The OFA-Hawaii HQ was buzzing in the afternoon with volunteers making phone calls to constituents and asking them to contact their respective Senators. All of the volunteers were very ecstatic to learn how to use the Neighber-to-Neighbor tool on My.BarackObama.com.
Bonnie W., a volunteer who is a new fan of My.BarackObama’s phonebanking tool, was excited to learn that the Senate just voted to begin debate on comprehensive health reform. “It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful that the Senate can move forward on the bill. Volunteering for this cause and to hear that we are one step closer to health care reform makes me hopeful that we are seeing the change that we’ve been looking for.”
One of our new volunteers, Lulu, loves to speak with potential volunteers. You can hear the excitement in her voice when she invites people to our next health care phone-banking event and holiday party. Her energy comes from the people she talks to. She says, “I hear their feedback and they say they’re interested in volunteering! I can sense they care and believe in what Organizing for America is doing.” She plans on continuing her volunteer work with OFA- Hawaii, “I’m a talkative person and I can talk on the phone all day!”
Join us on Friday, December 4, 2009 to contact constituents for health care reform: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpcfts
On Sunday, July 26, OFA did both a canvass and a phone bank for the President's three health care reform principles in West Chester, PA.
The turnout, though small, was better than what we had expected based on sign-ups on the website. Three people stayed in the office to phone bank and two went out for the canvass. Both had their challenges.
The phone bankers, even before starting, noticed that there were no phone numbers on some of their printout pages. That makes phone banking difficult.
I'm posting this in case other event hosts find it useful. Our event involves volunteers walking around a busy shopping area, inviting people to share their health care stories, and asking them to keep up the pressure on their legislators. Knowing that most people who will be volunteering have not been involved with planning the event, I wanted to provide them with key points ahead of time, and again on the day, so they can be prepared to talk about the key issues. The information contained below has been compiled from OFA conference calls, the President's town hall meeting on health care reform, and info in the public domain.
“CALL FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM” – TALKING POINTS
1) Why do we need reform?
· Forty-six million Americans are uninsured
· Health insurance premiums are growing four times faster than wages
· Half of all personal bankruptcies stem from medical expenses
· We spend at least 50% more than any other advanced country, but we don’t have better outcomes
· The system is already out of whack – costs will go up at least 6-8% per year if nothing is done
2) President Obama has called for health care reform based on three core principles:
· REDUCE COSTS
- Rising health care costs are crushing families, businesses, and government
- 1/3 of what we pay for is unnecessary
- The President is committed to achieving reform without adding to the deficit – this is possible
· GUARANTEE CHOICE
- Every American must have the freedom to choose their plan, doctor, and hospital, and a public insurance option
- A health insurance exchange, with a public health option, would give people that are currently without health insurance the free market buying power they need to obtain adequate health care
- President Obama has consistently said that if a family likes the plan they have, they will be able to keep it
· ACCESS FOR ALL
- All Americans must have access to quality, affordable care
- We need to move from quantity to quality of health care, where doctors are rewarded for health outcomes rather than procedures, and where insurers are regulated on discriminating practices such as pre-existing conditions and cherry-picking healthy patients
3) Why now?
Health care reform can no longer wait. It’s urgent that we act now - Congress is already discussing options for reform and they want to have a plan agreed before their summer recess at the end of July.
After 60 years of trying, and with the American people behind the move, this President will achieve health care reform.
4) Why a public option?
A public option will help drive down costs, expand consumer choice, and keep insurance companies honest. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll, 72% of Americans want the choice of a public health insurance plan.
This event was organized by private citizens and grassroots organizers in the State of Washington that support President Obama efforts at health care reform. We are a group of independent citizens who have come together because we are concerned about our health care system. We are not affiliated with or coordinated by the Democratic Party or Organizing for America.
What a wonderful day it was on Monday, January 19, the day our nation celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. !! 60 volunteers, some old friends and some new friends, some young, some not so young, some men, some women, came together to serve 120 of our Nation’s heroes at the Veteran’s Hospital at Jefferson Barracks.
The veterans, both men and women, came to enjoy the companionship of strangers who became strangers no more. They enjoyed a simple lunch but were nourished by the friendship and gratitude of the volunteers who gave of their holiday to serve and console. A wonderfully fun band (The Button Box Band) provided exhilarating music as the backdrop for dancing, laughter and remembering.
