As part of a continuing series, we followed Obama Organizing Fellows as they shared their stories and their experiences. They discussed the people they met, the hardships of organizing, what the campaign means to them, and how this summer has changed each one's perspective.
Andy was an Organizing Fellow in Ohio. His stories appeared each Wednesday.
The fellows program in Columbus, Ohio has come to a close with a bang. The six weeks of fun and hard work culminated in a giant open house to celebrate the end of the program and the transition to the next stage of the campaign. The energy built up in the room as more and more people poured into the office. Everyone was very excited to be there with smiles on their faces. We all mingled for a short period, discussing all that we had accomplished together and what we could do going forward. Then we shifted focus and began a group meeting. Everyone gathered into the main room and packed in because of limited space.The meeting was a chance for the Fellows that were leaving to say goodbye to all of the wonderful members of the community that they had met. It was also a chance for the Fellows who are staying through November as field organizers to reintroduce themselves and tell people what area of Columbus they will be working in. Elaina is one of the fellows who graduated to being a field organizer and will be working in Hilliard.Elaina grew up as a child of an immigrant, just like Barack. Her whole life she has been told that Americans can do anything if they work hard enough for it. However, she now sees opportunity shrinking in America. She told me that her parents are responsible, hard-working Americans, but they still live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to pay for healthcare and retirement. Growing up seeing this inspired Elaina to get involved in her community as a youth minister in the South Bronx. As a youth minister in the South Bronx, she did more than just teach children. She worked with her church on many fronts to combat the issues that were challenging her community. The public schools in her area were in dire straits, and she worked tirelessly to ensure that they had the resources they needed to succeed. Her community was also in flux and worked to promote a stable foundation for the families of the South Bronx to thrive in.Elaina came to this program because of her background in the South Bronx. Even though she learned a lot there, the fellowship has been highly instructive for Elaina. As much as she valued her community in the South Bronx, she has always had a slightly individualistic nature and would sometimes try to tackle problems on her own. When she came to this campaign, she found that it was essential to work together for success. That is why she is grateful to those in Columbus who have providing her with housing, food, and most importantly, inspiration.Being in Columbus reminds her that "people everywhere struggle with the same problems." Elaina is staying on with the campaign and postponing going to graduate school and seminary. She is foregoing scholarships and putting her entire life on hold. She is giving up all of these things because she believes that "communities across this country deserve better." I am pleased to say that I will be staying with the campaign through November as well. I know I can work as hard as possible until then because of people like Elaina and everyone else I have met in these six weeks. From people who give up an hour on Saturday to those who forego seminary, every person's contribution to this movement makes a huge difference.I want to take a final moment to thank everyone I have had the joy of working with so far as well as thank the people who are involved that I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet. I know that all of us are making change in our communities, and that together we can change this country.
As a youth minister in the South Bronx, she did more than just teach children. She worked with her church on many fronts to combat the issues that were challenging her community. The public schools in her area were in dire straits, and she worked tirelessly to ensure that they had the resources they needed to succeed. Her community was also in flux and worked to promote a stable foundation for the families of the South Bronx to thrive in.
Elaina came to this program because of her background in the South Bronx. Even though she learned a lot there, the fellowship has been highly instructive for Elaina. As much as she valued her community in the South Bronx, she has always had a slightly individualistic nature and would sometimes try to tackle problems on her own. When she came to this campaign, she found that it was essential to work together for success. That is why she is grateful to those in Columbus who have providing her with housing, food, and most importantly, inspiration.Being in Columbus reminds her that "people everywhere struggle with the same problems." Elaina is staying on with the campaign and postponing going to graduate school and seminary. She is foregoing scholarships and putting her entire life on hold. She is giving up all of these things because she believes that "communities across this country deserve better."
I am pleased to say that I will be staying with the campaign through November as well. I know I can work as hard as possible until then because of people like Elaina and everyone else I have met in these six weeks. From people who give up an hour on Saturday to those who forego seminary, every person's contribution to this movement makes a huge difference.I want to take a final moment to thank everyone I have had the joy of working with so far as well as thank the people who are involved that I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet. I know that all of us are making change in our communities, and that together we can change this country.
Visit out our Flickr page for more of Andy's photos.
As part of a continuing series, we're following Obama Organizing Fellows as they share their stories and their experiences. They discuss the people they meet, the hardships of organizing, what the campaign means to them, and how this summer is changing their perspective.
Andy is an Organizing Fellow in Ohio. His stories appear each Wednesday.
