopping practices.

2. Create a “resource map” all group members can access which highlights new shopping alternatives.

3. Ask group members:
   a. To reflect on how their shopping habits have changed
   b. What positive impacts have they experienced?
   c. How do they feel now that they are amazon-free?
   d. What will they continue to do moving forward?
   e. What will they do differently moving forward?

Week 3: Urgent - Contact Of Your Reps

🔥WHAT HAPPENED: The Congress cut Medicaid by $880 Billion dollars. DOGE (Musk) fired 1,400 workers from Veterans Affairs (VA). They're planning on cutting 15% more of the VA workforce and terminating over 500 VA contracts, which will put our veterans' and health and safety at risk. The Department of Education's workforce has been cut in half, with 50% of the staff being fired, and $900 million in funding removed from the public school system. This will have huge impacts on education for our youth. Now they're taking aim at big cuts to Social Security calling it an "Entitlement." Some people are starting to report that their SS was suddenly terminated without explanation.

Medicare will be next.

The Truth About Entitlements: Our veterans are entitled to the VA because they gave their service and risked their lives. And our elderly are entitled to Medicare, and Social Security because they've paid into these programs for their entire working lives. Public education is a staple of a healthy democracy. Medicaid gives basic medical care to our most vulnerable including the poor, old, and under-served. Those in Congress making these choices earn $174,000 annually, get many tax benefits, and have full health/dental/vision benefits. Meanwhile, the rest of us live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to afford healthcare. We all pay taxes into these programs and we ARE entitled to them.

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Write to your representatives in Congress by going https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member. Click their "Contact" link and tell them to keep their hands off Social Security and Medicare, reinstate VA workers and contracts, reinstate workers to the Education Department and funding, refund Medicaid. Urge them to write you back and tell you what their plan is. You can use THIS template letter or draft one of your own for your reps' online fillable forms or to print out and mail to them.

✔️ Post on Social Media and urge others to write to their representatives too. Here is a template post: Please write to your representatives and tell them to keep their hands off Social Security & Medicare, refund Medicaid, and reinstate VA Workers now, rehire the Education Department works and refund their contracts. Find your rep by going to https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member.

✔️ Help others write to their reps: Some older people may not know what is going on. Do your elderly parents know? Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors? It's important that they do because these changes affect them directly. Have a discussion with some older people you know. Tell them what is going on. Ask them to write to their representatives in Congress. Offer to assist them if they need it.

✔️ Do you have friends, family or know someone in a red state? Reach out to them and talk about the the firings as the VA and how it's putting our Veterans' at risk. Talk about the defunding of Medicaid and the Education Department and how these are affecting rural hospitals and and education to young people. Talk to them about Social Security and Medicare being at risk. Then ask them to please contact their representatives. Offer to assist them if needed.

✔️Donate: Donate to 1 or more organizations that are actively working to combat the Trump / Musk Admin's policies like Democracy Forward, Indivisible, ACLU, Common Cause, or one of your choosing. No amount is too small. If you can send $5 then that is sufficient. Send more if you desire.

✔️Continue to boycott Tesla, Amazon, Whole Foods and all Amazon related companies (including the Washington Post and MGM Studios).

👯‍♂️👯‍♂️Four for All Group Activity:

Purpose: Learn to use more factual sources to stay aware of what the government is doing.

1. As a group, subscribe to the Library of Congress to track bills being sent to the President from Congress.

   1. Go to https://www.loc.gov/subscribe, scroll all the way down to Law & Legislation area and subscribe on one or all of the following:

      1. Bills Presented to the President

      2. House Floor Today

      3. Senate Floor today

   2. As you receive daily or weekly alerts (whichever you choose) about congressional activity, contact your Congressional Reps and:

      1. Demand they act only in your best interest.

      2. Tell them they work for you.

      3. Thank them when they do something right

2. Keep group members accountable. Check on each other and ask:

   1. Did you call regarding Bill XYZ?

   2. What did you say?

   3. How do you feel after taking action?

🧘Daily Meditation Prompt: (optional)
💜Take a moment to pause. Breathe in deeply... and exhale slowly. Again... in... and out. One more time... in... and out.
💜Now, listen. What are two things you are grateful for right now? Let them fill your heart with warmth.
💜With that gratitude in mind, close your eyes and imagine the best possible outcome of events unfolding. See the world you long for—the kindness, the justice, the peace. Let it become vivid in your mind.
💜Hold this vision for a few moments. Let it guide you today.

