Friends,

In the roughly 36 hours since Forward Party announced its merger with the Renew America Movement and Serve America Movement, 3,612 people have volunteered to step up in their local communities. This, by the way, says nothing of the 20,000+ people who have donated, signed up for emails or taken another action. I'm a stat-head, so here's a fun figure: Forward has gained a new volunteer every 35 seconds since the announcement.

It's no surprise, really: 60% of Americans believe new political party is necessary, according to a Suffolk University poll that coincidentally dropped the day of our announcement.

Let's be honest: building a viable, durable, credible new party - and one that operates like no party has operated before - is no easy task. Volunteer signups are amazing, but sustained, long-term action in local communities and resilience in the face of guaranteed opposition from existing power brokers? That's a whole other ballgame.

By the end of the year, Forward will be a recognized political organization in 10-15 states. By the end of 2023, that number will be 30+. We intend to be home to 500+ local elected officials across the country by '23 as well.

So, let's assume you're completely bought in. Here are three actions you can take today to move America forward:

• Connect with your local leadership team: Forward is building activist communities in all 50 states, and we have formal leadership teams in 37, as of this writing. You can see our progress on the interactive map I just linked to, and you can join your local team. Be mindful, though: those teams are led by human activists with jobs, children and lives, and they're currently inundated with a barrage of wonderful new potential activists. Give them a moment to respond, and, if you have time, offer to help! They need it.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper: Our national team did a wonderful job in the last few days to get the word out, and we had an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, as well as articles in almost every major national paper. But Forward isn't a national movement - it's dependent on local communities coming together and building solutions that impact local communities. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper and get the word out to your community.
• Invite friends and family: Forward intends to be a bottom-up organization that thrives on the connections and leadership of ordinary Americans in their local communities. A movement like this is driven by local word of mouth. Those who invite the most each month have an opportunity to meet leaders like Andrew Yang, David Jolly, Miles Taylor and others. We'd love to see you on those calls!

In the coming weeks, I and other members of our political team will meet with state activists and leaders to develop and refine state-by-state ballot access strategies. If you're reading this and you've included your state in your signup, you'll be invited to those meetings. Keep an eye out - your perspective and input will be incredibly valuable and appreciated.

Team, it's an honor to work with you. I cannot wait for this next chapter in American civic life.