This past weekend marked the 160th anniversary of the historic Seneca Falls convention -- the first women's rights convention in the United States. The Obama campaign commemorated the importance of the women's rights movement by conducting Woman to Woman events, contacting voters and encouraging them to participate in the upcoming elections. Many of these events across Ohio were coordinated with local female candidates who are running for office. I had the fortune of going to one such event. It was at the home of Marian Harris, who is running for state representative in the 19th district of Ohio. We all gathered around her kitchen table to listen as she unveiled her strategy for our afternoon canvass. Marian explained her plans to improve education, the economy, health care and the environment for Ohioans by working with her community and the governor. This was valuable information for us because we could then communicate it to the voters we met. It was also exciting to hear how similar these four goals are to Senator Obama's. Before we went out, I got to ask her what this canvass meant to her. She told me that "I am doing this to celebrate Seneca Falls and my grandchildren's future". She is encouraged by working with the Obama campaign because of the way it is collaborating with local communities and drawing on the knowledge base of everyday Americans. I wanted to ask her more questions, but I didn't have the time. There were voters to be registered! Marian divided up the canvass packets with addresses and maps. We then paired up and headed out to knock on doors. I teamed up with Organizing Fellow Hajra and we traveled to our neighborhood.On the way over I asked Hajra what brought her here. She had just graduated from college and told me she was doing this because this campaign was the "cause of all causes". Before coming to the Obama campaign, Hajra worked with non-profit groups to collaborate with developing nations to solve womens issues. She came here because Senator Obama embodies the goals she worked on prior to the campaign. Obama shares Hajra's commitment to ending violence against women, creating economic opportunity and ensuring that women are represented in our government. This fellowship has Hajra working harder than she ever has before. Through this hard work she has learned "to be self-confident and not to worry about being Muslim or having an Arabic name. Most of all, as someone who hasn't held many leadership positions in the past, I've learned that I'm capable of empowering communities to act for change." All of her hard work is driven by her hope for "stability for better communities, better nations, and ultimately, a better world." Hajra and I canvassed the neighborhood while the summer sun bore down on us. We knocked on hundreds of doors, spoke to tons of people, and registered a lot of new voters. There were times when we were tempted to go swimming in the community pool, but we knew we made the right decision to keep on knocking when we spoke with Byrnette back in the office. She comes to this movement because she thinks womens issues are common sense issues. "They are not idealistic, they are practical and grounded in other issues" she said. Juggling all the roles that are required of her is a concern for Byrnette. Between being disabled, on a fixed income, and having one child in college with another on the way, she told me that it can be worrisome at times. But in the face of these concerns she does not back down. Instead she fights even harder to advance our cause of creating equality and opportunity for all. She is a tabling captain this upcoming weekend at the Jazz and Rib fest in Columbus. She enjoys working at tabling events because "not only do I get to meet a lot of volunteers, but I get to meet a lot of voters. There are a lot of reasons that people don't show up to the polls, so I encourage them to check all of their information and make sure there on not any surprises on election day." Her favorite thing is when people register for the first time. "We need hope for something positive in the face of all the drama and violence. You see that when you register someone who has never registered in their life." This week has been inspirational for me. It has reminded me that the advancement of civil rights can only be achieved when people of all backgrounds band together to create change. We cannot wait for one person or one group to make the difference; we must all act now.
Check back next week for more from Andy in Ohio, and check out our Flickr page for more of his photos.
Every Wednesday we post a recap of Organizing Fellow Andy's week. He tells us what is going on in Ohio, who he is meeting and how working for the Obama campaign is changing his life.
Our team in Ohio recently made this video of Andy in action. Check it out...
