Melanie Shouse
A group of Pennsylvanians is marching the 135 miles from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., over the next week. They are going to call on Congress to support health care reform, and they want you to join them.
It may be a little late to join the march from start to finish, since it starts on February 17, but the leaders of Melanie’s March are also looking for people to join them at events along the way in cities like Newark, Wilmington, and Baltimore; donate to support the cause; or march the last mile with them to Capitol Hill.
The group will arrive at the Capitol on February 24, just before President Obama’s Health Care summit. “So, as the summit begins we’ll be there to tell lawmakers enough is enough!” says a statement on the group’s website. “Members of Congress have had plenty of time to discuss and debate health care over the past year. Now it’s their job to make it happen. It’s time to get it done and get it done right. Congress must deliver the change we voted for!”
The march was named for political organizer Melanie Shouse. According to the website, Shouse “lost a long battle with breast cancer after missing out on critical treatment because she, like thousands of others, could not find affordable health insurance.”
Melanie’s March is being organized by the Pennsylvania contingent of Health Care For America NOW! It is co-sponsored by HCAN, SEIU, Families USA, The AME Church, Catholics United, Health Rights Organizing Project, Interfaith Worker Justice, National Physicians Alliance, Pennsylvania Health Access Network, Philadelphia Unemployment Project, UFCW, and Raising Women’s Voices.
Additional information
Follow the marchers’ progress online or on Twitter at #melaniesmarch
