Campaign Success: 600+ ‘Postcards for the River’ sent to Decision Makers from River Citizens

River Citizens are people the Mississippi River can count on. From armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens protect the River by speaking up on its behalf and caring for it in simple ways that make a big difference. Since 2009, 1 Mississippi has grown a community of 20,000 River Citizens and inspired thousands of actions. Over the last two months, River Citizens from up and down the Mississippi and across the country showed up yet again for our River – this time by writing Postcards for the River.

So, why do you care about the Mississippi River?

This was the prompt we asked our River Citizen community to respond to while writing postcards to their elected officials as part of 1 Mississippi’s recent Postcards for the River campaign. The campaign was a covid-adaptation pilot program, and our staff team has been humbled and blown away by the response! We had 160 folks sign up for the postcards for the River campaign requesting over 1000 postcards to take action and sent to their elected officials. As the conclusion of the campaign, a confirmed 602 postcards were sent (although it’s likely that more were filled out and sent to Decision Makers). The interest was actually so great that we ran out of our Can the River Count on You postcards and have a group of River Citizens on standby for the next iteration of this type of postcard campaign.

sign up here to be on the short list for next postcards campaign

It starts with care

There are so many reasons why people care about the Mississippi River. Whether it is because of its source as clean drinking water for 20 million people, its cultural, economic, or spiritual significance, or because of its natural beauty – there is no wrong reason to care about the River. With this postcard campaign, 1 Mississippi wanted to emulate this care and extend it to River Citizens. Thus, instead of just sending the postcards in the mail, we included goodies in the package like Swiss Miss hot chocolate packages, buttons, River educational materials, and stickers!

An Evening for the River: Postcards, Music, Art, Storytelling

One of the most exciting parts from this campaign was an event that we held on December 9th, 2020. The event was called An Evening for the River: Postcards, Music, Art, Storytelling and it was a hoot! Quite honestly, it was my favorite event of the Zoom era and in some ways it was made possible because we could connect virtually together from so many places. We had folks from all ten states the mainstem of the Mississippi River flows through, and many representing other states across the watershed and country.

The event was graced with a stellar line-up of presenters, artists, storytellers, musicians, educators, advocates, and even the group going for the Mississippi Speed Record shared about their upcoming endeavor. In some ways, it felt like we were sitting together at a giant campfire on the riverbanks while listening to sweet music from no other than Mr. ‘Lower River’ himself, John Ruskey of the Quapaw Canoe Company. Chief Guide Mark River Peoples helped carry the tune on many songs as well. All the while, in between songs, folks wrote on their postcards why they care about our great River the Mississippi and then dropped the postcards in the mail for their local, state, and federal legislators. (Missed the event? Watch it on YouTube here and subscribe to 1 Mississippi!)

At the conclusion of the campaign, we held a live prize drawing on 1 Mississippi’s Facebook page. Michael has just finished sending out the prizes and we are humbled by the way our River Citizen community showed up and energized for what is coming down the bend.

So, What’s Next?

Make sure you:

• Sign up as a River Citizen (it’s free; join the community 20,000 strong from Headwaters to Gulf. We send regular email communications to River Citizens with things like events and opportunities)
• Follow 1 Mississippi on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Check out the Enjoy The Mississippi 2021 campaign!
• Get involved with the Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative!
• Do you like advocacy and doing things like writing postcards for the River? Join the River Citizen Advocacy Group here.

We look forward to continuing to be and work with you for the people, land, water, and wildlife of our cherished Mississippi River! Any questions can go to info@1mississippi.org.

-Michael Anderson

Outreach and Engagement Manager, Mississippi River Network

Can the River Count on You?

Become a River Citizen!