Posted on January 2, 2020
Vote for Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Brennan Center for Justice and Women’s March this January
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This January, you can support groups fighting for racial and social justice, voting rights, and women’s rights by voting to fund Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Brennan Center for Justice and Women’s March.
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
BAJI engages in grassroots organizing, advocacy and cross-cultural alliance-building in order to raise awareness about the unique issues facing the nearly 10 million Black immigrants, refugees and their loved ones in the United States.
A grant from CREDO will help BAJI advocate for Black immigrant and refugee families and communities and help them truly thrive in the United States.
Brennan Center for Justice
The Brennan Center fights to reform and revitalize American systems of democracy and justice. 2020 will be a critical year for American democracy. The Brennan Center for Justice is ready for the fight – making sure our elections are free, fair and secure. And that every voice – and every vote – counts at the polls.
A CREDO grant will support the Brennan Center in its fight against voter suppression tactics, in its advocacy to ensure our elections are secure and its development of bold solutions to advance democratic reform.
Women’s March
Women’s March moves women to build political power to ensure that freedom is for everyone. The organization is a women-led movement that organizes and mobilizes on a diverse range of issues. It’s a first stop, feminist futures, base-building network.
A grant from CREDO would allow Women’s March to play a lead role in defeating Trump in 2020 and bring about a fourth wave of feminism. The group plans to run action campaigns in key states including Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by Jan. 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.
Posted on December 26, 2019
4 apps to help keep your New Year’s resolutions
It’s that time of year again when all of us here at CREDO consider what the new year will bring – like Trump’s impeachment trial, the 2020 elections, and, of course, New Year’s resolutions.
It’s never easy to keep a New Year’s resolution – made especially more difficult with the unnecessary social pressure – but if you’re looking to keep yours beyond the first weeks of January, mobile phone apps offer some help.
While there are tons of apps to help you with your New Year’s journeys, we’ve picked out four apps that could help you stay on track.
the be.come project
Getting and staying active top many people’s New Year’s resolutions lists, but many fitness websites, programs, apps and schemes out there aren’t for everyone. the be.come project is hoping to offer something different by helping users get active in a non-judgmental, positive way.
Focusing on “body-neutrality” – the belief that some days we love our bodies, other days we don’t, but always by respecting ourselves – the be.come project is an app that focuses on how you feel, not how you look, and gives users a once-weekly curated workout routine that can be performed at home as many times as a user feels comfortable.
The app offers a free 10-day trial, and $35 per month after. Available in the App Store and Google Play.
One Today
Funding the causes we care about is at the heart of CREDO. We donate $1 million each year to progressive groups fighting for women’s rights, climate justice, voting rights and more – with donations generated by our members who use our products and services every day.
If you’re looking to donate a little more to nonprofits doing important work in the new year, the One Today app might be a good fit for your device. A project of Google, One Today allows users to donate $1 or more to pre-screened non-profit organizations and charities for which microtransactions may help make a big difference at scale. All donations are distributed as unrestricted funds (meaning groups can spend as they see fit) and Google covers the transaction fees, so the organizations receive 100% of the contributions.
Learn more about the organizations receiving donations through One Today on its website or download the app for Android or iOS.
Habitshare
One of many habit tracking apps out there, Habitshare combines setting goals and tracking your habits with a social network to help keep you motivated and share your progress with friends.
By default, your progress and habits remain private, but you can choose what and with whom to share your goals and updates to add personal accountability with friends and family (only if you want to!). You can also send encouraging messages to people in your network to keep friends motivated and on track, too.
Habitshare is free to use and available for Android and iOS.
Headspace
If mindfulness and meditation are on your resolution list for 2020, then Headspace could be the right app for you. To help you cope with the stresses of work, family and life in general, Headspace teaches you the basics of meditation and offers a library of courses and single session meditations that you can take anywhere. The company boasts a 40 million person user base and offers scientific claims (and an in-house science department) that its app can reduce stress, increase focus and improve sleep.
Headspace offers a two-week free trial, before a $69.99 yearly subscription, available on both Android and iOS.
Posted on December 20, 2019
Victory: Donald Trump is impeached
After years of sustained pressure by CREDO, our allies, progressive activists, and progressive champions in Congress, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump.
This historic victory wouldn’t have been possible without the help of CREDO members like you who joined us more than a year ago in the face of stiff resistance by timid and unwilling Democratic leaders by calling for impeachment proceedings to finally hold Trump accountable for his criminal actions and abuse of power.
