First, I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us reach our first fundraising goal at the end of September! Since we kicked off this campaign in August, all of our financial support has come from grass-roots fundraising and individual donors - no PACs, lobbyists or special interest groups. We're still finalizing our numbers, but here's what we had on file as of 10/1/2021: $0 from special interests, PACs or dark money; More than 1,000 donations made; average donation of $65.
And where did your investment go, you ask? Not to Jeffrey Epstein lawyers, that's for sure.
We're wrapping up our first quarter report to the FEC shortly and I'll post it to our website as soon as everyone has reviewed it and it has been submitted to the FEC!
Donate Now to Help Us Meet Our Next Fundraising Goal!
Our October Community Events lineup!
Women's March, Oct. 2, 2021
The Women's March at our nation's capitol yesterday (and the 650 sister marches across the country) proved to our nation's leaders that women are ready to fight! I volunteered for the day and was lucky enough to watch the entire event take form. I ended up intervening in two altercations between our group and the anti-women group picketing near us, which was not something I expected I would end up doing, but in the end everything was peaceful, powerful and pro-women!
Niceville Pride Day, Oct. 9, 2021
I'm truly humbled to be one of the featured speakers and a Gold Level sponsor at this year's Niceville Pride Walk! But there's much more going on on Oct. 9 in Niceville Pride than the walk alone! See below for the full schedule:
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM CT: PFLAG Niceville Annual Pride Walk, silent auction, vendors and support meeting
From PFLAG: "Our first venue, NHS, located at 800 E John Sims Pkwy, Niceville, FL, 32578, will host (1) Niceville Pride’s Annual Pride Walk, (2) PFLAG Niceville’s Silent Auction, (3) LGBTQIA+ affirming retail and food vendors and, (4) an open-mic support-group meeting. This venue will provide a space for local organizations and businesses who are actively involved in the promotion, inclusion, and education of LGBTQIA+ peoples to make themselves transparent within our community. NHS will house booths for local organizations/businesses wishing to promote useful resources for LGBTQIA+ youths, adolescents, and adults. Additionally, food truck vendors will be present to supply you with all of your food and beverage needs. Set-up will begin at 7:00am, the silent auction and booths will open at 8:00am; and the pride festivities to follow will start at 9:00am."
Location: Niceville High School, 800 E John Sims Pkwy, Niceville, FL, 32578
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT: Movie screening of 'Love, Simon'
From PFLAG: The screening will start at 3:00pm and conclude at 5:00pm after an open discussion on the film’s important, emotional message. Love, Simon is the first major studio film about a gay kid’s coming out.
Location: Mattie Kelly Arts Center, 100 E College Blvd, Niceville, FL 32578
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM CT: Pride Prom!
From PLFAG: "Everyone of all abilities, ages, cultures, genders/sexes, races/ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and sizes are encouraged to join us for the gayest of prom experiences!"
Location: Mattie Kelly Arts Center, 100 E College Blvd, Niceville, FL 32578
Click here to learn more about this year's Niceville Pride Day!
VIVA CICLOVIA STREET FIESTA! Oct. 10, 2021
My campaign is sponsoring the Viva Ciclovia Street Fiesta in downtown Ft. Walton Beach this year! The event is free and open to the public and will feature live music, food vendors, and a day of family-friendly fun!
To learn more about this event, click here!
Indigenous Peoples' Day, Oct. 11, 2021
My campaign proudly supports ending "Columbus Day" as any form of holiday in the United States. There are still 21 states that recognize "Columbus Day" each year on the 2nd Monday of October, but the remaining states plus Washington DC either never celebrated it to begin with, or have changed the holiday to recognize the Indigenous and Native peoples' history in the Americas. Florida does not recognize Columbus Day, but it also does not recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day. More than 10,000 years of occupation by Native groups deserves at least one federal holiday, don't you think?
Those of us who were told that Christopher Columbus "discovered" the Americas were, of course, told wrong. Columbus never even stepped foot on the North American continent. And he wasn't even the first European groups to settle in the United States - the Vikings were in North America as early as the early 1000's CE, and maintained settlements for hundreds of years in the Great Lakes and eastern Canadian regions.
We will be spending the day sharing the histories of the people who were in America first throughout the day, joining tribal leaders from across the nation as they share what Indigenous Peoples' Day means to them.
Here's a quick rundown on the controversy of Columbus Day and the history many of us were taught in school:
"Ghost Walk" of Milton's historical district, Oct. 22-23, 2021
Those who know me know I have two favorite holidays that I tend to go way over the top about - Mardi Gras and Halloween. So I'm going to be doing as many Halloween-themed community events as I can around northwest Florida this year, including Milton's annual Ghost Walk, supported by the Santa Rosa County Historical Society. I'll be playing a 1950's damsel for this year's theme of "Milton's Hidden History." See the poster below for more information, and come join us if you can!
"Boo at the Zoo!" Oct. 30, 2021
We'll be joining this year's family-friendly "Boo at the Zoo" event at the Gulf Breeze, Florida Zoo! Boo at the Zoo has always been one of my favorite Halloween events with my own kids, so I'm going all out as a vendor for the first time! We'll have games, trivia and instant polaroid pictures for anyone who wants them (or until we run out of film!). We're looking to staff our table with a few volunteers throughout the day, so if you like kids and Halloween and want to pitch in, please email us at Info@RebekahJonesCampaign.com!
Click here to buy tickets or get more information!
On the horizon...
Nov. 2, 2021: Election Day! To see what's on your ballot for election day 2021, click here.
Nov. 5-6, 2021: Blue Angels Homecoming Shows, Pensacola Beach, Fla. Click here.
Nov. 10, 2021: Holocaust Annual Remembrance Dinner, Tallahassee, Florida, click here.
Nov. 11, 2021: Veteran's Day
Nov. 25, 2021: Thanksgiving Day!
Nov. 26, 2021: Native American Heritage Day
Want to keep up with our events? Our calendar is now available on our home page!
Original source can be found here
