Organizing for America

My Fundraising Goal

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for stopping by this page. If you are here I hope that means that you, like myself, are in awe of the magnitude of this campaign and want to do all you can to show your support.

It's not often in one's lifetime that we get to witness a political
campaign that inspires, that empowers, that has been inclusive of so
many, as the one we are witnessing now. Perhaps that's because it's
rare that a candidate comes along that we as a people feel we can
believe in wholeheartedly. A candidate that we believe will do
exactly as he says, says exactly what he means, and whose intellect,
compassion and sincerity resonate with so many of us.

Though I know there have been many, in my lifetime, I have only seen
two such candidates. I watched when Jimmy Carter came into office and
even though I wasn't old enough to vote or to even fully understand
the true merit of a President like Jimmy Carter, I understood through
numerous family discussions and their subsequent reaction to his
winning that it was an important time in the world.
I only began to understand much later the kinds of changes that Jimmy
Carter was able to implement in this country economically,
environmentally and diplomatically.

Later on, I came of voting age during Bill Clinton's campaign and was
so thrilled to be able to vote for a candidate that I actually
believed in! One who's brilliance, generosity of spirit and love for
the people of this country was palpable and heartwarming. What's
striking about this to me now, is that I had already become jaded
enough to be prepared not to believe in any candidate.

After President Clinton's departure from office, I am saddened to say
that I personally became so disinterested, then disgusted with, and
finally, completely without hope in the democratic process. In the
last 8 years I have witnessed things within the current
administration that have made me feel angry, ashamed, disheartened
and incredulous. More importantly, I'd begun to feel disenfranchised
enough to wonder if perhaps my vote didn't even matter.

And then out of nowhere came a breath of fresh air.. a ray of light..
a sliver of hope.. and his name was Barack Obama..

After witnessing atrocities like 9/11, the aftermath of Katrina and
the Iraqi war, I think we can all understand what it means to begin
to have a sense of hope again.
I, like so many of you, have found Barack to be a voice of reason, a
voice that has reminded us that the political process IS OURS to
shape as we will. A voice that has encouraged and inspired me to
remember that my vote is important, that I CAN make a difference and
that we can stop this madness that the Republican party has unleashed
on each and everyone of us!

Now, once again I have the feeling of important changes taking place
within our nation and of being a part of something bigger. I have
the feeling of bearing witness to that rarest of things.. a campaign
headed by a candidate who not only restores my faith in the political
process, but who makes me feel as though HE believes in AND
understands the power of that process. A process, he reminds us, that
each of us has the right to be a part of. Here, at last, is a
candidate who makes me want to get up, go out and find others who
will join me in making our overwhelming need for change a reality.

Barack Obama has proven he is committed to changing the political
process by building a campaign founded on a broad base of support
from ordinary Americans like ourselves. For Barack this campaign is
NOT about winning the "prize" (as stated by Senator McCain), but
instead about putting the people's interests ahead of the special
interests, and to do that, Barack needs help from people like us.

I've set my own personal fund raising goal for the
campaign, which you can see on the thermometer to the right. Will you click
the thermometer to make a donation and help us reach our goal?

I have no doubt that many of you have more than likely already
contributed to the Obama campaign, but if you haven't or even if you
have, let us put our money where our mouths are and not just watch
this historical time in politics but be an active part of it as
well.

If we want to see change, why not let that change start with us..

Please give what you can.

Thank you for listening,

Vivian Sessoms
for Barack Obama