St. Louis, Missouri’s 15th Ward has answered Barack’s call to get involved. When Barack won the nomination in June, the 15th Ward hit the ground running. A core group of volunteers has organized an impressive grassroots network of volunteers to canvass, phonebank, and register voters across St. Louis.The 15th Ward group meets at a locally-owned coffee shop about six times a week to organize their volunteer efforts.
“Sometimes it’s only two or three people, and sometimes it’s a huge group,” explains group organizer Jennifer, 38.
“It's the neighbor-to-neighbor strategy at work -- a small core team of seven leaders makes sure that volunteers are signed up and trained to conduct voter registration drives, and to make sure that data is entered at the end of the evening.”Each week, the group sends volunteers out into the community to canvass. Right now, they’re busy registering voters and identifying Obama supporters and undecideds in their neighborhood. They always start as a group in their local coffee shop, get to know each other, welcome the new volunteers, and then go out to knock on doors.
We always come back together at the end of the volunteer shift. It helps us feel connected as a group. And we always ask the volunteers when they can come back and canvass again.
Over Labor Day Weekend, the group did voter registration in a local park and registered over 200 new voters over the course of the weekend. Jennifer says volunteer are often surprised when they canvass just how appreciative the people they meet are of their volunteer efforts.
Even if we encounter someone who is not an Obama supporter, they almost always thank us for being out there. People like it when you knock on their doors – they’re thankful that you’re trying to register people.A lot of people feel like the government doesn’t care about them anymore. Barack’s campaign is spreading the word that we do care. When we knock on doors in a poor neighborhood and ask them to be involved and have a voice – they’re really excited. They appreciate that we want them to be a part of this process. What Barack Obama is about is making everyone feel like they have a voice.
Even if we encounter someone who is not an Obama supporter, they almost always thank us for being out there. People like it when you knock on their doors – they’re thankful that you’re trying to register people.
A lot of people feel like the government doesn’t care about them anymore. Barack’s campaign is spreading the word that we do care. When we knock on doors in a poor neighborhood and ask them to be involved and have a voice – they’re really excited. They appreciate that we want them to be a part of this process. What Barack Obama is about is making everyone feel like they have a voice.
Jennifer has built a large group of volunteers, but she started only with a few friends and people she knew.
I got two friends involved, and then they each got two friends involved, and it all builds from there. We just had a group out canvassing this morning, and while we were canvassing, we ran into some other folks who wanted to volunteer. So we asked them if they could come back at 4pm and help out on that shift. And they did! So our morning canvass brought afternoon volunteers.The real energy comes from ordinary folks in this diverse community. Our volunteers represent nearly every walk of life -- some were born and raised right here in the neighborhood, while others have moved to St. Louis because of educational opportunities in the city. We have social workers, maintenance workers, teachers, students, retirees and administrative assistants who volunteer regularly. All are united by two common goals: to build relationships with our neighbors and to elect Barack Obama president in 2008.
I got two friends involved, and then they each got two friends involved, and it all builds from there.
We just had a group out canvassing this morning, and while we were canvassing, we ran into some other folks who wanted to volunteer. So we asked them if they could come back at 4pm and help out on that shift. And they did! So our morning canvass brought afternoon volunteers.
The real energy comes from ordinary folks in this diverse community. Our volunteers represent nearly every walk of life -- some were born and raised right here in the neighborhood, while others have moved to St. Louis because of educational opportunities in the city. We have social workers, maintenance workers, teachers, students, retirees and administrative assistants who volunteer regularly. All are united by two common goals: to build relationships with our neighbors and to elect Barack Obama president in 2008.
Canvassing in your neighborhood is easy, and a great way to make a big difference for the campaign. Find a group near you or volunteer to canvass your neighborhood. Check out the Grassroots Action Guide to learn more about how you can organize your community.
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