{"id":27536,"date":"2026-09-04T22:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=27536"},"modified":"2026-09-04T23:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T03:13:23","slug":"lavona-grow-a-legacy-of-courageous-uu-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/lavona-grow-a-legacy-of-courageous-uu-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavona Grow, a Legacy of Courageous UU Advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Announcing the Lavona Grow Fund: Carrying Forward a Legacy of Courageous UU Advocacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) is honored to announce the launch of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/default.salsalabs.org\/T97a7278f-9c22-4c30-8db0-ff6184c83d97\/22794df9-96f4-4a5a-8aff-43dad557cc9a\" target=\"_top\">UUSJ Lavona Grow Fund<\/a><\/strong>, a new initiative created to carry forward the bold, values-rooted advocacy that defined Lavona Grow\u2019s life and leadership. Lavona passed away in January 2026, and this fund reflects our commitment to keeping her spirit of grounded, justice-driven leadership shaping UUSJ\u2019s future. (Wondering about her passion and impact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kudoboard.com\/boards\/QOKi1et3\/LavonaGrow\"><strong>see comments here<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-27523 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lavona1-420x219.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lavona1-420x219.png 420w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lavona1-768x400.png 768w, https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lavona1.png 884w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Lavona\u2014co-founder of UUSJ, longtime Board Chair, and architect of our Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps\u2014brought uncommon clarity, curiosity, and moral courage to every facet of her work.<\/p>\n<p>Her decades of public service included leadership at <strong>Common Cause of Indiana<\/strong>, government relations work at <strong>George Washington University<\/strong>, federal service at the <strong>U.S. Department of Education<\/strong>, and a pivotal role as a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Capitol Hill Lobby Corps, where she volunteered as a lobbyist beginning in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>Lavona was a strategic force behind national UU advocacy efforts, shaping programs like our UUSJ <em>Write Here! Write Now!<\/em> letter-writing program and elevating UU voices on issues of climate, immigration, democracy, and economic justice.<\/p>\n<p>The Lavona Grow Fund strengthens UUSJ\u2019s capacity to do what Lavona modeled so powerfully:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Build national advocacy coalitions<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Train and equip UU advocates across the country<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Advance environmental and economic justice<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Support strategic initiatives that grow the UU justice ecosystem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>This fund reflects Lavona\u2019s belief that advocacy is both a moral calling and a teachable skill<\/strong>\u2014and that UUs can and must show up with courage, competence, and compassion in moments of national consequence.<\/p>\n<p>As we launch this fund, we honor Lavona\u2019s memory by investing in the future she envisioned: a vibrant, prepared, values-driven corps of UU advocates making meaningful progress at the federal and state levels.<\/p>\n<p>We invite you to join us in celebrating Lavona\u2019s legacy and supporting the work that will continue in her name.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/default.salsalabs.org\/T8d7c0ea7-3bde-4cac-b558-43a1b518163b\/212b3f47-945b-4f17-be1a-cf838e0a090e\" target=\"_top\">The <strong>UUSJ Lavona Grow Fund<\/strong>: Because her spirit of bold, grounded justice must remain part of our future. Please consider a generous gift to the fund. Help UUSJ expand capacity<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Announcing the Lavona Grow Fund: Carrying Forward a Legacy of Courageous UU Advocacy Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) is honored to announce the launch of the UUSJ Lavona Grow Fund, a new initiative created to carry forward the bold, values-rooted advocacy that defined Lavona Grow\u2019s life and leadership. Lavona passed away in January 2026, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/lavona-grow-a-legacy-of-courageous-uu-advocacy\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Lavona Grow, a Legacy of Courageous UU Advocacy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1897,97,42,47,1952,17,7,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about_us","category-advocacy","category-community-organizing","category-education","category-testimonials","category-unitarian-universalism","category-uusj-events","category-volunteer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27536"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27540,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27536\/revisions\/27540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}