Goodness I'm late to respond! :) I hadn't heard about the issues with Patreon, but I've cancelled the donations coming through that platform now and will be switching over asap. Thank you!
Your work is amazing. I've been following you for over six years now. I only pay $30 per month to access your content, stay connected to all the previous work you did at BFL curating badass book lists that I use all the time when designing curriculum, and read through mini actions when I get a chance. The very low payment gives me access to a collective of co-conspirators & can join the hangouts when I get a chance. Free Palestine!! 🇵🇸
You goofball. I see what you there with the 'only' trying to raise the bar. If I had twenty April Browns, I'd never stress about making this sustainable.
Anyone who contributes $5 or amplifies this work is reciprocating a ton, too! But IKYK know you're going above-and-beyond ;)
I really love your work and have been referring people to it for years. I'm a parent of two young kids and it's helped me build our home library and have critical conversations about books that didn't quite get it right.
I will say, I have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate in terms of activism. I tend to have one of two major issues that I stick with and sometimes struggle to build capacity for other issues. My main cause right now is Gaza and it's hard to switch gears.
That's how you dig into deep work and discover the roots of how that one hyperfixation is connected to all the heads of the kyriarchy hydra. We address the root issues in Gaza, we advance backyard issues like fighting shot spotter, cop city, police brutality, colonization, and xenophobia, weapons lobbying - if you help fight for justice there, you're making an impact everywhere.
By advocating to end the genocide and support the people in Gaza now, you're doing deep work that will impact people around the globe. That's a good thing! Join the next summer collective and we can lube that hyperfixation gear so you don't have to waste energy switching gears, but use that one gear to turn the others ;)
I'm wondering - are the Quick-Actions helping? My goal was to make it so folks who don't have time to follow a ton of issues can still pitch in with a few clicks, without getting too deep into the weeds in research, vetting sources, and making sure they have a stance that aligns with their primary issues.(no judgement if it's too much, just curious on how I can make it simpler so you can focus on Gaza!)
I really appreciate you bringing more folks along and referring them! Do you think they'd be interested in like, a special code or fun thing like that so you can get perks for them to join the Luminary Braintrust?
Thank you so much for this thoughtful response! The Quick Actions are amazing. It's a huge help to have the vetting done by a trustworthy source.
As someone who hasn't joined the LBT (yet!) I wonder if it might help to have a way to get a sample or trial of the experience? I'm not sure how it works, but that might be a way to get people hooked.
I'd be happy to send you a LBT code. As a general rule I don't make it a discounted / trial offer thing, mostly because I want to put a small 'gate' of effort before strangers enter our brave spaces. But we have lots of people who have free memberships because they can't afford to support my work, but still needed the community. I'll message you!
(anyone else who needs a free LBT membership - please do reach out)
I love your work, but I'm slightly outside of your core audience. I'm not a parent (yet), but I do use your work in my work at a public library and I share your work as a resouce to my coworkers. You do SO MUCH. I know for me the most recent list of quick action items was great (and I agreed with all of them!), but while they are easy to do, the list was so long that it was information overload as a neurodivergent person. Please keep up the amazing work. I look forward to your emails in my inbox.
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing with your coworkers and patrons!
Your advice on the information overload for Quick Actions is so right and so smart. I'm going to experiment with reigning it in and chopping it down. You're right, it is visually overwhelming!
I use the monthly toolkits as mini lessons to discuss and delve in to with my homeschooled kids. I also donate on Patreon and share out your resources to other parents.
Thank you Cassie!! I really appreciate your support. No rush, but I just wanted you to know that Patreon is complicit in supporting abusers who distribute CSAM (child sexual abuse material), which is why I created the Luminary Braintrust to divest from Facebook and Patreon. Whenever you get a chance, I can't wait for you to join us over in the LBT!
Hello! I'm new here as an unpaid subscriber to check it out and this is the first email I've received from you, but I wanted to jump in and share that I love everything I've seen so far - especially the Critical Reading Guide for Kids. I'm a trans woman working in libraries and I'm starting a side project of storytimes without institutional support, which means I have zero funding or budget but also lets me focus on telling stories that matter without worrying who might object or feel alienated. I love this resource and will be sharing it with parents and youth-focused librarians in my world, and look forward to seeing what else your program has to offer.
I know that this work feels like voidscreaming from time to time, but hope this little echo bounces back and bring a little joy. Your light shines bright even from a distance - thanks for all you do.
Also! Sharing that I had to make an account to comment which was not as easy as I first expected, and that may be a barrier to more feedback. I'm way more likely to email reply but the button took me here so you get a wall o text instead~
Also (no pressure) but since I no longer have very little ones at home - if you find trans-inclusive kids books that the kiddos in your library love, I hope you'll share them with us so we can amplify them!
That is really helpful, Takira, and I am so grateful that you invested time and consideration to help me out when I haven't even given you tons of stuff yet!
Thank you for sharing, thank you for the work you do keeping your library a brave space for all kids, and thank you for that great tip on the commenting interface! I'll tweak it next time to add a reply option <3
Thank you Priscilla - hearing from you means so much to me. Please don't over-extend yourself! Just messages like this to hear i'm not screaming into the void really do mean so much.
While I deeply appreciate anyone who can give me insight on 'What's so shitty about Raising Luminaries / my work' - I do NOT want business advice in the comments. Trust me, I already know it. If I had the resources and/or could ethically do what you suggest, I'd have done it by now.
I provide services and there are fairly easy ways for people to pay for those services. That's the challenge we're focusing on here.
Goodness I'm late to respond! :) I hadn't heard about the issues with Patreon, but I've cancelled the donations coming through that platform now and will be switching over asap. Thank you!
Thank you, so excited to have you join us here!
