Be the Change 509 rallies thank ordinary people

 

By Mary Stamp

Petra Hoy has gathered a group that likes to thank angels and saints in the region—people she considers superheroes for "getting in good trouble," in the words of her "patron saint," the late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

"There are always people who are just doing stuff and don't talk about it," she said.

"What we do with Be the Change 509: Eastside Gladiators is a drop in the bucket," Petra added. "We just want people to know they are not alone, and someone will root for them."

"After the 2016 election, I looked at what I could do next," she said. "I realized elected officials were ordinary people."

So, she looked at what ordinary people are doing every day.

In 2017, in the spirit of Obama's words, "you need to be the change," she started the group and called it Be the Change 509: Eastside Gladiators.

"We are not an official group. We just do stuff," said Petra.

For a while, it was primarily political, like knocking on 37,000 doors with the Washington State Democrat's coordinated campaign. They also did postcard writing to help in political races in other areas, such as two Georgia Senate races.

In 2025, the group began looking for other ways to help and started Freedom Fridays. About 10 gladiators organized regular rallies with other gladiators and friends participating.

In February, they gathered bras and undies as part of the annual Mardi Bras collection party for Volunteers of America.

"People like to do rallies. With so many organizations doing good work all the time, we reach out to thank them," Petra said. "For example, we brought treats to people working at the Social Security office and held a rally nearby."

One Friday, they honored KSPS-PBS, and the Spokesman-Review did a story on the rally, which drew about 75 supporters.

"We brought cookies and were given a tour of the TV station," she said. "We learned that KSPS is the biggest preschool in the U.S., with one in four children learning from the shows."

For another Friday rally, they titled "Reproductive Freedom Rally," the Eastside Gladiators, who wear a vest with an image of a gladiator, took thank you cards and treats to Spokane and Spokane Valley Planned Parenthood. Employees appreciated it. They also sent thank you cards to all Planned Parenthood and pro-choice sites in Washington and North Idaho.

When the group went to the new Crosswalk building with treats and thanks, they were given a tour to learn about the program and become ambassadors for it.

One Freedom Friday, they thanked the press—The Spokesman-Review and Range media—for the important work they do.

Another week, they did a combined rally and food drive for Spectrum Center. They also had a food drive for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

"To make the food drive on the corner of Sprague and Pines fun, we celebrated Taylor Swift's new album and dressed as 'Swifties for Freedom Friday' and drew attention on social media. We handed out friendship bracelets with Swiftie themes," Petra said.

In August, the group rallied for "Freedom Friday, We Love Teachers" to collect school supplies for the Student and Family Engagement (SAFE) Center.

"In October, we took balloons, thank you cards and treats to election workers," Petra said. "Later that week, we had a rally and wore superhero costumes to express support for their role in assuring free, fair elections."

"We dressed as superheroes, because we like to have fun and it feels powerful to dress up as Wonder Woman or Captain America. The new 'Superman' movie has a message of hope in a time when it's easy to give up. We hold onto hope and believe in good. Superheroes are about seeing good in people," Petra said.

They have said thanks to the Liberty Lake Police Department and gone twice to the Spokane Veterans Medical Center.

They plan to thank the TSA and air traffic controllers at the airport for working hard without pay during the shutdown.

The Eastside Gladiators have visited the Spokane Public Library and sent thank you cards to the 12 Spokane County Library locations. They will visit the North Idaho Library Alliance on Jan. 23, to do "Hands Off Libraries: Library Love Rallies," because "librarians can feel beaten up with book bans. We need to show them love."

"We are on a roll and will continue," Petra said. "People do not want it to fizzle. It feels different from other rallies. We show gratitude and support. People do not have enough cheering for what they do. They need gratitude."

"Hands Off Medicare/Medicaid" will be a peaceful sidewalk rally at N. Ash and W. Wellesley on Feb. 6, followed by a Mardi Bras party Feb. 20 at Puebla Mexican Restaurant.

"For our rallies, we follow the nonviolence guidelines of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane," Petra said.

Expressing gratitude comes naturally for her, growing up with parents who were children in Germany and Yugoslavia during World War II and saw the devastation of war but did not talk about the trauma of losing relatives.

Her parents met in Canada when visiting Winnipeg. They fell in love and married. Petra was their first child. They moved to Portland, Ore., when Petra was four and became U.S. citizens when she was 17.

"My dad lived the American dream. Grateful for a U.S. soldier who gave him candy during post-war hardship, he wanted to come to the U.S.," she said.

Petra grew up in Sandy near Mt. Hood and went to Mt. Hood Community College for two years. Then she earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a master's in business in 1998 at George Fox University, where she met her husband.

They lived in Vancouver, Wash., Portland, the Bay Area, Mequon, Wis., and Redmond, Wash., when their two children were young. In 2009, Petra's husband found work in Spokane.

While their children were in school, she became "a professional volunteer," according to her kids—from coaching a jump rope club and organizing a running club for Sunrise Elementary to helping with math, language arts and cross country.

Entering political volunteering appealed after Petra learned of the struggles of her daughter's Muslim Kuwaiti friend, especially after the 2016 election.

"My roots for gratitude come from growing up Catholic. I also draw on that from a family who are grateful to be Americans," she said. "I want to pass that gratitude forward."

Petra quoted inspiration from Mother Teresa: "Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

"I'm a fan of Pope Leo and Pope Francis," she said, adding that she and her daughter, Dharma, did an El Camino walk in Portugal in July 2024.

"El Camino is a reminder that people have done hard things and endured hard times before us, and we can do hard things," said Petra. "It's easy to fall into despair, but we look for good things, like Mr. Rogers."

This fall, the Eastside Gladiators took a break from thank-you rallies to work on the election, writing postcards for campaigns in Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, plus local canvassing, cards and calls.

Soon they will thank CHAS and the Spokane Regional Health District because "public health has taken a hit."

"The goal was to get a message across while keeping things a bit fun," she said. "There is so much doom and gloom. We need some fun."

"We don't agonize. We organize," Petra said. "Anyone can write 20 postcards. It matters. Faith and goodwill will win. It's hard to stay strong, but I'm obnoxiously optimistic. Some people are angels and saints. Their everyday is super inspiring."

For information, call 425-941-7321 or email petrahoy737@gmail.com