But the fight to remove Trump from the White House is far from over. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is brazenly announcing that he will not be an impartial juror when the impeachment trial begins in the Senate. McConnell plans to stack the deck ahead of time to ensure an unfair and completely biased trial to keep Trump in office. That’s why we’re already calling on McConnell to recuse himself from the impeachment trial. You can sign this important petition here.
CREDO and our members have been signalling the alarm about Trump’s extremely corrupt behavior and abuse of power for years. Here’s a timeline of how CREDO and our members kept up the pressure on our lawmakers and in the media to ensure Trump’s impeachment.
CREDO Action Impeachment Timeline
Nov 2016: Donald Trump elected with the help of Russian interference
Dec 2016: More than 300,000 CREDO members call on Electoral College electors to reject Trump and honor the popular vote
May 2017: Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s obstruction of justice begins.
July 2017: More than 200,000 CREDO members demand that Congress protect the Mueller investigation so it can remain independent
October 2017, April 2018 and July 2018: CREDO members generate nearly 700,000 petition signatures calling on lawmakers and congressional leaders to protect the Mueller investigation and ensure it remains independent
June 2018: CREDO launches a petition signed by 125,000 activists urging Congress to resist the efforts to impeach Rod Rosenstein, Robert Mueller’s supervisor
August 2018: After news broke that Donald Trump asked his attorney general to end the Mueller investigation – a clear case of obstruction of justice – CREDO demands that Congress stands up for the Constitution and our democracy and begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.
January 2019: Buzzfeed reports that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. CREDO renews calls for House Democrats to begin impeachment
May 2019: Robert Mueller releases a redacted report on his investigation into Donald Trump’s criminality. CREDO and thousands of activists demand that Nancy Pelosi do her job and begin impeachment.
May 2019: CREDO joins other progressive allies to deliver 10 million petition signatures to Congress to begin impeachment
June 2019: CREDO and allies organize a rally in New York City calling for Trump’s impeachment
July 2019: CREDO, Free Speech for the People and other allies send an open letter urging the House Judiciary Committee to ramp up impeachment proceedings
August 2019: CREDO activists confront Nancy Pelosi at a San Francisco awards ceremony demanding impeachment
September 2019: Thanks in part to hundreds of thousands of CREDO members and activists, Nancy Pelosi caves to grassroots pressure, and the House begins impeachment proceedings
September 2019: CREDO activists call on Democratic House leaders to “commit to a Nov. 15 deadline for a full House vote on articles of impeachment and ensure the inquiry’s scope includes the full range of Trump’s impeachable offenses.”
September 2019: CREDO and 18 other progressive groups rally outside the Capitol to pressure undecided members of Congress on impeachment
December 2019: The House impeaches Trump, but Mitch McConnell plans a biased trial in the Senate. CREDO calls on McConnell to recuse himself immediately to ensure a fair and impartial trial.
December 2019: CREDO launches a petition demanding that the Senate remove Donald Trump from the White House.
Again, thank you to the activism of our members that made this incredible victory possible. As proceedings to remove Trump from office moves to the Senate, we need your help now more than ever.
Trump’s attempted bribery and extortion and his threats to our democracy are plain for all to see. His conviction depends on Republicans putting democracy before party – and that will require massive public pressure. Join us in urging the Senate to convict Donald Trump and remove him from office. Please sign our petition here.
Posted on December 18, 2019
CREDO Tip: How to vote with your wallet all year long
There’s hardly anything more important to our democracy than our right and duty to vote, yet casting our ballots is a fairly infrequent event – speaking of which, are you registered to vote?
Luckily, you don’t have to wait in line at the polls once a year to wield your voting power. You have enormous political influence at checkout when you make regular purchases every day. Your wallet is an important weapon to fight back against Trump’s hateful agenda.
For example, in 2017, after Trump announced his racist Muslim ban, protests across the nation broke out, and taxi drivers at JFK Airport in New York City joined to strike in protest. Uber decided to capitalize on the taxi strike, profit off the lack of competition and picked up passengers at the terminals among the protests. That night, the hashtag #DeleteUber went viral, and in the following days, hundreds of thousands of Uber customers dropped the service.
To ensure your hard-earned money isn’t funding the Trump agenda, during this holiday season and all year long, here are five apps and websites to help you make purchases based on your values.
