Item 190 – Every Last One Volunteering

Remember how the United States is holding children, separated from their families, in cages at the border for the crime of asking for legal asylum? Yeah, we haven’t forgotten either. Sign up to volunteer remotely with Every Last One, an organization that helps advocate for the children and is guiding them out of detention and into the arms of their families when possible, or screened sponsors when not. Submit a screenshot of your completed volunteer form. (On your honor, follow through!)

Item 178 – RBG Lacework

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known for her strength, her measured and wise jurisprudence, and her signature lace collars. But as all Gishers know, lacework used to be used to depict historic moments, so clearly you should crochet or knit a lace collar featuring a portrait of RBG or that conveys a message to her.

Item 175 – Ballot Pokémon Cards

(GRID) Create a set of Pokemon cards for all of the candidates on your ballot for your country’s next major or general election, down the entire ballot for your area. On each card, list the candidate’s positions as their “powers” and assign an overall Points value to the candidate.

Item 161 – Change a Life – Criminal Justice Reform

“CHANGE A LIFE. This year, the Black Lives Matter movement helped cast a spotlight on the United States’ approach to criminal justice, highlighting ugly truths about a prison system badly in need of reform. The US criminal justice system disproportionately targets people of color, subjecting them to brutal, harrowing punishments that would be inhumane regardless of the alleged infraction that brought them behind bars — and many prisoners are detained and denied basic human rights behind bars despite being guilty of minor offenses or of no crime at all. Every year, over 600,000 people enter prison gates. Even more troubling, 10.6 million people cycle through local county jails each year. To complicate matters, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned correctional facilities into death camps. As cases spread through overcrowded prisons and jails, social distancing becomes impossible, masks and other personal protective equipment are scarce, access to alcohol-based hand sanitizer is often banned, and medical care has a long history of neglectful treatment. We’re going to try to do something to protect people at risk of oppression and human rights violations in the United States Criminal Justice System.

YOUR MISSION In partnership with the non-profit Misha Collins’ founded, Random Acts (a 501 (c)(3)), we’re setting a goal of raising $100,000 to help close prison doors and open doors of opportunity for people incarcerated in the United States who are being subjected to inhumane and unjust treatment. To be clear, this isn’t an issue of guilt or innocence; it’s a human rights issue. No person should face abuse or risk death due to a lack of adequate resources and proper, humane treatment. WHAT TO DO: Create a fundraiser page here and get at least 10 donations of a minimum of $5. WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU OR YOUR TEAMMATES TO DONATE. Rather, we ask that you reach out to the global community and your social networks to make a contribution. Then, submit a screenshot of your fundraiser showing 10 donations and the total amount donated to us for your points.
WHAT YOUR DONATIONS DO: Your donations will help fund Dream Corps’ efforts to “#cut50” — a bipartisan effort to cut crime and incarceration across all 50 states – while moving the needle toward criminal justice reform on several levels to create a more equitable and just system. Funds from this campaign will go to programs that: (1) create dignity and safety for incarcerated people. (2) provide critically needed policy change that expands life-saving treatment, testing, sanitation gear to protect those behind bars from the pandemic, (3) fight for badly-needed legislative prison reform that reduces incarceration and provides fair chances for people when they return to communities, and (4) support advocacy programs that help formerly incarcerated leaders share their experiences with those empowered to change the system – changing minds, hearts, and laws. We invite you to please join us in achieving our goal of raising 100,000 to help change the lives of people who experienced atrocities and prejudices similar to Pamela Winn. DONATIONS ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE AND 100% OF THE DONATIONS GO TO THESE EFFORTS (for countries other than the U.S., deductions are contingent on your laws).”

Item 158 – GISH Super Short Socially-Distanced Cinema

(UP TO 5 MINUTES) Celebrities performed a speed-run of The Princess Bride recently, but they’re not the only ones that can do this! It’s time for GISH Super Short Socially-Distanced Cinema starring Everybody! Collaborate with your teammates to recreate a single scene of your favorite movie (EXCEPT the Princess Bride), 100% at home and 100% socially-distanced. Post it online tagging #GISH with a fundraiser link to the World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, or the World Food Programme. Submit your movie to us along with a link to show how much you raised.

Item 50 – #GISHEpicPoems

Every Gisher has the soul of an epic poet, and we can prove it. Each member of your team should write one line of an epic poem on social media about overcoming hardship so that it flows brilliantly as a cohesive piece.

The Captain of your team should post this as the first line of your poem: “We’ve got work to do… #GISHEpicPoems”

Then, each active member of your team should chime in with a subsequent line (and ONLY one line) of poetry in a threaded post, each tagging #GISHEpicPoems.

At the end, the Captain should post: “But nothing ever really ends… does it? #GISHEpicPoems” and tag another team to continue the thread.

If your team is tagged by another team, continue the thread with Step A.

Your poem may not be about any fandom or feature any pop culture characters. Submit an image of your finished poem and then also submit it HERE in text. (If any of your teammates cannot access your team’s chosen platform due to censorship or restrictions in their country of origin, and you have no other social media platform options that are fully inclusive, the Team Captain may post the line they have authored in their stead and tag it with the author’s username.)