Thanks to Lee Bell, Linda Henry, and Sally Hodges for coordinating this great day that is hoped to continue in the future.
Some of the volunteers came as a call to service by our 44th President, Barack Obama. Others came because they were stirred to service to veterans and found the event on USAservice.org. Regardless of the motivation their participation in this event was received with gratitude and grace.
Check out the photos! http://www.flickr.com/photos/34498798@N05/show/
I am impressed. I am very impressed!
My first experience with the Obama organization was in the spring of this year when I was a volunteer during the Texas Primary campaign. It seems that not many people know it but Barack Obama won the Texas primary. It took our caucus to do it but in the end we sent 98 delegates for Obama and 95 delegates for Clinton to national convention.
It was an exciting time for me, normally being Republican, but this "flash hand grenade" called Barack Obama inspired me like many others to do new things. One thing is for sure that once you donate money or campaign effort to Barack Obama you will never want for e-mail again! Every morning sitting at my computer was a note from Barack, Michelle or David. One other thing for sure was that no matter what content of message there always was that damn red DONATE button at the bottom.
One of the first exciting things for me was our precinct caucus. We talked politics with our neighbors and eventually took our time and effort to go to our county conventions. For me in Texas it was all pretty much over by early June. We now had to wait and see with the national convention would bring us.
I was saddened by this because I would miss the many interesting people, have the opportunity to think the many deep thoughts and just in general be more alive because of the campaign tasks we had to deal with. I was going to miss many of these new colleagues. I hoped there would be some way to keep the good times going.
Fortunately for us Obama turned out to be the candidate. The old team came back together again but also some new national leadership which mostly helped but sometimes got in the way.
In any case, we won and Barack Obama became the President-elect of the United States. We had a joyful evening and once again I was concerned that this passionate group of folks that made up campaign would drift apart now that we had "OUR GUY" in office and we could let the Washington political process work its wonders. AT least we would never have to look at the damn red "DONATE" button again.
In early December I got an e-mail from one of my more revered neighbors (Greg) with whom I'd worked during the campaign. He invited me to a "change party" on December 14. I did not know exactly what this was about but if he was going to take the time to host the event, I was going to take the time to go. So I went.
At the meeting we had a larger group than normal which I thought was strange but good.
There were several issues in the Obama transition team was soliciting input from members of the campaign organization. Of the many choices and small subjects we could have tackled, our group decided to work on solving "the healthcare issue". I thought: "This is a good idea. We should start with something small and simple. Something that nobody has ever worked on before." Good Grief!
None the less I went to the follow-on meeting (Two in fact) and was most impressed!
I was really impressed by the people who took time from their holiday season to come and discuss this issue. While I'm always impressed with Obama volunteers these seem to take on a more a dedicated purpose. After all we'd won already. We don't have to look at the damn red donate button anymore. But nonetheless here they were.
Some of the folks were people who clearly had issues with the current system. They had needs that were not being met and they wanted somebody to fix it.
But the larger demographic of the meeting was made up of people who have successfully navigated the current health care maze, and while finding it far from perfect have manipulated it to some level of success. Some of the folks were business people; some were actually doctors and healthcare professionals. Almost all knew technically more about the subject than I did.
I thought what a marvelous leader Barack Obama must be to inspire these individuals. And then "flash" a light bulb went off. I thought, hold it, you may have this one backwards. It may be these marvelous folks that inspire Barack Obama.
What a concept. Citizens coming together to do their civic duty and leading their politicians to practical answers.
If this catches on this could really piss off some professional politicians. Make them really angry and confused.
It could possibly change the dysfunctional psychology of our nation's capital.
I'm impressed. I am really impressed
The GObamaUSA Change is Coming group was founded by Obama volunteers, Rob Martin and Evette Wilson, who were directed to do so while attending a national Obama for America Legacy Conference on December 6th and 7th in Chicago. The purpose of the conference, which was attended by approximately 250 staff and 100 volunteers from around the U.S., was to plan and implement the "2.0" issue-organizing version of the Obama for America party organization. To date, four meetings of the Richmond, Va.-based GObamaUSA Change is Coming group have been held and are summarized in this posting as is other organizational information.