1. Grab Your Wallet
Founded in the wake of Trump’s misogynistic comments in the “Access Hollywood” tapes, the #GrabYourWallet campaign was founded as a way for shoppers to boycott stores and websites carrying Ivanka Trump’s brand. The result: More than 70 companies severed ties with the Trump family. In July 2018, Ivanka Trump officially shut down her company.
The website, a simple yet effective Google Sheet, has grown to include a comprehensive list of companies with ties to the Trump administration. The list includes reasons why you should avoid certain brands (Bank of America donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, for example), contact information to express your concerns, a way for companies to be removed and other companies on #GrabYourWallet’s radar.
Check out which brands they recommend that you avoid at #GrabYourWallet’s website.
2. Goods Unite Us
The Goods Unite Us mission is to empower people to become political consumers so that it can help put an end to corporate political donations for good.
With over 150,000 users, the Goods Unite Us app is easy to use. Simply download, enter a company name, and view a list of political donations made by the company and many of its senior employees.
A great feature of the app is the “Wallet Vote” that, after a brief questionnaire, lets you know how much of your own spending is funding Republican and Democratic politicians and PACs during every election cycle.
The app is available for both iOS and Android users.
3. Buycott
Buycott is a simple app that helps you understand the politics behind your purchases. Simply scan any barcode when shopping to learn about the product’s history and whether the company aligns with your values.
You can create or join a campaign, like Boycott Trump Products, so you can have a greater collective impact. Buycott campaigns feature important progressive causes, including civil rights, immigration, LGBTQ and women’s rights. A few popular campaigns include boycott the NRA, boycott income inequality, and save and support the bees as much as you can!
With millions of users from 192 different countries, Buycott is a comprehensive crowd-sourced list with thousands of new UPC barcodes being added every day.
Buycott is available for both iOS and Android users.
4. Zippia
Although Zippia is a career search and information site, its website includes a tool that helps users view political donations by company employees.
To give it a try, visit Zippia’s search tool and type in a company’s name. Click on the “political” tab to give you a breakdown of top employee donors and political contribution amounts and a company-wide percentage of employees who donated to Republican and Democratic candidates.
A quick look at AT&T reveals that the company’s CEO Randall Stephenson donated a combined amount of nearly $309,700 to the Republican Party, while 59.8% of the company’s employees as a whole supported Democrats.
Note: It appears, however, the site does not include lobbying expenditures, donations by corporate PACs or contributions to dark money political organizations. For example, AT&T donated $2 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, which is not included in Zippia’s data. You can find additional corporate donor information at OpenSecrets.org.
5. Bonus Tip: CREDO Mobile
Does your mobile carrier donate to Republicans and right-wing causes or support the Trump agenda? (Find out above!)
By joining CREDO Mobile, your monthly bill will support issues like climate justice, voting rights and economic equality. That’s because we donate a portion of our revenue every month – more than $1 million a year – to the progressive causes you care about. You can rest assured that your phone bill will never support the right-wing agenda, and CREDO will never donate to Republicans, ever.
For years, corporations have backed Republican politicians and right-wing causes without scrutiny from the public, but these apps and websites are here to change that. Armed with these great resources, voting with your wallet is now easier than ever.
Posted on December 18, 2019
How CREDO funding helped the National LGBTQ Task Force stand up for equality
This March, more than 51,000 CREDO members voted to donate $34,890 to the National LGBTQ Task Force, the country’s oldest national LGBTQ advocacy group and a longtime CREDO ally in the fight for equality.
This grant, powered by CREDO members who use our products and services every day, supported the Task Force’s work on the 2020 census and helped the organization launch a new campaign to educate the public and policy makers about discrimination in the LGBTQ community.
CREDO funding helped the Task Force use its role as a leader in the census advocacy community to significantly change how the Census Bureau is planning to conduct its communications and partnerships activities. As a direct result of its organizing efforts, the bureau undertook new partnerships that focus on LGBTQ people and people experiencing homelessness and rethought how it will communicate citizenship, race and ethnicity questions on the survey.
LGBTQ people cannot continue to be undercounted in the census. That’s why the Task Force’s next phase of census work is to ensure an accurate count. Because many social service programs that LGBTQ people rely on to survive and thrive, like Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers, are funded according to census results, the Task Force is working to educate the LGBTQ community about the long-term impact an inaccurate count could have. They are also working with partners throughout the country to encourage LGBTQ people, especially from marginalized communities, to fill out the census.
