About – Molly's Army

You catch yourself doomscrolling off and on all day, getting sucker-punched by breaking news alerts about the coup-in-progress, and feeling more and more overwhelmed by the daily dismantling of our democracy. But you’re unsure what to do. Starting to believe that nothing you could do would matter anyway.

You’re stuck in a patch of quicksand that threatens to swallow you whole.

👉 I believe when you feel frozen and powerless, reminding yourself that you do have power is the antidote. Because you have agency, even now.

And the best (and only) way to remind yourself of your own power is to use it: Take a tiny action. Just one tiny step forward. Read an article, sign up for a training, make a phone call, forward a message to a friend, subscribe to this weekly newsletter.

Doesn’t matter what you do, but doing something—even if it’s small—is the only way to break the cycle of outrage and overwhelm.

If we’re going to make it out of this, I need you by my side. And you can’t be there if you’re frozen in quicksand, friend.

So consider this me reaching out to you with a big honkin’ tree branch to pull you out. All you gotta do is grab on. 💜

This was so inspiring that I made more calls to my representatives than usual. I will try to make it to an in-person event this weekend, and I am thrilled and proud to be part of Molly’s Army! Thank you for all that you do!
Holly, member of Molly’s Army

Imagine this…

Armed with a toolbox of tiny but meaningful actions you can take—even when you’re busy—you’ll stop feeling overwhelmed and instead feel empowered.

Surrounded by caring and thoughtful folks who are willing to show up and speak out for their fellow Americans, you’ll shift from hopeless to hopeful.

And instead of doomscrolling dragging you down, the stories of those folks and all their tiny actions will be a balm to your bruised and tender soul.

The truth is that none of us wants to be in the position we find ourselves in at this moment in history. But if it has to happen in our lifetimes, there’s nobody I’d rather be traveling this road alongside than you, and the rest of Molly’s Army.

Who’s behind this?

Hello! I’m Kelly Holmes—a self-employed writer and mom of four. In my college years and my 20s, I organized voter registration drives, called my reps on the regular, and led several community initiatives. I even wrote an essay that was published in a book about how everyday folks can get plugged into community organizing.

Then I became a parent. You can probably guess what happened next.

Parenting and work consumed every ounce of my energy, and my civic engagement muscles atrophied. Sure, I still voted, but that was the extent of my civic life.

Then: January 20, 2025. The relentless onslaught of un-American actions from the new President horrified me. Two weeks later, an invitation to a Zoom call with a progressive organization crossed my path, and even though it would be during my kids’ bedtime routine, I signed up.

While filling my youngest’s bath, I tuned into the call. The organizers gave voice to the severity of the situation, and they encouraged us to visit with our Senators and Representatives in person. I pulled up my calendar for the week, and I realized: That’s something small I can do. I can take an hour out of my day and do that.

And within minutes, I felt a seed of hope take root. Not just because the phone call showed me I wasn’t alone in my despair and desire to do something—but because I’d made the decision to take action.

The next day, I sent out an invitation for fellow citizens to join me at my Senators’ local offices in a couple days. On such a short timeline, I thought I’d be lucky to convince five people to join me.

More than 100 showed up. All of them people I’d never met before.

We held up homemade signs, sang a Woodie Guthrie song, and passed around a letter to our Senators, each adding our names to it. As it turns out, our Senators were too chicken to allow their staff to accept our letter, let alone meet with someone from our group—their constituents. (See the full story in the local paper here.)

But rather than feeling rejected, our group was even more fired up. Several people asked me to keep them updated about any future events.

I hadn’t planned on doing anything beyond the Senators’ office visits, but I realized: That’s something small I can do.

And so inspired by that group of everyday folks and by the late Molly Ivins, I started Molly’s Army. Every week, I share simple, doable steps we can take to save our democracy—even when we’re busy and overwhelmed by the firehose of bad news.

Because when you feel powerless or hopeless or afraid for the future of this country that we love, taking action—even if it’s the teensiest tiniest action—is the antidote.

Subscribe for free, and you’ll be a member of Molly’s Army and get the weekly updates in your inbox.

I continue to find your emails helpful and share insights from them literally on a daily basis. I want MORE PEOPLE to get these notes because they feel like a lifeline to hope + action.
Zina, member of Molly’s Army

Frequently asked questions

Molly Ivins made a name for herself as a journalist in the 70s covering Texas politics, primarily because she could drink politicians under the table until they spilled the juiciest stories. She wrote for countless publications including The New York Times, was nominated for the Pulitzer (twice), and published several books.

But I loved Molly most of all because she made politics fun. And she never gave up on fighting for the better future that she knew was possible.

Sadly, we lost Molly at the age of 62 to breast cancer. In the midst of everything that’s happened since January 20, 2025, I’ve often found myself wondering what Molly would say if she were still here. How she’d rally us, how she’d inspire us, how she’d dispel our fear by making us laugh.

And so inspired by the fighting spirit of Molly Ivins, we call ourselves Molly’s Army.

Side note: Whether you’re new to Molly or you always enjoy a dose of her biting humor anytime it crosses your path, here are a few quotes that might resonate.

Yes! Subscribing to the weekly Molly’s Army emails is free. If you’re not getting them yet, subscribe here.

Immediately after you subscribe, you’ll get a message asking you to confirm your email address by clicking a button. After you do that, you’ll start getting a message from me once a week with tiny, doable actions we can take to save our democracy.

We’re on a mission inspire folks everywhere to do their part to save our democracy.

You can become a sustaining member of Molly’s Army to help us make that happen. It’s just $5 a month. Your donation will help us spur folks into taking meaningful action, plus reach more people.

Or if you’d like to go above and beyond, you can become a founding member at $250 a year and help us get off the ground even faster.

Learn more about what your donation helps with here.

Got a question? Let’s chat!

Drop me a line here.