Rob Martin (rmartin@brandsync.com) and Lisa Quigley (mjquigley@comcast.net) are day-to-day contacts for the GObamaUSA Change is Coming group that is based at 6243 River Road, Suite 6, Richmond, Va. 23229.
GOBAMA!
There have been many "Yes We Can" songs and videos out there and most have not risen to the quality of will.i.am
But this NEW VIDEO, see link below to "Yes We Can (Change our Destiny)", has that same potential to inspire millions to act, to be involved, to re-engage.
Read on and help this video get to the inaugural to be played via videotape or live. I want no fame or fortune. I just want to make a difference and I know this song and video can. You'll see when you watch it.
The “Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) Project” was created to help ensure that the collective energy of 10’s of millions of people who were inspired by President Elect Barack Obama will be re-kindled on inauguration day to even greater heights (because our world needs us now more then ever).
Watch the Video and help Change Our Destiny. Be inspired.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwspAagg8uw&feature=channel_page
Inspire millions more by passing this video on. Make it go viral. Help it be played at the inaugural.
This video is the output of a singularly special experience created on a single day in Chicago by a group of people who are as talented as they are inspired.
Inspiration is the most powerful force in the world. You can help re-ignite it. We’ve seen that simple actions multiplied by millions can create real change. Your one simple action of sending this video to everyone you know, and they in turn sending it to everyone they know, will once again, inspire millions.
As President Elect Obama said on November 4th at Grant Park, we have an opportunity to put our hands “on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope for a better day.”
Join the movement. Send the video to everyone you know and ask them to do the same.
Yes We Can.
Change our Destiny.
---
The Yes We Can Change Our Destiny song and video was written, produced, directed and performed by Steven Miles Sulkin and with nearly 40 of Chicago’s and the nation’s top musicians, filmmakers and engineers. It was recorded (interestingly, though accidentally) on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th, 2008 at The Chicago Recording Company and written on November 2nd, 2008. It is our hope (but a hope that can only be possible with your help) that this song will be played live or via video at the inaugural, so as to re-inspire 10’s of millions that “Yes We Can” wasn’t about winning an election, it was about winning back our world and shaping a new destiny.
(note: The President Elect Barack Obama footage from Grant Park is legally and fully licensed from a stock footage source).
Peace,
Steven Miles Sulkin
January 19, 2008
Obama for Change Volunteer Victory Celebration at Zanzibar on the Waterfront 9pm-5am
700 Water Street, SW Washington, DC 20024 Tel: 202-554-9100 contactus@zanzibar-otw.com
$85.00
Tonight I attended a very special house party. It wasn't a typical house party, it wasn't held in a house, nor was it a party. More than 25 people came to Cafe Kili in Temple Terrace. For team members who worked with Field Organizer's Genora Reed, Sheila Cherizard Donovan Nwokeji and Jill Stracko, Cafe Kili was our satellite North Tampa Field Office, our outpost, our home. Special, because Patrick and Rose, the owners, are Kenyans; they opened their shop to us, even opening for us on their one day off; they sacrificed their only day of rest to help the Obama Campaign, they gave more than any of us had been asked to give. You see, their son died in Iraq - the first Kenyan-American to die in service to our country. They knew the importance of our mission, they knew we needed the Change Barack Obama would bring; a man whose Kenyan heritage was part of their family and their countries, Kenya and America.
We listened to the message from the incoming Administration; we listened to our Field Organizers, Sheila Cherizard and Ryan Metcalf and from Jerid Fox, Biji Anchery and others who attested to the resolve of every individual who contributed their precious time canvassing, phone banking and registering voters. People who worked the Early Vote, Vote by Mail and finally the Get Out The Vote campaigns, the local candidate literature drops and even on Election Day were canvassing or driving people to the polls. We shared stories of the recent past while at the same time looked forward to, and planned for the future.
The Obama Administration has developed Obama 2.0, tech speak for the next phase. This Presidency is like no other in our generation. They built a network of communities, of neighborhoods; they spent countless hours and many millions of dollars to wake the sleeping giant of Democrats and Progressives in America. Scores of volunteers and organizers, who maybe until now had not realized their potential, who rose to the challenge, who now are recognized in their own towns as citizens engaged in the process of government; who found their voice. We can and we will Change the face of politics in America.