The data from the 2020 census will have an effect for at least 10 years – until the 2030 census is fielded – that’s why an accurate count of the LGBTQ community now is so important. Access to democracy, for everyone, depends on full representation in census data, and the enforcement of LGBTQ civil rights depends on accurate census data.
You can read the Task Force’s guide to filling out your census form here.
To learn more about the National LGBTQ Task Force, please visit https://www.thetaskforce.org/.
These important victories were fueled in part by CREDO members who use our products, and our members are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.
And don’t forget to check out the three groups we are funding this month, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
Posted on December 13, 2019
Victory: DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan resigns
Activism works, and here’s the proof: After a sustained campaign by CREDO and our allies, which included tens of thousands of petition signatures from our members, high-profile protests and significant national press coverage, acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, one of Donald Trump’s most cruel henchmen, resigned.
During his time as head of CBP, an agency that has killed at least seven children in its custody since 2018, McAleenan oversaw the Clint, Texas, facility with its unsanitary and cruel conditions and unleashed border agents to tear gas refugee families, including children in diapers, at the border. As head of DHS, he enforced and championed policies that perpetuate family separation and state-sanctioned child abuse. He withheld information and intentionally misled Congress about the administration’s systematic circumvention of migrants’ due process rights.
Direct action by CREDO activists played a significant role in McAleenan’s resignation. Last year, after 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin tragically died in CBP custody, CREDO activists gathered outside then-commissioner McAleenan’s home to confront him about his agency’s horrific human rights abuses. Protesters projected images of the three asylum seekers on McAleenan’s home and demanded that he resign immediately.
Then, in October, CREDO activists joined with Justice for Muslims Collective, La Colectiva, National Immigrant Justice Center and Sanctuary DMV to disrupt McAleenan’s controversial keynote speech at the annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University Law Center.
We held banners reading “Stand with immigrants” and “Hate is not normal” while chanting “When immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Members of the audience joined in, and GULC students also read the names of children who died in Customs and Border Patrol’s custody.
When McAleenan tried to speak, we spoke louder, because no Trump henchmen should be given a platform to spread hatred or defend Trump’s racist, xenophobic policies. Our protest forced McAleenan off stage and made headlines across the country, with coverage in the New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Associated Press, Telemundo, CBS Evening News, Buzzfeed News, AJ+ and The Young Turks.
Just four days after our Georgetown protest, McAleenan submitted his letter of resignation and much of the media coverage referenced our protest.
Thank you to our progressive partners and you, our CREDO members, for this hard-fought victory.
Posted on December 12, 2019
How to Have a More Environmentally-Friendly Holiday Season
Americans create a lot of waste during the holidays. According to Stanford University, we throw away 25% more trash during the holiday season, adding up to 25 million tons of garbage or approximately 1 million extra tons every week.
There are many ways we can work to trim our waste during the holidays to have a greener season – including reducing paper and plastic use and choosing greener options like composting food scraps.
To help get you started, here are 10 eco-friendly ways to enjoy the festivities.
1. Electronic Invitations
Free services like Evite are a great way to get the word out about your gathering without using paper. Not only is it good for the environment, but the service makes it easy to send out reminders and keep track of who’s coming to dinner. Evite isn’t the only game in town, though. Check out GreenVelope, an electronic invitations site that donates a portion of its proceeds to Mountains for Sounds, a non-profit that supports forest maintenance. There’s also Punchbowl, an app that makes it easy to create your e-cards on your mobile device. And Paperless Post has elegant cards made in-house by a diverse and inclusive team of designers.
2. Use Real Dishes and Cloth Napkins
Disposable plates and napkins are a significant contributor to the holiday waste problem. So, get ready to dust off your “special occasion” dinnerware and bring it to the table. Pull out those beautiful cloth napkins you’ve been saving and turn them into a decorative rose that will surely impress your guests. Help reduce our holiday landfill waste by using glass cups or wine glasses. Personalize your drinkware by using a marker to write your guest’s names on the glasses safely. If you aren’t sure of everyone’s names, opt to add charm markers to the glasses for easy identification.
If real dishes are not feasible, use biodegradable plates and cutlery made of sugarcane, cornstarch, recycled paper, bamboo and other sustainable materials.