Week 4: Moderate Meta - Reclaim Your Digital Power

🔴 Boycott/Reduce/Call Out: Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Oculus VR)
📢 Share: Call for others to do the same (top ad spenders, investors, users of Meta Platforms)

WHY: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, and Oculus VR recently made policy changes that ditch fact-checking and allow for dehumanizing language and hate speech. For example, the policy now permits users to refer to LGBTQ people as mentally ill based on their identities. It also ditched its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Over the years, there have also been Facebook data breaches where your personal information was at risk. Finally, let’s not forget how Facebook allowed the Russian Government and the the 2016 Trump campaign to sow disinformation and target individuals to win that election.

Meta also spends millions annually ($24.4 mil in 2024) through lobbyists to influence congress in its favor. Plus, Zuck donated to the inauguration, and he's buying a property in DC so he can be close to King Baby and help him rule. Need we say more?

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Delete or minimize usage of Meta (Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp)—Replace instagram with BlueSky, Mastodon, Signal, Circle Communities, or Discord for your social media fix. Bluesky is the easiest switch. Most of these apps are open source, and aim to decentralize social media, meaning no single entity controls the platform.

✔️Switch from WhatsApp to Signal. This messaging app works just like WhatsApp (it’s double encrypted, you can set a pin, desktop and phone app, video calls etc), and it’s not owned by a huge tech pirate.

✔️ Leave reviews for Meta apps (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp...) in app stores, and write a review saying why you’re leaving. Be specific. For example, you might cite Meta’s dehumanizing policies, lack of fact-checking, and/or security risks.

✔️ Donate: Democracy Docket (fights election disinformation and works to preserve democracy). Or choose an organization of your choosing like the ACLU. Donate as little as $5. Small donations really add up.

✔️ Recruit others to begin divesting and participating in weekly action. Send them our Toolkit link directly and/or post to social media.

✔️ Divest: Do you have Facebook stock? Sell it.

✔️ Post: Post to social media and tag Meta's biggest shareholders @blackrock @vanguard @fidelity @jpmorgan with THIS image and tell them to #Divest from #Meta now!

✔️ Post: Go to Meta's Ad Library and start searching for ad spenders. In a separate tab create a FB post tagging each of the big ad spenders of your choice and call for them to #StopMetaAdSpending on #MetaPlatforms now! Feel free to list the reasons why. I.E. Meta is no longer fact checking, spreading misinformation etc..

👯‍♂️👯‍♂️Four for All Group Activity:

Purpose: Learn to use more factual sources to stay aware of what the government is doing.

1. As a group, read this article from the ACLU about privacy law and big tech’s influence on them.

2. Discuss among yourselves, what would less privacy mean for you? For your children? For your friends? For businesses? How does it affect average Americans, democracy, freedom.

3. Consider subscribing to the ACLU and donating.
   

🧘Daily Meditation Prompt: (optional)
💜Take a moment to pause. Breathe in deeply... and exhale slowly. Again... in... and out. One more time... in... and out.
💜Now, listen. What are two things you are grateful for right now? Let them fill your heart with warmth.
💜With that gratitude in mind, close your eyes and imagine the best possible outcome of events unfolding. See the world you long for—the kindness, the justice, the peace. Let it become vivid in your mind.
💜Hold this vision for a few moments. Let it guide you today.

Week 5: Begin Cutting Cable and Mainstream Media

🔥🔴 Boycott: Comcast (Xfinity, NBC), Fox News, CNN

WHY: Have you ever heard of the Fairness Doctrine?

Did you know that The Fairness Doctrine, established by the FCC in 1949, required broadcasters to present balanced coverage of controversial public issues, ensuring that multiple perspectives were aired? This policy aimed to promote informed public discourse and prevent the dominance of one-sided narratives. However, in 1987, under pressure from corporate interests and deregulation advocates, Congress repealed the Fairness Doctrine, arguing that it was no longer necessary in an era of expanding media options. The repeal opened the door to highly partisan and ideologically driven news coverage, allowing media conglomerates to prioritize profits over balanced reporting. Without this safeguard, misinformation, polarization, and echo chambers have flourished, leaving the public vulnerable to biased narratives and reducing the diversity of viewpoints essential for a healthy democracy.