There will be one more house party, this one in a house and it is a party. Dr. Alayne Unterberger is a proud community organizer, who as one of the founders of the Florida Institute for Community Studies, was chosen to introduce Senator Hillary Clinton during the Florida campaign effort. She has worked to educate a community who others have ignored, her organization teaches English, conducts AIDS education and testing, provides health assessments for those at risk of Diabetes and offers after school child care. Her center is even a "Safe Place" chartered by the State of Florida is so committed to being the "Change We have been Waiting For" that she has opened her home to the campaign once again, this time not as a staging location for canvassers, but to continue to Change America has been waiting for effort.
If you can, please join us Monday, December 15th at 7pm to be a part of the Change which has come to America, to continue your service to your neighborhood, or to begin your journey of civic engagement.
Whether you are a Democrat, an Independent, an informed Republican, a Green Party member, or any associated with any other affiliation, you can bring Change to America, you can make a difference. Your community needs you. Tampa needs you, Temple Terrace needs you, and your neighbor needs you. Come to find out how you can make a difference.
Visit BarackObama.com search events for your zip code on a regular basis. We are out here, waiting for you, welcoming you, engaged in service to our community.
Wishing you Peace,
Lisa Montelione
YES WE CAN! DC for Obama Volunteer Summit
Nearly 200 campaign volunteers from across the Washington, DC, area came together to decide the role they want to play to help realize the vision that President Elect Obama articulated during the election. The volunteers were convened at a "Yes We Can Summit" on Saturday, December 13, at George Washington University by DC for Obama, a volunteer organization that mobilized several thousand DC-area supporters to knock on more than 100,000 doors for Barack Obama during the presidential campaign. Participants at the "Yes We Can Summit" set priorities for the future of the local grassroots organization. In small groups, the Obama supporters worked with facilitators to share their experience from the campaign and discuss the issues on which they'd like to work. Electronic keypad polling was used to identify the collective goals of the group. The “Yes We Can Summit” used a methodology developed by the nonprofit organization AmericaSpeaks called a 21st Century Town Meeting, which integrates technology with authentic deliberation to help groups identify collective priorities. Who Participated?
Local and National IssuesParticipants were asked to use their polling keypads to identify the local and national issues about which they were most passionate. Health care received the most support, followed by foreign policy/national security/Iraq, energy/environment, economy/jobs, and education. Other national issues received less support, including international development and housing/poverty. The local issue that received by far the greatest support was education and youth issues (almost twice as many votes as any other). Voting rights, homelessness and poverty, health care, affordable housing, crime/public safety, and community vitality received moderate support. More than half of participants said they were most interested in working on national policy advocacy with 22% saying they were most interested in local community service projects and 18% saying they were most interested in local policy advocacy. Optimism about Making an ImpactForty-five percent of participants said they were “very optimistic” about the ability of local volunteers to make a meaningful contribution. Forty-four percent said they were “optimistic.” Elevent percent said they were :neutral” and one percent said they were “very pessimistic.” Memories and HopesSummit participants began the day by sharing their favorite memories of the campaign and their greatest hopes for the future. Examples of favorite memories included:
Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion of hopes for the future included:
One Year Vision for the FutureSummit participants spent time working in small groups to develop a one year vision for the organization. The following large-group themes emerged from the discussions:Promote national and local advocacyDevelop a large and diverse grassroots membershipPartner with local organizations to address underserved communities on education, health care and povertyAct as a clearinghouse for local and national civic associationsCollaborate with the administrationRecruit and retain volunteers for community service projectsUse metrics to ensure vision is being implementedEighty eight percent of participants said they were “supportive” or “very supportive” of the vision. Community Service ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Community Service Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Community Service projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Community Service criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Community Service projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Community Service committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred. By far the project that received the greatest support from participants was to create and support tutoring and mentoring programs for youth with measurable results. This was followed by building job training programs (specifically green jobs), registering, educating and empowering voters, and developing relationships with specific schools and letting school officials tell us what they need. Other priorities that received less support included surveying weaknesses in DC health care system and volunteering to fill in the gaps, and cleaning up and beautifying neighborhoods.Nineteen percent of participants said their top priority project was not among the room-wide list. Advocacy ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Advocacy Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Advocacy projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Advocacy criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Advocacy projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Advocacy committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred.The two advocacy projects that received the strongest support were promoting DC voting rights and advocating for affordable housing, homeless services and poverty support. These were followed by working to improve health care and improving global perceptions of America through foreign aid and diplomacy. Advocacy projects that received less support included advancing community education on tipics such as financial literacy and parental involvement, increasing funding on education reform, supporting HIV/AIDS organizations that provide testing and services, increasing support for tutoring and mentoring programs for DC students, and rallying DC residents to increase the rate of recycling.Eight percent of participants said their top project was not among the list of room-wide themes. Our NameParticipants at the Summit decided to consider a new name for the organization. After talking about the kind of message that their name should convey, they generated 16 options in addition to DC for Obama:
Following a series of votes to identify top choices, the two names that received the greatest support were Yes We Can DC (48%) and DC for Obama (44%). Commitments and EvaluationsAt the end of the day, participants signed up to participate on DC for Obama committees and made personal commitments for the future. Participants were also asked to use their polling keypads to answer two final evaluation questions. 85% of participants rated the meeting as “very good” or “good” with the remaining participants rating it “fair.” 84% of participants said they were “very committed” or “committed” to the outcomes of the day’s meeting with 12% saying they were “somewhat committed” and 4% saying they were “unsure” or “not committed.”Special ThanksSpecial thanks to the College Democrats of George Washington University for helping to support the event and to AmericaSpeaks for donating keypad polling technology as well as staff support. Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who made the Summit possible and who will continue to be the heart and soul of DC for Obama.
I ran the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania phone bank and was part of an experience I will long remember and which typified the appeal of the president-elect's campaign. Volunteers from all walks of life made calls; businessmen, students (Barackstars, shout out to Jariatou!), elderly, minorities; working together harmoniously while generating incredible call volume (2,250 was the daily goal this group exceeded towards the end). The work environment was one in which I was able to count on a corps group of callers until Election Day and which, in turn, inspired me to be at my best (I averaged 100 calls a day for the 5 weeks I was assigned to that office). From November 3 to 4 we made 10,000 calls from this office alone! Some of my callers included the singer Lulu's ("To Sir with Love" fame) daughters, Tatyana Ali ("Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and currently an actor/singer – I don’t have to tell you how many young callers, especially males, helped out that night). I created a "100 call club" (thank you, Floyd Stokes) in which some of my recipients included, besides the above, Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Ben Cardin (honorary :)). There were Bill Pickering, Joe Lucia, Victor, Helen and Bob Michener, Sue Boyd (the "100 call club" queen), Jay (and his beautiful family), Beth (thanks for those herbal remedies), Deb Reilly (we shared many light moments together), Gabe (a young prolific caller), Bria King (another Barackstar who was a regular, hard-wroking and dedicated volunteer), Cliff (taking time while pursuing a law degree), Jamal, Henry, Harry, among my many regulars I wish to thank here, as well.
Some of the most moving moments were when an eight-year old girl called and said, “Hi, is (let us say) Doris home? This is Imani, a volunteer for the Obama/Biden team in Harrisburg; how are you?” A volunteer next to her, listening to this young girl speaking, started crying and we all suddenly realized how different this campaign was when such youth are actually politically involved. Then there was Irene Brown, 96 years old, who, first time out made the “100 call club” and returned several times to the phone bank. Imagine her calling a person who tells her they are too old to vote at the tender age of 76? J Imani was not the only young caller, others at the ages of eight, ten and eleven also contributed and, I might add, performed competently, displaying proper phone etiquette. One time, Noelle actually trained a new volunteer (I was almost out of a job). One other amusing incident, there was a young boy making calls and the voter asked “How old are you?” and he replied “Eight.” It did not end there; he went on to explain that Barack Obama’s tax plan would benefit 95% of all working class Americans. Who would not be moved by hearing an eight-year old volunteer confidently explain Obama’s tax plan policy? Their enthusiasm and dedication was contagious and inspiring, they would demand new call sheets as soon as they were through with the packet, they set the tone for us elder folk to follow! Irene was not the only elderly volunteer, many in her age group came, as well, and added their spirit and dedication to the cause (church members, a retired professor, businesswomen and men) The Harrisburg phone bank was always “hopping” and, in the end, contributed toward turning Dauphin County “Blue”. In the 2000 presidential election, President George W. Bush bested candidate John F. Kerry, by roughly 54% to 46%. In the 2008 contest, now president-elect Barack Obama bested candidate John McCain by 54% to 45%, the complete reverse result (this was also the result of an incredibly successful canvassing effort but that is another story). On Election Day, after the polls had closed, our group headed for our headquarters and heard that Barack Obama was the projected winner in Pennsylvania, I cannot express the joy and satisfaction we experienced at that moment, knowing not only that our candidate was well poised for a good night but that we, from the student to the retiree, from the layperson to the professional, from the public to the celebrity, contributed to this historic moment.
