Our group was founded in January 2017 on a commitment to the common good. We called ourselves Indivisible Berks, and we were among the first of thousands of grassroots groups that sprang up in the wake of the 2016 election. We toppled an anti-worker Congressman, ran a successful campaign to save our county-owned nursing home from privatization, and learned just how broken our systems were.
In January 2020, we became Berks Stands Up, joining forces with other powerful groups in Pennsylvania Stands Up. We’re member-supported, volunteer-led, and part of the vast multiracial, multi-generational, cross-class movement to redeem the promise of liberty and justice for all. Our mission is to ensure that our elected officials represent all their constituents, including the most vulnerable.
Our Wins
Berks Stands Up News
Our Teams
Housing Justice Team
Chair Deena Stoudt
Rents are skyrocketing and buying a home is further from reach, than ever before. Join Tenants and Homeowners already fighting to win safe and affordable housing for all.
Meetings: Bi-weekly Wednesdays 6:45–7:45
Movement Politics Team
Chair Terri Kline
We identify, train, support, and hold accountable a network of progressive politicians in order to deliver material benefits to multiracial, working class people across the Lehigh Valley. We endorse candidates and helped them win competitive races to build a PA that works for #AllOfUs.
Meetings: Bi-weekly Tuesdays 6:30-7:30
Communications Committee
Chair Albion Merrick
Our communications team handles the ongoing work of writing emails, making social media posts, designing graphics, and managing our blog in order to keep our members, volunteers, and supporters in the loop.
Fall Listening Team
The Fall Listening Campaign is an opportunity to survey the broader community and to ask them about the issues that are most important to them. Pennsylvanians across the state are disenfranchised and fed up with the political system. All too often, our politicians don’t take time to listen to their own constituents and hear the everyday struggles people are facing. As PA Stands Up thinks about what work to focus on in 2024 and beyond, our conversations with PA residents during the 2023 Fall Listening campaign will inform what direction our future work takes.
Whole Home Repairs Implementation
Our members lead the WHR campaign to demonstrate our power in co-governance with movement electeds and strategize on ways to keep Pennsylvanians in our county safe in their homes.
Bi-weekly on Wednesdays 6:45pm