3. Use Natural Decorations
Fall and winter are some of the most naturally beautiful seasons. Colored leaves, pine cones, pumpkins, apples, pears, artichoke and acorns are just a few options for natural decor. Instead of buying new decorations, combine a few of these items inside a clear vase for table decor that is instantly festive and colorful and smells seasonal.
Also, consider purchasing eco-friendly candles made out of soy wax, coconut wax, beeswax and other sustainable materials. If you love DIY projects, you can also make your own using Ecopedia’s simple guide.
4. Lower the Heat
With a house full of guests and the oven working overtime on dinner, the house is bound to get warm. Save energy by lowering your thermostat.
5. Scrape Dishes and Use the Dishwasher
Rather than rinsing every dish with hot water before placing it in the dishwasher, scrape the dishes’ clean, and compost the scrapings. If a dishwasher is unavailable, let the dishes soak in the sink, then shut off the tap as you soap and sponge them. Shut the water off while you place the dishes in the drying rack.
6. Serve Tap or Filtered Pitcher Water
Definitely don’t use plastic water bottles. They’re horrible for the environment, aren’t necessarily better than your tap water and cost more. Nestle, a major bottled water company, uses child labor, over-pumps natural water supplies and is a major contributor to the single-use plastics problem.
If you’re concerned about the tap water in your area, you can use a filtering system like Pur Water or Brita pitcher dispensers.
7. Support Dry-Farmed Vineyards
California produces some of the best wine in the world, but the state is no stranger to drought. Many farmers have switched to a more sustainable way of farming those precious grapes – it’s called dry-farming.
Dry farming uses a particular soil to trap natural rainfall, eliminating the need for irrigation. This process saves water, and some believe it enhances the flavor of the wine. Natural Merchants has a list of highly rated dry-farmed wines, but next time you’re in a retail wine market, ask for recommendations.
8. Carpool to Dinner
With family and friends often spread out across the country, the number of vehicles on the road increases during the holidays. According to the EPA, transportation makes up 29% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Consider carpooling with friends or family traveling in the same direction as a great way to cut down on your carbon footprint.
9. Inflate Your Tires
Keeping your tires properly inflated might seem like a small thing, but improperly inflated tires have poor traction, are unsafe and reduce fuel efficiency.
10. Compost Your Food Waste
Scraps of food waste like fruit peels, eggshells and coffee grounds are compostable. If you have a green thumb, composting at home is a great way to create nutrient-rich soil. Or if at-home composting isn’t an option, BioCycle’s search engine makes it easy to find a composter near you.
Posted on December 4, 2019
CREDO Tip: The Seven Great National Parks to Visit in Winter
Winter is one of the best times to visit our nation’s beautiful national parks. Imagine standing in snow-blanketed Cooks Meadow with the iconic Half Dome in the background or standing next to Old Faithful Geyser with no one else around…
During the winter, the parks’ beauty is nearly unmatched. Leaves fall, leaving behind sculptures made of tree trunk; waterfalls crystallize; snowflakes drift in the wind and Earth’s natural wonders become a place of solitude and reflection.
There are 61 national parks spanning from Hawaii to Maine. Here are seven great ones to visit in winter:
1. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Located less than two hours away from Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon is often overlooked. But during the winter, the rich landscape of hoodoos creates a picturesque view, unlike any other place in the world. Imagine massive red, orange, and purple rock carved out by nature to look like ancient cities. Now blanket that scene in the snow, and it becomes a winter wonderland.
The parks shuttle service closes during the winter, but roads to popular lookouts including Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, Sunrise Point, and Bryce Point get plowed after every snowstorm. If you’re looking to venture into areas of higher elevation, you’ll want to check with park services about road closures.
The serviced roads with designated parking areas make Bryce Canyon one of the most accessible national parks to visit in the winter. For those looking for more adventure, hiking (with mountaineering crampons) and snowshoeing are available.
Pro-tip: Bryce Canyon National Park and Ruby’s Inn host an annual Winter Festival, which typically occurs over President’s Day weekend. During the event, there are activities for the whole family including crafts, snowshoe tours, photography workshops, and more.
Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor Center. UT-63, Bryce Canyon City, UT 84764. Plan your trip.
