Get Offline and Find Your People

With Shannon Watts and Emily Tluchak

When Shannon Watts started Moms Demand Action in 2012, she wanted to give moms a way to take action on gun violence. Since then, she hasn’t just seen concrete results like stronger gun laws and closed loopholes. She’s also seen the transformative power of getting together in person around shared values.

Shannon wrote about this idea in her recent book, Fired Up. She explained that there’s a spark within all of us, a catalyst for our life’s meaning and joy. And when many sparks all ignite at once, what do you get? A bonfire.

The idea immediately resonated with so many women that they began forming their own groups — called Bonfires — in their local communities.

If you’ve been following Red Wine & Blue for a while, this may all sound familiar to you. Women? Forming local groups? Around shared values? Connecting in person? Making a difference? Sounds like what the Red Wine & Blue Network is all about!

And because Katie Paris and Shannon Watts are collaborative and strategic women, they weren’t offended or territorial about their shared ideas. They wanted to work together! So Bonfire and the Red Wine & Blue Network are teaming up to share what we’ve all learned and support women who want to start Bonfire or Network groups in their town.

If you want to learn more about how it works, you can join us for a live virtual event on Monday, March 30th, at 7:30 pm Eastern. Yes, we see the irony of holding a virtual event to help women find in-person connections. 😂 Just join us for an hour on Zoom to get the tools you need and then go out into your community for some real face-to-face time!

We also chatted on the pod with Emily, a mom in Florida who started her own Bonfire group this year. She says it’s been so cool to have a group of women supporting each other through big life changes, political turmoil, and anything that life throws their way.

“Shared values are what brought us together. And I think even below that, the underlying thing that is true for everyone are deep feelings that we’re having: grief, rage, love. And that’s what drove me to start a group, this feeling that was building for years. This feeling of wanting to do more.” (Emily)

If you can’t attend the virtual event on 3/30, you can learn more about the RWB/Bonfire partnership here. If there isn’t already a group in your area, consider starting one! We’ll be here to help you every step of the way.