Voices for Change: Donna in Columbia, South Carolina

October 5, 2008

Donna, 61, from Columbia, South Carolina, is proud that she could have an impact on this election.

She stared out slow, making some calls in the spring and getting more involved right before the South Carolina primary.

Since then she’s become a dedicated volunteer – volunteering as precinct captain, canvassing, phonebanking, and even hosting out-of-state volunteers at her home.

Hosting volunteers is really neat because even times when I didn’t have time to volunteer, I still felt connected and felt like I was doing something for the movement.

“At this point, I’m pretty much caught up in Obama fever,” she says.

A registered nurse with two sons in their 30s, Donna had never volunteered on a presidential campaign before, and had only donated once to a gubernatorial candidate.

Until the Obama campaign, I didn’t know that people really gave small amounts to campaigns. I thought you had to give thousands. I didn’t realize people like me could just give a little. But in the Obama campaign, every little bit helps!

To ask people to give what they can, when they can, is so reasonable. I contribute because, to me, it’s almost like a vote. It demonstrates to other people just how much your little part of the effort makes a difference. That’s why I’ve continued to donate when I could – I can see how much a difference my effort is making.

Donna contributes because she sees how much the economy and the healthcare crisis are affecting her community. “Being a nurse, I see a lot of patients who don’t have insurance or are underinsured. I’ve seen a lot of the issues that come up with Medicaid and the problems people face getting the help they need.”

It’s even affecting her own family.

One of my sons owns a small construction business and he has to pay for his own insurance with a huge deductible. I see his family not going to the doctor when they should. And my other son bought his first home a few years ago and had a sub-prime loan. He lost his job recently and has been struggling to keep his head above water and keep his home. But I think this is all something we can fix with President Obama in office.

Donna’s sons weren’t going to vote, but on primary day they called her to tell her they went to the polls for Obama. “I was so proud,” she says. Her two Republican siblings are voting to Obama too.

Donna is excited to bring more people into the Obama movement.

Obama tells people they need to have hope, faith, in America. He asks us to have faith in ourselves and that we have the power to work together and make things happen. With him, it’s not about him – it’s all about us.

Join the movement. Team up with other supporters and help make things happen in Washington.