This past week has been great in Columbus. We didn't have any events as large as the Declare Your Independence Voter Registration Drive, so instead we focused on having a steady and consistent presence in the community. In order to achieve this we have been incorporating our goals into every part of our lives. Living the change I want to see means that I uprooted myself from family, friends and my job to move to Ohio. I have also been riding my bicycle as much as possible. I have already biked 280 miles for change since I started working with the campaign here.My bike is a useful tool for reducing my carbon footprint and for registering voters. It allows me to cover a large area in a short amount of time and maximize the amount of voters I can contact. Getting out of the office and getting some exercise feels great as well.The volunteers that we meet are also living the change they want to see on a daily basis. Mary previously lived in Chicago and has been watching Obama for a long time now. Once he announced his candidacy she knew she had to get involved. She lives the change she wants to see by volunteering for the campaign. She has been involved in Columbus, Ohio since the primary and coordinates with local events to ensure that we have a presence in the community. I asked her why she took time off from her job to volunteer for the campaign she told me that "there is nothing that can ruin this society more than apathy."The importance of getting active was echoed by George. George is an organizing fellow who grew up in Chicago.George was not always active in politics. He recalls past elections when his candidate was favored to win as he sat watching the polls on the sidelines. Watching the polls turned out to not be the best strategy to win an election. He learned his lesson and then explained to me that whether we are up or down in the polls we have to work just as hard to create the change we seek.George has been generating change in Columbus by working with volunteers to host house meetings. His most recent meeting took place on the east side. He met with many people who were involved in the civil rights movement of the sixties. They feel that this election is a chance to continue what they had started in their youth.Change is not just something that George sees happening to this country. He also sees it happening to himself. Through this fellowship, he said, "I have learned to trust myself as an organizer. I was never one to plan events or get other people involved before now." After the fellowship is over George plans to stay involved by registering his friends, family and neighbors in his hometown. His favorite thing about this campaign is enthusiastic volunteers like Mary. He called the experience "empowering" for volunteers, himself, and our country.
Andy is an organizing fellow in Ohio. His stories appear each Wednesday.
We wrapped up the "Declare Your Independence" voter registration this Sunday, and it was a blast. The Obama campaign had events all across the country. In the few spare moments I had during a voter registration event in Columbus, Ohio, I reflected on why I am here. I realized that although I came to this campaign for Barack Obama, I stay with this campaign because of volunteers like Gloria and Louise.I met Gloria at the "Red, White, and Boom" July 4th celebration in Columbus. She got involved with the campaign because of Barack's uniquely American story. When Gloria isn't volunteering for the campaign, she works with a local group to help the homeless. Gloria says that we have a housing crisis in this city. She has met countless Americans who worked traditional jobs only to get laid off due to companies' shipping jobs overseas. Being unemployed with the rising cost of food, oil, and housing forces these Americans into homeless shelters. In the face of these hard times, Gloria says she stays strong because this race is the most exciting she has seen in a long time. "It gives me hope for the future," she said.Gloria introduced me to Louise, who is another one of our amazing grassroots volunteers. Louise has always been interested in politics. She feels that the biggest challenge that this country faces is how divided we have become. In her small amounts of free time, she helps the campaign recruit new people to be involved in the democratic process. I asked her if the rain had bothered her during the day, and she said, "Any time you do an event for Obama, the response is so great that it is worthwhile."As the fireworks celebrating the birth of this nation faded into the night sky, Gloria and Louise remained. They wanted to make sure that they registered every last voter at the event. Seeing volunteers like these two getting involved in their local community is what will keep me and the rest of this campaign going strong to November and beyond. Volunteers like Gloria and Louise have shown me that every amount of effort counts.
We wrapped up the "Declare Your Independence" voter registration this Sunday, and it was a blast. The Obama campaign had events all across the country. In the few spare moments I had during a voter registration event in Columbus, Ohio, I reflected on why I am here. I realized that although I came to this campaign for Barack Obama, I stay with this campaign because of volunteers like Gloria and Louise.I met Gloria at the "Red, White, and Boom" July 4th celebration in Columbus. She got involved with the campaign because of Barack's uniquely American story.
When Gloria isn't volunteering for the campaign, she works with a local group to help the homeless. Gloria says that we have a housing crisis in this city. She has met countless Americans who worked traditional jobs only to get laid off due to companies' shipping jobs overseas. Being unemployed with the rising cost of food, oil, and housing forces these Americans into homeless shelters. In the face of these hard times, Gloria says she stays strong because this race is the most exciting she has seen in a long time. "It gives me hope for the future," she said.Gloria introduced me to Louise, who is another one of our amazing grassroots volunteers.
Louise has always been interested in politics. She feels that the biggest challenge that this country faces is how divided we have become. In her small amounts of free time, she helps the campaign recruit new people to be involved in the democratic process. I asked her if the rain had bothered her during the day, and she said, "Any time you do an event for Obama, the response is so great that it is worthwhile."As the fireworks celebrating the birth of this nation faded into the night sky, Gloria and Louise remained. They wanted to make sure that they registered every last voter at the event. Seeing volunteers like these two getting involved in their local community is what will keep me and the rest of this campaign going strong to November and beyond. Volunteers like Gloria and Louise have shown me that every amount of effort counts.
Check back next week for more from Andy in Ohio, and visit our Flickr page for more of his photos.