2. Denali National Park, Alaska
Given how far north this park is, temperatures are frigid, dropping to as low as -40°F, and during the fall, daylight shrinks to a mere five hours a day. That makes this park a prime location for stargazing and witnessing the mysterious Aurora Borealis.
If serenity is what you seek, Denali National Park is one of the best places to visit during winter. Plus, fewer crowds doesn’t mean fewer available activities. Popular winter activities in Denali National Park include skiing, biking, and snowshoeing.
Pro Tip: If you have your sights set on seeing the Aurora Borealis, download the My Aurora Forecast and Alert app for your iPhone or Android.
Denali National Park and Preserve. Parks Hwy, Denali National Park and Preserve, AK. Plan your trip.
3. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
During the winter, Shenandoah National Park is a hiker’s paradise. While the roads are generally closed from late November to March, the park is open year-round. For those willing to hike in strenuous, freezing conditions, the majestic sights of Shenandoah are well worth the effort. Frozen waterfalls, sparkling ice crystals, naked trees void of their leaves, and animal tracks in the powdered snow all reveal signs of life and nature’s natural progression amid the quiet and serene vistas.
Here are a few short hikes to consider: Stoney Man (1.6 miles RT), Frazier Discovery Trail (1.3-mile loop), and Dark Hollow Falls (1.4 miles RT).
Pro tip: In the winter, Byrd Visitor Center switches to weekend-only operational hours and only when the Skyline Drive itself is open. So plan accordingly.
Shenandoah National Park. 3655 U.S. Highway 211 East, Luray, VA 22835. Plan your visit.
4. Big Bend National Park, Texas
Whether you have one day, three days, or a week to explore Big Bend National Park, there is plenty to do and see. Located in Southwest Texas with portions of the park crossing into Mexico, Big Bend National Park is filled with huge limestone mountains cut by winding rivers.
Activities at Big Bend are abundant and include ziplining, bird watching, river tours, fishing, horseback riding, stargazing, scenic drives, hiking, and a fossil discovery exhibit with records dating as far back as 130 million years ago.
Pro tip: To help you navigate the vast expanse of land at Big Bend, download the Just Ahead app, which is available for both iPhone and Android users.
Big Bend National Park, TX 79834-0129. Plan your visit.
5. Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite became a protected National Park back in 1864. With 1,200 square miles, it’s home to iconic landmarks like Half Dome, El Capitan, and the Ansel Adams Gallery and Photography center. Because of this, over 4 million people pass through Yosemite each year, and 75% of those visits happen during the busy Summer months.
Not only will you encounter fewer crowds by visiting in the winter, but you’ll feel like you’re visiting a completely different park. Here, you get the calm, reflective winter white colors on the ground, contrasted with bright oranges and reds cast upon the mountains during sunset and sunrise.
During the winter, bundle up and enjoy Yosemite’s winter activities which include: skiing or snowshoeing, snow tubing or sledding, stargazing, ice skating, and photo walks.
Pro tip: Plan ahead. There is limited cell service in the park. If you have a large party, walkie talkies are a good idea.
Yosemite Visitor Center. 9035 Village Dr., Yosemite Valley, CA 95389. Plan your visit.
6. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
If you love the holiday season, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should be on your list of must-see National Parks. Just north of the park in Pigeon Forge, you’ll find the Winterfest Lights. This driving tour through town, either on your own or via a trolley, takes you to various gigantic light displays including the Great Smoky Mountain Wheel, an array of fairytale characters, and Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas event.
Inside the park, the lights dim, the world quiets and you can enjoy crowd-free hikes, wildlife spotting, spectacular waterfall displays, skiing and snowboarding, and historic buildings to visit.
Pro tip: The city of Hot Springs, which is east of the park and along the Appalachian Trail, is a must stop. For hundreds of years, people have come to soak in the natural mineral hot tubs, and after a long hike, there’s nothing better than a relaxing soak. Spaces are limited, so be sure to book in advance.
Great Smoky Mountains Visitor Center. 686 Cades Cove Loop Road, Townsend, TN 37882. Plan your visit.
7. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming and Montana
When you visit Yellowstone in the winter, it’s an entirely different experience. Because of inclement weather, most of the roads are shut down, but this means you get to explore the park on more adventurous vehicles: the snowmobile or snow coach.
With an icy breeze and fresh snow-powdered air all around, a ride to the iconic Old Faithful geyser or to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone on a snowmobile or snow coach feels more like an exploration rather than the typical expedition.
