Tustin Democrats:
PLEASE Forward this email to anyone who you feel could use this information. We must all watch out for each other right now.
APRIL 2020: How You Can Help
Dear Tustin Democrats,

During this pandemic there are many people who urgently need help right now . Our last newsletter which can be found HERE gives details about many valuable resources including how to stay safe, food pantries, utility assistance and state and federal financial assistance. Please refer to to THIS NEWSLETTER if you are in need of this type of assistance.

This newsletter will focus on opportunities available for you to help from the safety of home. You can make a difference in your community right now in a multitude of ways, from donating food or money to a food pantry to checking in on older neighbors or sewing masks for members of your community.

You can make a difference to our country by working to elect members of Congress and a President who will provide a thoughtful comprehensive plan to repair the damage this virus has done to our community, country and world. The only way for us to heal is with competent and effective leadership.

We are all connected – and we are called upon to be our best selves, with patience, understanding and compassion. Despite the many difficulties we all face, we cannot forget that we are in this together. Stay safe.

The Tustin Democratic Club Board  

NOTE: To Access all the information in this email you may have to click "View Entire Message" if reading on a cell phone.
TONIGHT at 6 pm
Congresswoman Katie Porter will be a guest of the DEM OC PAC
for a ZOOM Meeting and Q&A.


How You Can Help In Your Community
Virtual Well Checks For Katie Porter
Make well-check calls for Representative Katie Porter from home. Participate in a virtual well-check call training hosted by Robert Burch via Zoom conference! Dial in via phone or use your computer with video!

Available times to Make Well Check Calls:
Tue, Apr 21, 4:00pm–5:00pm PDT
Sat, Apr 25, 1:00pm–2:00pm PDT

Donate Unused N95 Masks
Do you have any unused packages of N95 masks left over from a home improvement project? Our local hospitals can use them! Click on the links below.

Sew Masks For Yourself and Community Members
Orange County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick discouraged residents from seeking out surgical masks or N95 masks, which are in short supply and badly needed by healthcare workers.

Instead, Quick recommended any sort of face covering, including scarves and bandannas, because they can be effective in cutting down the spread of the virus, though people should still stay at home and practice social distancing. Check below for How-To links and where to donate.

How To Make Masks:

Ready to Donate?
Orange County Rescue Mission's warehouse, located at 1 Hope Drive in Tustin, is open every day from 8am-5pm and ready to receive your homemade mask(s). Contact Nancy Palmer at  nancy.palmer@rescuemission.org

Food Donations
Local Food Pantries have seen a huge increase in the number of people coming in for food relief. (Click HERE for the 4/8 article in the LA Times.) If you are able they would gratefully accept any donations: either monetary or actual grocery items.

To donate money that will be used for a variety of Food Pantries serving Tustin you can contact:

To donate money to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County you can contact:

To donate goods or money you can contact:


If you or anyone you know is in need of food assistance, please click on the 211OC.ORG graphic below.
Help Our Home Bound Community Members
We have over 22,000 seniors in Tustin - many of whom live alone on a fixed income or at or below the poverty line (almost 14%.) There are many ways you can offer assistance to these members of our community.

Print out one of these "Hello Neighbor" postcards from the County of Orange Office on Aging and leave in a neighbor's mailbox or on their doorstep.

Click on the image to download:
Write Notes of Encouragement
Bring a smile to a Tustin Senior by writing a card or note with a happy message then drop it off at the Senior Center. There is Blue Bin out front - you can just drop them in there! Parks and Rec staff will make sure they are delivered!

Please don’t seal the envelope  💌
Volunteer with Tustin Community Foundation
Volunteers are needed to shop for seniors and help other home bound Tustin community members. Email Tustin Community Foundation (Scroll to the bottom of the page) or by phone: (714) 393-8506.
Help the US by Electing Democratic Senators
Write Postcards to Voters in Swing Districts
Post Cards to Voters is an opportunity to write cards from your home to help with close races nationwide.

After you  sign up,  you will receive an email with all instructions. Once you are an approved writer, you will receive addresses and additional directions. 

For more information, go to  https://postcardstovoters.org/
I Want to Donate to Flip The Senate - Who Should I Donate To?
Thank you to Tustin Dems Board Member Lee Fink for the following suggestions!

One solution is to donate directly to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) . They will be supporting the top pickup targets, and a couple of key seats we need to hold.

But if you want to pick a key race, here are my current Senate rankings (8 challengers and one incumbent).  We need to win four of these seats and the Vice Presidency to gain the majority in the Senate , and it is very doable (carrying all 9 is possible). For most bang for the buck, I would choose candidates somewhere in the middle of this pack). Click on the candidate names for more info.

  1. Maine: Sara Gideon - Running against the terrible Susan Collins. 
  2. Arizona: Mark Kelly - Former Astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords. Great guy, great candidate, this could be the swing seat in the Senate. (But, there are a lot of resources flowing into AZ for this Senate seat because this is a Presidential battleground and swing state).
  3. Montana: Steve Bullock - Popular current Governor, is the only candidate that gave us a chance at winning
  4. North Carolina: Cal Cunningham - Tough race against the incumbent who traded stocks on inside information about the Coronavirus. Less money coming there, but also a Presidential battleground.
  5. Colorado: John Hickenlooper - Very popular Democrat and former Governor. (But he should have good fundraising, so I would not prioritize that.)
  6. Alabama: Doug Jones, incumbent - We won this seat in a 2017 Special Election, but it is an incredibly difficult seat to hold. Jeff Sessions came in second to former Auburn Football coach Tommy Tuberville in the Republican Primary, but there is a runoff. (As for fundraising, as an incumbent, Jones has the best access to fundraising of any Democrat in this group.)
  7. Iowa - Challenger TBD, but likely Theresa Greenfeld. (I would wait until the June Primary)
  8. Georgia Short Seat: Challenger TBD, likely Raphael Warnock - This is the seat against Kelly Loeffler, the other Senator who traded on Coronavirus information (and whose husband is head of the NYSE).
  9. Georgia Full Term: Challenger TBD - Likely Jon Ossoff - Here, if you're interested in Georgia, I would give to the Georgia Democratic Party or the DSCC, who can coordinate the campaigns for both seats. There is more bang to the buck because there are two seats up, but they are hard seats, we are likely to have won the majority already, and there are some oddities with runoffs that make these campaigns hard for us. The other thing that you might wait on is seeing Joe Biden's running mate. If he chooses Stacy Abrams, who is one of the top 5 contenders, these seats could move up).
Katie Porter In The News
Katie Porter In Print
Important Links
How to Stay Safe
Should I Wear A Mask?
The CDC continues to study the spread and effects of the novel coronavirus across the United States. We now know from  recent studies  that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.  In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies).

Here’s the rundown:⁠
What to wear: simple cloth mask that covers the nose and mouth⁠. Woven cotton is the best material for masks made at home.
What not to wear: medical masks (surgical, N95, etc.) — leave these for the medical professionals who desperately need them.⁠
Stay in touch with Rep. Katie Porter
Stay in touch with Katie as she fights for her constituents. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

To sign up for email updates from Katie CLICK HERE

To EMAIL Katie: CLICK HERE or call either of her offices to speak to a staff member:
Renew for 2020!