Media consolidation in the hands of a few major corporations and billionaires poses a significant threat to democracy and public discourse. When a small group controls the majority of news outlets, the diversity of perspectives and independent reporting is drastically reduced. Instead of serving the public interest, these media conglomerates often prioritize profits, sensationalism, and narratives that align with the interests of their wealthy owners. This concentration of power enables the manipulation of public opinion, the suppression of dissenting voices, and the spread of misinformation. In a democracy, an informed citizenry is essential, and when access to unbiased, diverse, and fact-based information is compromised, the foundations of free thought, accountability, and civic engagement are dangerously undermined.

Browse this list of US Media Consolidation to see who owns your favorite media outlets.

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Switch to independent news sources to more independent news sources like Democracy Now!, ProPublica, the Guardian, PBS News Hour. Find a full list HERE.

✔️ Write to Congress about media consolidation and restoring balance to the media. You can find your representatives contact info by going to https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member. And here is a template letter that you can copy and paste or use to create your own.

✔️ Read books! There are tons of books to read, and we suggest a few to prepare yourself for what's happening. See our comprehensive list for some select titles.

✔️ Learn: How to determine factual information from disinformation. Fact check using tools like snopes.com and factcheck.org. Cross-reference and check multiple credible sources to see if they report the same information.

✔️Invite 1-2 friends to create their own micro group. Share the toolkit with them and have them start on week 1.

✔️Share this action prompt on social media. Paste the week 5 link on social media and ask people to write to congress and demand change to the media landscape.

👯‍♂️👯‍♂️Four for All Group Activity:

Purpose: Learn about disinformation, how to spot it, and how to call it out.

1. As a group, choose a book about disinformation and read it together. Possibilities include:

   1. Verified by Mike Caulfield; Sam Wineburg

   2. On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy by Lee McIntyre

   3. Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade

   4. Any book your group members have heard of and want to explore

2. Discuss with your group:

   1. What did you discover?

   2. How did it make you feel?

   3. What will you do differently from now on?

   4. If you were to share information from the book you read with a friend who is not yet “woke,” what information would you share? Why? And how would you share it?

3. Ask yourself, “What was the most important thing I learned from this book?”

   1. In the group, take turns explaining the thing that felt most important to you with your group members.

   2. One at a time, practice how each of you might explain that same concept to someone who might not be as aware as your group members are.

      1. Use straight forward, clear, easy to understand language.

      2. Ask questions to encourage critical thinking and conversation, such as, “How would that make you feel?” “What do you think about that?”

      3. Have group members critique each other for tone, word usage, clarity, and compassion.

      4. Practice until it feels natural.

4. Share what you’ve learned with someone outside your group and use it as a springboard to have an open conversation.

   1. Do NOT:

      1. Preach

      2. Overexplain

      3. Tell the person what they “should” do

   2. Do:

      1. Be kind

      2. Be concise

      3. Ask open ended questions such as, “What do you think of that?” “How do you feel about that?” “What do you think might be a better approach?”

🧘Daily Meditation Prompt: (optional)
Daily 3-Minute Meditation for Calm and Positivity

1. Ground Yourself:
   Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting gently on your lap. Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths—inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Imagine roots shooting from the bottom and sides of your feet and plunging deep within the earth.

2. Focus on Gratitude:
   Bring to mind one thing you're grateful for today. It could be as simple as a kind word from a friend, the warmth of the sun, or even the quiet moment you're taking for yourself right now. Feel that gratitude filling your heart.

3. Release Tension:
   As you continue to breathe, visualize any stress or tension leaving your body with each exhale. If it helps, you can mentally visualize that stress and tension as a color (like black or red) leaving your body and being replaced by white light. Imagine that with every breath, you’re releasing what no longer serves you and making space for calm and clarity.

4. Set a Positive Intention:
   End your meditation by silently stating a positive intention for the day. It could be as simple as:

   • “I will approach today with calm and confidence.”

   • “I choose to focus on what I can control.”

   • “I invite joy and positivity into my day.”

5. Return Gently:
   Open your eyes and bring your awareness back to the present, carrying this sense of calm and intention with you.
   

✨ Repeat daily to cultivate a more positive and peaceful mindset.

Week 6: Ditch (or limit usage of) Big Banks

🔴 Boycott/Divest: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, US Bank

WHY: Big banks own everything. At the moment this is being written, big banks own 35% of Amazon stocks. And they don’t just own Amazon stocks. Institutional investors own large portions of grocery store chains, oil companies, energy companies, and all the big corporations that have been gouging us for decades. Additionally, due to conservative pressure between December and January, some of the the biggest banks have disclaimed membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is a group of leading global banks committed to aligning their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

When you deposit your money in a bank you are essentially giving them market power to manipulate the market and do the dirty deed of investing in ways that aren't so ethical.

