The Rosenberg Fund for Children marked our 35th anniversary earlier this fall. While the public celebration won’t happen until the spring of 2026, I still took the opportunity presented by that milestone to marvel at the growth, success and longevity of this organization my father willed into being out of the pain of his childhood. In the last three and half decades, because of your support we’ve awarded close to $10 million in grants supporting children in more than 500 activist families across the country!

Despite our collective accomplishment, and the many ways in which the RFC has expanded and thrived in the past few years, the first half of this decade has felt like a series of seemingly endless crises. The re-election of Trump, a global pandemic, environmental calamities, rampant and fast-increasing economic inequality, the gutting of the social safety net, escalating assaults on reproductive health care and the frightening rise of Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism and anti-trans speech and violence at home and around the globe are alarming.

We’re witnessing the march towards fascism in the United States with mask-wearing federal agents occupying cities across the country as they sweep immigrants and people of color off the streets without care or legal process and in some cases render them to brutal prisons in other countries. Meanwhile genocide in Sudan, Palestine, Myanmar and far too many other countries are horrifying and make the vision of a more fair, equitable and peaceful world feel so much farther away than it was a decade ago. I doubt many of us could have imagined where we'd be today: facing an imminent threat of total authoritarian domination. I wish I were writing to you in very different circumstances in which the RFC was less relevant, but clearly our support is needed now more than ever. That’s why I’m asking you to stand with us now and make a year-end donation to support the children of resistance.

One of the few hopeful signs this year is the courageous, inspiring resistance of so many members of our community. Once again we awarded $450,000 in grants this year, matching that previously unfathomable amount for the third year in a row. I wish I could share all the stories of the children and young people you made it possible for us to support this year, but I only have the space to tell you about a few:

• Cassie knew she was risking arrest and possible danger as she approached the women’s restroom at the State Capitol building in a conservative southern state. The twenty year old transgender college student had sent a letter to more than 150 lawmakers in Florida telling them of her intention; she could not accept the discriminatory laws which tried to police her body and choices in a community she loved. After spending less than 60 seconds washing her hands in the bathroom, she was charged with trespassing, her rosary was taken from her, she was forced to stay overnight in the men's ward of the jail and her body and car were searched. A RFC targeted activist youth development grant will help cover her therapy and books for college.

• Lahyun, a 21 year old college student and permanent U.S. resident, is facing deportation for her involvement in Palestinian human rights protests. After she was arrested at a protest, the government revoked her green card. Facing the threat of deportation, she sued the federal government and a judge has ordered a halt to her deportation proceedings. In the meantime, she’s been in hiding as government agents search her home, terrorize her family and make it impossible for her to go to her job or attend classes. RFC grant funding will allow her to access mental health services and school supplies while she fights to stay in the country she’s called home since she was seven while continuing to exercise her right to protest and free speech.

In addition to the grants described above, this fall’s awards will fund a soccer program for the young daughter whose mother was imprisoned for her advocacy for reproductive rights, as well as a wheelchair for the young woman whose mother has faced relentless harassment for her efforts to hold the cops who killed her husband accountable for his murder.

These are dark times. But we are not helpless in the face of these attacks. When we come together as a community to support these families, we’re carrying on a long tradition of resistance and activism that for me is very personal. I grew up hearing stories from my father about the people who knew they risked FBI surveillance, loss of jobs, possible arrest or worse, but still attended protests, wrote letters and organized to try to save my grandparents. I’m convinced these people helped save my dad and uncle and allowed them to grow up sane and loving. More than seventy years later, I know we are all committed to doing the same thing today for the next generation of activists and their children.

Your gift will connect children to vital, nurturing programs. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. I pledge that 90% of the funds you donate in response to this report will be awarded in current or future grants. For 35 years, the RFC has stood with and for the children of resistance.

We know this support will be vital in the days to come and we are committed to being there for these kids. But in order to continue to do so, we need all our supporters to dig deep now. More children are at risk and activist families are counting on us. Please show your support now with a meaningful year-end donation to the RFC.

Your help has never been more critical.

Jennifer Meeropol, Executive Director