The country is the winner in this election. We have so much to look forward to, but on a personal note, permit me to look back again for a moment.
I was gratified that Virginia went for Barack after the long, hard work of so many VA, MD, and DC volunteers. We did it! (with a little help from Barack's Election Eve Rally :-)
Sorry, WV. We tried.
Henry M
Volunteers at the Blue House, 102 E. Adair St., Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, give thanks for everyone who helped. That was yesterday. Today they're getting out the vote, and you can help GOTV! Lots more thanks in the flickr set.
And don't forget Jack Kingston is in a precarious position; help Bill Gillespie oust Jack and become our Representative from Georgia's First District!
How? Come on down to the Blue House and call, canvass, or give rides to the polls. If you're not near Valdosta, go to your local Obama office, or your local Democratic Party headquarters, or Bill Gillespie's office on Tybee Island, or get a calling list from mybarackobama or moveon.
I have been so incredibly inspired by the legions of volunteers who have supported Senator Obama. There are so many great stories from people leaving their jobs to work on the campaign for no salary to stopping what they are doing to give a ride to an elderly woman and then waiting with her for several hours in line to vote. I just wanted to share one more story. My brother and his wife got married yesterday - on November 1, 2008. They have the opportunity to take the honeymoon they have dreamed about, and they decide, without hesitation, to fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for their honeymoon. But they will not spend one second relaxing on the beach. They will spend the next three days doing whatever is asked of them volunteering for the Obama campaign in the swing state of Florida. I am so very proud of them. They have inspired me to take the next couple of days doing what I can to help get Obama elected. I hope they, and all the other people out there volunteering, will inspire you to do what you can wherever you may be.
OBAMA '08
Hundreds of volunteers have already poured into the event and Get Out the Vote signup sheets are passing through the crowd. Music is being pumped in through several large sets of speaks placed strategically around the park and we’re hearing chants of Fired Up! Ready to Go!
There is a great atmosphere here, and some of the groups in these pictures are of Obama Organizing Teams. Here in Iowa, because of the intense organizing during the caucuses, tens of thousands of volunteers already knew each other, and these grassroots groups have formed as the foundation of our Get out the Vote efforts. If you’d like to join them, just sign up at your nearest “staging location” by clicking here.
Several weeks ago, we held the “Iowa Call Challenge” and hundreds of Iowans used our Neighbor to Neighbor online call tool to talk with Iowans about Barack and the change we need. We are happy to announce that the top five callers will be here at the rally today meeting Senator Obama. They are:
Gail Dietrich; Victor, Iowa Kevin Healy; Ames, Iowa Dennis Lee; Sergeant Bluff, Iowa Sheryl McNew; Indianola, Iowa Tim O'Neill; Hedrick, Iowa
There is still time to get down here to see Barack here in Des Moines. Click here for details.
I've been 'dark' on the blog for a week. No problems, really, just a lot of work, and coming home exhausted each night.
We continue to get new volunteers through our office daily, and I have been orienting new canvassers on a daily basis. Yesterday, a new volunteer arrived from Arizona - here for four days. She is a post-graduate Fullbright Fellow in real-life, and is heading to Paris in December to work for six months. But now, she is walking the neighborhoods for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
I volunteered to organize a watering station for a marathon this Sunday in Las Cruces. We'll be showing the flag for Obama and slaking thirsts at the 5.8 mile mark. Since it is an out-and-back race, runners will come through our station twice. I've got my volunteer staff, and I'm producing special commerative T-Shirts for the effort.
