Action Ridge is a non-partisan community-action organization centered in Park Ridge, Illinois. The group promotes inclusion, respect, equity, and the health of our planet, as well as specific actions and education in areas of member interest, which currently include: Affordable Housing, Education, Environment and Sustainability, Gun Violence Prevention, Policing and Criminal Justice Reform, Voting and Elections, and the administration of the group. We strongly believe that "Truth matters." An umbrella organization that supports principles of democracy, Action Ridge is always open to embracing new areas of interest that a member would like to champion. Membership is fluid and open to all who wish to join us in support of our progressive values – no registration needed, just join us at our meetings, groups, or events as often as you’d like.
General meetings
General meetings are held at the Park Ridge Community Church at 7pm on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.
Discussion Group
The discussion group meets every other month to talk about a member-selected book, movie, or streaming series related to the group’s areas of interest. For more information, contact Karen at: lubicz@netzero.net.
Field Trips
The organization also holds periodic field trips to exhibitions or events of interest. To keep up to date, sign up for our newsletter by emailing actionridge2017@gmail.com.
History
Action Ridge evolved from a small group that attended the first Women's March in Washington D.C. in January 2017, after which the group gathered to talk about what that event meant to them. At the same time, the Women's March organization provided plans for actions in the first 100 days of the new administration. Our founding group decided to continue to meet regularly, invite friends, and use the Women's March action plans to help guide the direction of this local, grassroots group that ultimately became "Action Ridge."
The leadership team drafted a mission statement, found a location for meetings at Park Ridge Community Church and created an email list and FaceBook page. We later added our website at http://www.actionridgepr.com to further spread the word about our efforts. The group decided to set monthly meetings to focus on the following main areas of political interest: immigration, women's rights, health care, environmental issues, voting rights, education, common sense gun laws and the administration of the group. A few members took on each area of interest, to learn and share information about that topic with the larger group. So much was happening all at once and the deluge of information was overwhelming, making it difficult for individuals to keep up with all that was happening and know how to respond. Action Ridge filled the need to help focus on the most immediate issues and the most effective ways to respond.
Today, Action Ridge leadership keeps members informed between meetings with weekly emails and Facebook/Instagram posts as issues and events come up. We meet monthly to inform members of specific issues, discuss broader, applicable topics and communicate how to reach elected representatives in order to have an organized, collective response to political events. Action Ridge meetings also offer time to share successes and challenges with like-minded people. As the political environment has become harsher and more divisive, the ability to share the ups and downs with each other has become an important way to encourage ongoing political engagement.
The group continues to expand organically to address members' needs and suggestions, for example with the formation of our Diversity Discussion Group, which brings a subset of members together to explore issues of systemic racism and our own implicit biases through engaging with books, movies and guest speakers.