And if that wasn't enough, big banks like Wells Fargo have been accused time and again for high junk fees, privacy leaks, discrimination, and more.

Let’s stop giving them our money.

Four for All Group Action Items:

✔️ Move your money to a local bank or credit union. Did you know that credit unions are not-for-profit? This allows them to reinvest earnings back into members instead of paying shareholders. Credit unions can also offer lower fees (such as overdraft fees) and higher interest rates on savings accounts, checking accounts, and investment accounts. How: Run an internet search for "Credit Union and Local banks near [your zip code]". Or go with a referral from friends or neighbors.

✔️ Alternatively, if you can't completely ditch your big bank then try to use it less. Open a credit union account in addition to your big bank account. Us the CU account for as many financial activities as you are comfortable with. Did you know that CU's and small banks pay higher interest rates on holdings (savings, CD's) and charge less interest for loans?

✔️Search for “Ethical Credit Cards” and consider changing from a big bank credit card to something more ethical like Amalgamated Bank’s World Mastercard which gives you 1.5% cashback on all purchases. Amalgamated Bank operates on 100% renewable energy and employs a diverse team of 60% women and people of color. For almost a century, they’ve supported movements like affordable housing, equal access to banking, LBGTQI rights, workers’ rights, criminal justice, reproductive rights, and gun safety.

✔️ Donate: $5 to Brennan Center for Justice (fights voter suppression)

✔️ When you leave a big bank, be sure to leave a review explaining why you left.

✔️Do you invest in big banks or big bank ETFs? You may be supporting environmentally unfriendly practices and big Wall Street thieves. Consider changing to stocks or ETFs that track "ethical banks". Run an internet search on "Ethical bank ETFs." You will get lists for fossil free banking funds, environmentally friendly funds, ethical governance banking funds etc.

✔️Join an action group near you to find protests and more. You can go to sites like Indivisible and 505001 to find a local group, meeting, or protest event.

Four for All Group Activity:

Purpose: Discover exactly how much big banks own.

1. As a group, or individually if you are a remote group, visit a grocery store and walk down the cereal aisle.

   1. Write down all the brands you see.

   2. Research each brand to discover its parent company. For example, General Mills not only owns Cheerios, Trix, Lucky Charms, and Count Chocula - they also own Annie’s and Nature’s Valley.

   3. Once you uncover the parent brands of all the cereal brands, research the percentage of each company that is owned by institutional banks.

2. Discuss with your group:

   1. What did you discover?

   2. How did it make you feel about those brands?

   3. How do you feel about those parent companies?

   4. Imagine you’re a small business that makes delicious homemade granola and sells it at farmer’s markets. You would like to access shelf space in supermarkets. After conducting this experiment, what do you think it would take for you to do that?

   5. After this exercise, how do you feel about giving big banks your money?

3. Have each group member tell at least one person outside the group share a story about this experience.

   1. Be sure to tell it like a story, “The other day, I did a little experiment. I went to the supermarket and explored the cereal aisle. Do you know what I discovered?

   2. Ask the person you’re sharing with, “What do you think about that?”

   3. Encourage an open discussion.

   4. Report back to your group and reflect on the conversations you had with others.

4. Make a social media post about your experience. Tie it to corporate monopolies and big banks and encourage people to switch to credit unions.
   

🧘Daily Meditation Prompt: (optional)
💜3–5 Minute Home Meditation for Anxiety Relief & Positivity

1. Settle In. Find a comfortable seated position—on a chair, a cushion, or the floor. Let your hands rest gently in your lap or on your knees. Soften your shoulders. Close your eyes if that feels okay, or gently lower your gaze.
2. Breathe with Awareness. Begin to notice your breath. No need to change it—just observe. Feel the air as it moves in through your nose... and out through your mouth. If your mind wanders (and it probably will), gently return your focus to the sensation of breathing.
3. Ground. Bring your attention to where your body connects with the surface beneath you. Feel the support. Feel the stability. You are here. You are safe. With each breath, imagine roots growing from your body into the ground—anchoring you in calm.
4. Invite Positivity. Now, silently repeat one or more of these phrases, either on your breath or in your heart:

• I am safe.

• I am enough.

• I choose peace.

• I welcome joy.
  Let the words wash over you. If one phrase feels especially good, stay with it.
  

5. Close with Gratitude. Take one last deep breath in… and sigh it out. Gently open your eyes. Think of one thing—big or small—that you're grateful for right now. Let that feeling linger as you move back into your day.