Apart from snowmobiling, visitors can also: hike, ski or snowshoe, animal watch, see live grizzly bears and wolves at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, take a dip in the boiling river, or join a winter photography safari.
Pro tip: Once you enter the park, cell service is limited, so be sure and download the NPS Yellowstone App, which is available for both iPhone and Androids.
Yellowstone Visitors Center. View Avenue, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. Plan your visit.
National Parks during the winter offer solitude, but venturing out during inclement weather is not without its dangers. Before you go, be sure to visit the park’s website to get up to date information about road closures and other warnings.
What gear you’ll need will depend on the activities you choose to participate in. The NPA has an essential guide to winter clothing and equipment for your reference. But, if you plan to hike check out the National Park Foundation’s hiking guide before venturing into the National Parks during the Winter. And for anyone interested in snowshoeing, check out REI’s guide for beginners.
Pick your park, check out the sites, gather your gear, and experience the National Parks in a way you’ve never experienced them before.
Posted on December 3, 2019
CREDO members are the reason we will donate more than $1.7 million this year
Today is Giving Tuesday, a special day for many nonprofits to kick off charitable giving over the holiday season.
Here at CREDO, we were created with a mission to fund progressive causes, like civil rights, climate justice and LGBTQ equality, today and all year long –— and we’ve been doing just that for more than 30 years.
We always get the question: How is CREDO able to donate millions to progressive nonprofits like Planned Parenthood, Friends of the Earth, the ACLU and so many others?
So this Giving Tuesday, we want to share with you just how we do that, and the answer is it’s our members. Because of CREDO members who use our CREDO Mobile, CREDO Energy, CREDO Long Distance and Working Assets Credit Card products every day, we can make an incredible impact on the progressive movement. CREDO members are the reason we will contribute nearly $2 million this year – and have donated more than $88 million since our founding – to amazing progressive nonprofit groups doing incredible work.
Here’s how our donations program works:
- All year long, CREDO members who use one of our products or services – CREDO Mobile, CREDO Long Distance, CREDO Energy or the Working Assets Credit Card – fund the CREDO Donations program with their phone, long distance, energy and credit card bills.
- Each month, CREDO meets as a company to vote for which three nonprofit groups will be on the ballot to receive the next month’s donations. Just like our members, everyone who works at CREDO shares a passion for our progressive work and takes the act of voting on each month’s slate very seriously. You can nominate a group too, just visit our CREDO Donations site.
- We ask all of our members to help decide who gets how much each month. We send the donations ballot to CREDO members, activists and supporters, and they vote for the group (or groups) they’d most like to see funded. The votes of CREDO members carry more weight. The vote of a member with one CREDO product or service counts twice. The vote of a member with two CREDO products or services counts three times, and so on.
Our donations are only possible because of our members who vote with their wallets and choose a company that shares their progressive values. Our loyal CREDO members have helped us donate more than $1.7 million in 2019 and over $88 million since 1985.
You can help us choose how to distribute this month’s donation to three great groups! Click here to cast your vote today.
So thank you, CREDO members, for making these donations possible. Not a member yet? Want to join a company that isn’t afraid to stand up for your values and gives millions to progressive causes? Check out CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and make the switch! Watch and share CREDO’s story too.
Posted on December 2, 2019
Our November grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups supporting climate justice, civil rights and reproductive freedom. In November, nearly 40,000 CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Bold, Dēmos Action and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our November grant recipients thank you.
Bold
$52,038
“Thank you for serving as a megaphone for climate action! CREDO members are true allies for national and local groups like Bold. Because of your activism, Bold continues to protect our land, water and climate from risky fossil fuel projects like the Keystone XL pipeline.” – Jane Kleeb, Founder and Executive Director
To learn more, visit boldalliance.org.
Dēmos Action
$32,570
“Thank you for your partnership! We are in a pivotal moment for the future of American democracy, and CREDO members like you make it possible for Dēmos Action to help build the kind of inclusive democracy we all deserve but have never truly had.” – Sabeel Rahman, President
To learn more, visit demosaction.org.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
$65,392
“Thank you for your support, which comes at a critical moment for sexual and reproductive health and rights. CREDO members like you keep Planned Parenthood strong for all who rely on us for vital information and care, and we are so grateful.” – Alexis McGill Johnson, Acting President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
To learn more, visit Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in December, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