Your work is amazing. I've been following you for over six years now. I only pay $30 per month to access your content, stay connected to all the previous work you did at BFL curating badass book lists that I use all the time when designing curriculum, and read through mini actions when I get a chance. The very low payment gives me access to a collective of co-conspirators & can join the hangouts when I get a chance. Free Palestine!! 🇵🇸
You goofball. I see what you there with the 'only' trying to raise the bar. If I had twenty April Browns, I'd never stress about making this sustainable.
Anyone who contributes $5 or amplifies this work is reciprocating a ton, too! But IKYK know you're going above-and-beyond ;)
If folks are able to contribute more...they should!! Your work is endlessly valuable. ❤️🥰
I really love your work and have been referring people to it for years. I'm a parent of two young kids and it's helped me build our home library and have critical conversations about books that didn't quite get it right.
I will say, I have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate in terms of activism. I tend to have one of two major issues that I stick with and sometimes struggle to build capacity for other issues. My main cause right now is Gaza and it's hard to switch gears.
Having one primary issue is great!
That's how you dig into deep work and discover the roots of how that one hyperfixation is connected to all the heads of the kyriarchy hydra. We address the root issues in Gaza, we advance backyard issues like fighting shot spotter, cop city, police brutality, colonization, and xenophobia, weapons lobbying - if you help fight for justice there, you're making an impact everywhere.
By advocating to end the genocide and support the people in Gaza now, you're doing deep work that will impact people around the globe. That's a good thing! Join the next summer collective and we can lube that hyperfixation gear so you don't have to waste energy switching gears, but use that one gear to turn the others ;)
I'm wondering - are the Quick-Actions helping? My goal was to make it so folks who don't have time to follow a ton of issues can still pitch in with a few clicks, without getting too deep into the weeds in research, vetting sources, and making sure they have a stance that aligns with their primary issues.(no judgement if it's too much, just curious on how I can make it simpler so you can focus on Gaza!)
I really appreciate you bringing more folks along and referring them! Do you think they'd be interested in like, a special code or fun thing like that so you can get perks for them to join the Luminary Braintrust?
Thank you so much for this thoughtful response! The Quick Actions are amazing. It's a huge help to have the vetting done by a trustworthy source.
As someone who hasn't joined the LBT (yet!) I wonder if it might help to have a way to get a sample or trial of the experience? I'm not sure how it works, but that might be a way to get people hooked.
I'm so glad the Quick Actions are helping! Whew!
I'd be happy to send you a LBT code. As a general rule I don't make it a discounted / trial offer thing, mostly because I want to put a small 'gate' of effort before strangers enter our brave spaces. But we have lots of people who have free memberships because they can't afford to support my work, but still needed the community. I'll message you!
(anyone else who needs a free LBT membership - please do reach out)
Thanks so much, Ashia, that's so generous of you!
I love your work, but I'm slightly outside of your core audience. I'm not a parent (yet), but I do use your work in my work at a public library and I share your work as a resouce to my coworkers. You do SO MUCH. I know for me the most recent list of quick action items was great (and I agreed with all of them!), but while they are easy to do, the list was so long that it was information overload as a neurodivergent person. Please keep up the amazing work. I look forward to your emails in my inbox.
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing with your coworkers and patrons!
Your advice on the information overload for Quick Actions is so right and so smart. I'm going to experiment with reigning it in and chopping it down. You're right, it is visually overwhelming!
I use the monthly toolkits as mini lessons to discuss and delve in to with my homeschooled kids. I also donate on Patreon and share out your resources to other parents.
Thank you Cassie!! I really appreciate your support. No rush, but I just wanted you to know that Patreon is complicit in supporting abusers who distribute CSAM (child sexual abuse material), which is why I created the Luminary Braintrust to divest from Facebook and Patreon. Whenever you get a chance, I can't wait for you to join us over in the LBT!
Hello! I'm new here as an unpaid subscriber to check it out and this is the first email I've received from you, but I wanted to jump in and share that I love everything I've seen so far - especially the Critical Reading Guide for Kids. I'm a trans woman working in libraries and I'm starting a side project of storytimes without institutional support, which means I have zero funding or budget but also lets me focus on telling stories that matter without worrying who might object or feel alienated. I love this resource and will be sharing it with parents and youth-focused librarians in my world, and look forward to seeing what else your program has to offer.
I know that this work feels like voidscreaming from time to time, but hope this little echo bounces back and bring a little joy. Your light shines bright even from a distance - thanks for all you do.
Also! Sharing that I had to make an account to comment which was not as easy as I first expected, and that may be a barrier to more feedback. I'm way more likely to email reply but the button took me here so you get a wall o text instead~
Also (no pressure) but since I no longer have very little ones at home - if you find trans-inclusive kids books that the kiddos in your library love, I hope you'll share them with us so we can amplify them!
That is really helpful, Takira, and I am so grateful that you invested time and consideration to help me out when I haven't even given you tons of stuff yet!
Thank you for sharing, thank you for the work you do keeping your library a brave space for all kids, and thank you for that great tip on the commenting interface! I'll tweak it next time to add a reply option <3
I love all of this so much. I'm also just overwhelmed and exhausted and struggling with mental health. So I skim the emails and don't do much else.
Thank you Priscilla - hearing from you means so much to me. Please don't over-extend yourself! Just messages like this to hear i'm not screaming into the void really do mean so much.
While I deeply appreciate anyone who can give me insight on 'What's so shitty about Raising Luminaries / my work' - I do NOT want business advice in the comments. Trust me, I already know it. If I had the resources and/or could ethically do what you suggest, I'd have done it by now.
I provide services and there are fairly easy ways for people to pay for those services. That's the challenge we're focusing on here.