In 2004, John Kerry’s strongest bloc of voters was 18-29 year olds, who voted in his favor 54 to 45 percent. At the same time, young voters have become more and more engaged in the political process. The youth vote grew significantly in the 2006 midterms, and according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, it rose to 17 percent turnout in the 2008 primaries, up from 9 percent in 2000.The participation of 18-29 year olds may be more important this year than at any time before. According to E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post:
Young Americans show all the signs of being interested enough and upset enough to flock to the polls this year. If they do, they could be the most politically consequential generation since the cohort of the Great Depression and World War II. Think of these newcomers as the Engaged Generation.
This grassroots campaign has been fueled in part by Generation Obama, a national organization dedicated solely to helping organize young people to contribute to Obama's candidacy. More than 25 regional Generation Obama chapters are now up and running, in addition to the national chapter, and groups are tackling everything from fundraising and organization building, to canvassing and community service.One such Generation Obama event occurred on July 18th, focused on community service. Fifteen Generation Obama leaders, traveling from as far as Seattle, Philadelphia, and Orlando, went to New Orleans for three-days of community service and organizing training.Lynn, a Miami resident, hosted the event.
We structured the weekend to split our time between community service and workshops on event planning, fundraising, and chapter building. We worked with the Episcopalian Diocese of Louisiana's Disaster Relief team on a house whose owners couldn't afford to rebuild. The house had been in this particular family for years and they were thrilled that it was finally being worked on.
Lynn feels extremely gratified by the response to her event, and now has even more admiration for the fulltime workers in New Orleans.
We were really glad to be able to help, even for a day, but the volunteers who were there for weeks or months were truly amazing -- none of them had any construction experience but had become pros in the short time that they'd been working on the house. It was an amazing experience that was simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking.
Lynn says she was motivated to organize the event because she felt that often her generation and associated groups have a significant emphasis on fundraising. She felt that, while fundraising is critical to a campaign's success, it "can sometimes take us to far away from the reason that we support Barack Obama's candidacy -- I wanted us all to remember that we can make a difference in other people's lives if we have the will to help."You can join a Generation Obama chapter near where you live, or start one yourself, here.
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