Some of the voters that I encounter are getting cranky. I don't mean the McCain voters, as about half of them have been cranky from the start - I think many of them feel compelled to vote for McCain because they have 'always voted Republican', and they are really are having to hold their nose this time. I have run into some supporters who are cranky because their doorbells keep on ringing, and their phones too! One woman said to me yesterday "I'm for your guy now, but I won't be much longer if you keep bothering me!". Fortunately, many people are voting early, and we stop bugging them if we know that they have already voted.
One delightful encounter the other day involved calling on a house that had two voters listed, a woman named McNeill, and another named McNeilly. As I was gathering up the data from the nice lady named McNeilly, I asked her to help me clear up the name issue, as it seemed that there was an error in the voter registration for one of them. She said "No, the names were correct. Her sister was named McNeill, and she had the same name until she married Mr. McNeilly!" I asked if they had met in school, where people are sometimes seated alphabetically, but she said no, they had met randomly after the school years. Sweet story, except, of course, there is no Mr. McNeilly on the scene any longer.
The really big push starts up tomorrow or today - soon. As hard as it may seem, the effort level is about to crank up as we head into the last week before the election!
Thank you Barack and Michelle!
Thank you for lighting the spark of this movement in America right now. This push to change our country, to rewrite the story from this day forward.
We’ll be writing about how we saw a glimmer of hope in a blind vet’s eyes the first time he got to vote in his 60 years of life since a volunteer was out there, ready to register him, deliver him to the polls, and ensure he was afforded the assistance he needed to vote.
We’ll be writing about the little children we met in low-income streets, so excited about their own future they could say your name out loud – and did, into a campaign volunteer’s bullhorn for all their neighbors to hear.
We’ll be writing about the single mother of three, so motivated by your call to heal our country she’d cart her infant and toddler along, and watch from her minivan, tooting her horn, heralding in hope, and monitoring her 11-year-old daughter’s effort to canvass with older volunteers.
We’ll be writing about the unemployed volunteer, so worried about healthcare coverage she made herself sicker, but who believed enough in your leadership to pack it up and head to a battleground state to ensure you won there.
We’ll be writing about the downtrodden red-state county Democratic party that for the first time in years pulsed with vitality, youth, and achievement as they broke new voter registration and voter participation records and planned a unified victory party like never before!
And we’ll be writing about the blue star families, the moms, dads, spouses, sons and daughters who believe your call to service honors their military member’s commitment, who trust you will be good stewards of their loved one’s military service, and who believe you will keep America’s promise to them as they hang up their uniforms and become veterans.
We’ll be writing the story of America from this moment on. Because you took a chance on us. I want to say, Barack and Michelle, we’ve got your back, and will do all in our means to ensure you make it to the White House.
And as I write these words, I call on my fellow Americans. Please join me in voting for Sen. Obama and bringing change, hope, unity, and vision to America. It is the time. It is the place. Yes we can!
I am a 25 year old Non-Profit Fundraising Consultant born, raised and now working in the city of Detroit that I love more than any city in the world. I Hope that this will inspire you and others to volunteer and Elect Senator Obama.
I started my journey about 3 months ago, as a person that has traveled around the world, seen developments socially and economically that have been made there and started to lose faith in this Country. I decided to go to the rally at Joe Louis Arena with Al Gore and Senator Obama headlining, I was inspired by the event and decided to start to volunteer and became a “Team Leader” at the brand new office in Downtown Birmingham. Within a few weeks because of the amazing Field Organizers and the other passionate volunteers we were able to break record after record of phone-banking and door knocking.
During the course of my time there, I was invited to the Farmington Hills Rally with Senator Obama. When Senator Obama asked if there were any questions, I literally jumped at the opportunity (which he saw and laughed) regarding the Automotive/Automotive supplier industry (which is near and dear to my heart) he more than responded to my question. I was impressed by the answer and was in complete agreement that a re-tooled, more efficient automotive industry will be key for economic success/stability in the future. A few weeks later after my experience in Farmington Hills, I decided then it was time for a change.
