Three Generations of Hope

June 12, 2008

Throughout the course of this historic campaign, one of the keys to expanding the reach and impact of Barack’s message has been the active involvement of our grassroot supporters. Like many of our volunteers, Heather from Melbourne, FL had never really cared for politics prior to this campaign. It wasn’t until for her mother and father began to take an active role in the South Carolina campaign that Heather sat up and took notice…

My parents who live in South Carolina have been talking about Barack for at least a year. My dad (a white "over 65" year old Catholic registered Republican) told me that he believed Barack is the leader we need now and just hoped the American people would agree with that and listen to his message of change, hope, and reasonable, responsible actions.

They started volunteering for the campaign in SC back in December or January and their enthusiasm spurred me on to start paying more attention to the primaries and the issues. I don’t think I had ever watched more than a few minutes of a debate before January. Now I can’t miss a debate or speech if I can help it. I had never been politically active, but that has changed dramatically.

Heather’s parents, Rich and Judy, have been active volunteers in their town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. They traveled to Charleston to participate in the nation voter drive. In doing so they have set an example for there daughter who has helped organize with others in her community. The whole family seems to be in support of Barack, even her 5 year old son…

I have a 5 year old who loves Barack too. Last night at dinner Benjamin whispered in my ear "Mom, let’s cheers to Barack!", so we all lifted our glasses to Barack. For a long time Ben called him "RockObama"- now he calls him Barack. He often thinks I’m gong out to see Barack when I leave the house because he knows I met him once (briefly) and he hears me talking about going to an Obama meeting. Ben wants to meet him too. Maybe one day he will!

Since becoming involved, Heather has hosted meetings in her house and has participated in phone banks into other primary states, as well as attending watch parties. Heather has wasted no time in helping the campaign in planning a voter registration drive in downtown Melbourne on Friday, June 13th.

Their plan is to register voters that afternoon starting at 5pm. The next day the team has planned a registration drive/community beach cleanup project. In addition, Joe, a local hotdog vendor, has volunteered to donate all profits from his cart that day to her local group, helping to fund more registration drives in the future. It is events like this that will help carry us to victory in November.

Barack’s message has led me to realize that my one small voice can join with others and together we can make a difference and be heard. Together we can work for common goals; to improve this country and our world. Working together and being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers is a challenge that I cannot ignore, because the change needs to come now.

For more information about this event click here!

There are a multitude of grassroots events like this taking place across the country this weekend, and there will be many more in the weeks and months to come. You can search for an event in your own community, or sign up and create your own.

Whether you’re an experienced organizer like Heather, or a first time volunteer, you can connect with people in your own community and help build a true grassroots movement, one new voter at a time. Take the first step, and volunteer today.

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