We believe in the power of organized people… to build stronger communities where justice and fairness are a reality for everyone.
STREAM Team Leaders Prepare for our December 9, 2024 Annual Community Assembly.
Please mark key events on your calendar and join us!
Our upcoming Research to Action cycle begins:
12/9/24 Annual Community Assembly at Peace Presbyterian 6:30pm
1/6/25 Research to Action Kickoff at Pathways Christian Fellowship 6:30pm
About our Lead Organizer Cory Weckerle
Cory has been STREAM’s Lead Organizer since July 2023. He is a dedicated community and former political organizer with a wealth of experience from Tampa, FL. From a young age, he has been at the forefront of significant grassroots, community-led social justice movements.
Throughout his career, he has actively contributed to multiple voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns across Florida and his commitment to democracy extends to the national level through his involvement in numerous presidential, gubernatorial, and mayoral campaigns.
Passionate about justice and equity for all people, he is focused on empowering communities to reach their full potential. Cory has helped STREAM to make a meaningful difference in Manatee County!
Cory’s email is Cory@thedartcenter.org.
Our April 29, 2024 Nehemiah Action was a success with over 400 supporters !
See what the Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald-Tribune had to say about our 2023 Nehemiah Action: ABC7 News and NBC8 News also covered the event.…
“The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” - Proverbs 29:7
Many of us want to “do something” to solve problems in our community, but often lack an effective vehicle to do so. We work to address this gap and invite you to join us.
STREAM (Stronger Together Reaching Equality Across Manatee) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organizing group uniting faith communities to answer the call to seek justice and solve critical community problems in Manatee County. Our name STREAM reflects our vision of a community where justice flows like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24). We believe “loving our neighbor” means standing up and acting to provide fairness and justice for all.
Unique to our approach is a focus on direct action to address the root causes of problems. We do not provide charitable services (often a temporary fix). STREAM works to create long-term solutions by changing problematic policies and systems that are significant drivers of poverty and injustice. Our current priority issues are affordable housing and criminal justice reform.
We currently have 15 member congregations with diverse religious, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds and who come from all parts of Manatee County. We are actively seeking new member congregations (and individual members).
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. - Amos 5:24
I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. - Amos 5:24
Do you know what I want? I want justice – oceans of it. I want fairness – rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want. - Amos 5:24
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! - Amos 5:24
But let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry. - Amos 5:24
No, no, we are not satisfied and will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. - Amos 5:24
Interested in joining us?
We would love to have you on our team and there are many ways to get involved. Whether you’re more comfortable contributing time to help advocate for our goals, money to help us grow, or energy to expand our membership, we need your help. Every member counts and makes creating change in our community possible!
Although our membership is rooted in faith-based institutions, our mission is not to push religious doctrine. Anyone who shares our values of justice and fairness is welcome to get involved. We set aside labels like red/blue or conservative/liberal that divide a community so we can work together on practical solutions for our common good.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu
We selected 2 core issues to focus on in 2022 and 2023.
Affordable Housing and Homelessness
Criminal Justice (an Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion program)
We will again gather data and identify potential solutions by meeting with community members, policy experts, and local officials. We will share proposed solutions with network members at our March Rally. We will meet meet with local officials and presented our new “asks” to them at the Nehemiah Action on May 8th.
“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
— Benjamin Franklin