The office in Birmingham was running extremely well and thought my talents could be used elsewhere towards a new challenge, a city not far in length but very different in economic, diverse population and income: Southfield, Michigan. I was very excited for a change of scenery, most of the people in Southfield are already voting for Senator Obama and that means that different measures are taken to ensure the Senator will be elected. There were some experiences in Birmingham that moved me, however, in Southfield the experiences changed my life.
I had an extra lawn sign in my car and a gentleman contacted me to ask if he could have one, obviously I said yes but I had a family emergency and could not get there for at least 90 minutes. It ended up taking 2 hours and to my surprise the gentleman was still sitting waiting eagerly for his sign. He personally thanked me and his actions made me realize this was no ordinary movement. Later the next day, I went to a home that houses mentally, physically challenged people as well as people that just needed a place to stay to get back on their feet.. A woman came in the office and asked me to come there and help them register to vote. It took about 2 hours and a lot of patience but to see the joy in these people eyes that have never had a say in the Political process or a voice in this world made it all worth it. I had to hold my emotions in because I was tearing up watching their reaction.
The next day I decided to take my volunteering a step forward. I took a non-paid leave of absence with my job so I would be able to give ALL my time to volunteering (all is capitalized for a reason). I felt that this was more important and that the sacrifice financially was well worth it, my employer/father understood (albeit wasn’t 100% happy as a boss but incredibly supportive as a father) After a few weeks in Southfield I was asked if I was interested in a paid position with the campaign as a Field Organizer, I was flattered but polite fully declined, I want to be a volunteer and not be compensated in any shape or form. I also really like having the freedom to be able to move around to difference locations so that I can hopefully influence and inspire as many people that I can.
I will now be going over to West Bloomfield and hopefully influencing a population with a heavy percentage of members of the Jewish community (one that is very close to my heart and family) for the duration of the election.
Throughout this journey I’ve met the Senator, I've met celebrities touring for Senator Obama and it has been amazing. However, helping people is what gets me through the day and keeps me going. As I write this, exhausted with a horse voice from a weekend in East Lansing that included talking to as many Ohio State fans as possible about the importance of volunteering in Ohio (even though all they wanted to talk about was the score), talking to as many Michigan State students/alumni/friends/owners of certain “establishments” that would listen,(and yes like many others with the campaign I have talked more than people want to listen) and of course some other “leisurely” activities (obviously I am still 25).
So a special thank you to my family, friends, my dog(who doesn’t like me anymore since I’m never around), new friends, Field Organizers (don’t think I forgot about you two),for being my support system, helping me push forward and putting up with me and all of the election talk.
I'm sharing this story with you and others to hopefully inspire others to get people out to vote and VOLUNTEER because there is no alternative. Yes we might be classified as Seniors, Adults, Youth, Black, White, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Gay, Straight, Republicans, Democrats, Spartans, Wolverines, Buckeyes etc... but at the end of the day we are all human beings and for the first time in a while and we have the direct chance to make a difference in this world as one people and that time is NOW, we need more help now more than ever so please sacrifice some of your time, come volunteer, make some phone calls, knock on some doors and just go help in the community there are no excuses, there is something for you to do we are almost there and we cannot let this opportunity pass us by.
Thank you for taking the time to read this but more importantly hopefully you will vote, and VOLUNTEER your time for Senator Obama.
Scott
In a few days, we will post a video interview Scott had with Senator Obama.
Last night we had a meeting with some of the more enthusiastic and dedicated canvassers from the Suffolk Campaign for Change office. We are set now to continue canvassing southern Suffolk to make sure everybody who is interested in restoring faith and pride in America gets out to the polls on November 4th and votes for Barack Obama! We will be heading out today with our teams from several Suffolk locations all week-end long and every week-end and the Monday and Tuesday of the election. Our Suffolk office Campaign manager for the south-side, Justin Baker, gave us an inspiring speech to keep us motivated and ever more dedicated. I can't wait to knock on more doors today! I LOVE canvassing for Barack Obama!
I tried to make some home made sweet potato pies to bring to the office this morning, but darn! Those sweet potaoes take forever to pre-cook! It was nearly 10 p.m. before they were done and they needed to cool down before I could make pie out of them. Sorry Justin and Tony - the pies will not make it to the office until Sunday.
