Thank you for your support of GGWash!

A little over a month ago, we were days away from celebrating twelve years of GGWash at our annual birthday party, but suddenly had to make the decision to postpone. At the time, it was an extremely difficult choice, but we at GGWash are all grateful we opted to be cautious and didn’t put our community’s health at risk.

I am thrilled to be able to announce that despite the unexpected change of plans, you all rallied behind us and we raised $26,024 as part of our annual birthday drive. Thank you to all of our readers who helped us exceed our goal! If you would still like to support GGWash, you can give online.

So much has changed recently. Like many of you, the GGWash team is working remotely, and many of us are navigating the challenges of work and family caretaking in an uncertain and constantly-shifting world. I myself have had to shift to a part-time work schedule to help with childcare, and we are all watching with dismay as the pandemic brings to light inequity after inequity in local, national, and global systems and structures.

While we reached our goal from the first quarter, like most organizations, we are still facing many uncertainties. Numerous funding sources including for our correspondents and from several foundations will come up for renewal this year, which is very uncertain. We’ll keep you updated about our budget outlook as things progress.

Beyond GGWash, the coronavirus will have long-term damaging effects across the region, nation, and world. WMATA, along with transit systems across the country, is facing insurmountable budget deficits; the DC CFO estimated the District will need to cut $1.8 billion over the next three years; Virginia delayed a planned minimum wage increase over concern about the impact on businesses; and we’re already seeing long-awaited transit-oriented development being scaled back in Prince George’s County.

Meanwhile, the issues we were concerned about in February have not gone away. There has never been a greater need to push for walkable urban places, transit and bicycling, and enough housing for everyone. For the next several months, GGWash will be fighting to remind our officials regionwide of these facts.

We remain committed to bringing you thoughtful, insightful articles about how the region can grow in a sustainable and equitable way, and will be paying special attention to ways that the pandemic has altered the landscape for public policy, transportation, and housing.

Thank you very much to all our Neighbors and supporters who have supported GGWash so far. From the whole team here at GGWash, we hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.