Mission & Impact

We keep Virginia’s public, policymakers, and media informed on the state of reproductive rights and health care in the Commonwealth and up-to-date on policy developments and news.

We’re the voice of pro-reproductive freedom Virginians with state and local policymakers, advocating in Richmond and around Virginia to protect and support access to abortion, birth control, sex education, and the full range of reproductive health care.

Our network of grassroots activists and volunteers across Virginia take action to stand up for reproductive rights, educate their friends and neighbors, and make their voices heard with policymakers and the media.

To change the balance for reproductive choice in Virginia, we must hold anti-abortion politicians accountable and elect more lawmakers who share our values. We identify and support strong reproductive freedom candidates for state office in Virginia.

Bringing our best selves to our work and honoring our role and contributions to our greater team. Letting our shared values as outlined in this document guide our work and decision-making. We trust our fellow team members to follow-through on the work they commit to doing in a timely a thorough manner and to communicate if a timeline/deadline needs to be changed with offered alternatives. We aim to be transparent in our decision-making, understanding that transparency can be a tool to disrupt imbalanced power dynamics. We aim to be explicit in our internal communications. We work with the shared assumption of positive intent in our interactions.

We will prioritize the belief that different lived experiences, particularly those within connected systems of oppression, add value and richness to our work and our team. We treat different perspectives with respect and curiosity, while recognizing we are not owed explanation or education. We seek to both center our team members who live with less privilege and actively de-center those who live with more, understanding that creating a better future for people at the margins creates a better future for all. For those with privilege, we seek to advance our own personal knowledge of intersectionality and equity, understanding that it allows us to be more successful in our work and more supportive of our team. We trust and believe the lived experiences of our team members.

We own our mistakes and recognize mistakes in others as an opportunity for support and guidance, not punishment and/or resentment. We understand people have different work styles, and each way is valued and appreciated. We treat our team with compassion and dignity. We actively and proactively show appreciation for other’s work, recognizing the time, effort, skill, and resiliency required to work in this movement. We recognize and appreciate that we are all working together to make bodily autonomy a reality.

We recognize that we are more than our work – that we have loved ones, hobbies, and personal needs that we aim to honor and respect, and that our health and wellbeing outside of the workplace is integral to success in our mission. We prioritize creating an environment where personal time is respected, balance is encouraged, and both mental and physical health are supported.

We actively seek ways to prevent burnout and show support to our team. We understand that health and support can show up as different things for different people, and all are valued. Team members support and encourage each other, being available to step in/share the workload, to prioritize wellness and sustainability for others.

We recognize that we can only do this work when we take care of ourselves, and that our work is important but not always urgent. We encourage re-prioritization when necessary to best take care of ourselves. We trust each person’s judgement when it comes to their needs.

We understand that this work is part of a larger movement that will continue past our time and tenure. We work towards an end goal but recognize that every goal is made up of small steps. We actively push back against urgency, over-extension, and the need-to-do-it-all when possible, instead recognizing that progress takes many forms and each, no matter how big or small, contributes to our mission.

We believe that we can only dismantle systems of oppression – including but not limited to white supremacy, cis-hetero patriarchy, and capitalism – through building collective power. We recognize that power is not a zero-sum game, but rather that our power is amplified when we work together towards our common goal. We commit to being transparent about when our tactics/strategies are in tension with our partners’ goals.

We believe that conflict can be generative and we aim to lean into tensions, when appropriate, to create new ideas, solutions, compromises, and relationships both internally and externally. Understanding we are part of the non-profit industrial complex, we seek not to maintain our own individual/organizational power, resources, and control but rather to work together within our team and with movement allies to realize our shared vision for the future.

We aim to focus on authentic partnership by holding ourselves accountable and welcoming feedback/criticism from each other and our partners.