บันทึกของ Organizing for America - Michigan
On Thursday, The College Democrats at the University of Michigan sought out to break their own national record for the most calls made at a single Organizing for America event. After making calls for ten straight hours with over 30 students participating, their efforts paid off. The College Democrats at the University of Michigan made 2,075 calls! They set the previous record at 1,739 just over month ago. A conference room in the Michigan Union was scene of the phonebanking marathon. It was filled with call sheets, pizza boxes, phone chargers and dozens of the group's members, showing up to make calls for as much or as little time as their schedules would allow. Some members stayed for four or five hours as a time, while others showed up several times through out the day in between classes and work to make as many calls as they could. True to their affinity for new media, the group used a Facebook event, google form, dozens of emails, Twitter, and text messages to rally its members. The College Democrats look forward to challenging their own record again in support of reform.
This week, Organizing for America in Michigan is preparing events to thank members of congress for their support on health insurance reform. Last Saturday, the House of Representatives passed historic health reform legislation. Allen and Janet H couldn’t wait to thank their representative, Congressman Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Hills) for his support on health insurance reform. Allen and Janet have been involved in politics for over 50 years and comprehensive health insurance reform has been a goal they have always hoped could be achieved. Shortly after Saturday night’s vote, President Obama released the following statement
Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.
The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.
Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.
Having always been supporters of Congressman Peters, Allen and Janet were overjoyed and wanted to find a special way to thank him for his support for health insurance reform. Janet decided to bake the Congressman her famous banana nut bread and Allen delivered it to him personally.
Organizing for America will be planning events across the state to thank our Democratic members of Congress for their support for health insurance reform. Here is a list of the events across Michigan. Click on the link to join us!
Thursday:
Detroit- Congresswoman Kilpatrick (D-MI 14)
http://my.barackobama.com/
Ann Arbor- Congressman Dingell (D- MI 15)
http://my.barackobama.com/
Flint- Congressman Kildee (D- MI 5)
http://my.barackobama.com/
Friday:
Detroit- Congressman Conyers (D- MI 13)
http://my.barackobama.com/
Organizing for America hosted a celebration in Flint on the one year anniversary of the election of President Barack Obama. Complete with décor from the campaign, the ubiquitous Barack Obama cardboard cutout, and speeches from then Sen. Obama in the background, the atmosphere was somewhat surreal for those that had worked tirelessly during the campaign.
The scavenger hunt was case in point. It asked participant to find someone who: volunteered in both 2008 and 2009; volunteered out of state; made a donation; attended an event with Sen. Obama; attended the inauguration, and was wearing Obama gear. Everyone in the room fit at least one category. I met Jim Carlson, who volunteered in Michigan last year. Looking back on the one year mark, Jim said “It’s amazing how much has been accomplished since then”. I also met Mary McLemore who attended events with President Obama in Flint and Detroit. I met Laurie Holland, who was on the National Mall with her daughter when President Obama was officially sworn in. All voted for change, most volunteered for change, and many continue to work for change with Organizing for America.
Many were in this very room exactly one year ago watching the fruits of their labor come to fruition. Brian Bates remembers the excitement in the packed room as Genesee county residents waited for the results to come in.
“You get nervous. No matter how hard you worked, there’s always a chance the votes won’t go your way. I just hope we continue to push for the change we were pushing for during the election because it’s important and people need help.”
The trip down memory lane also served to keep people focused on continuing to work for change. Two tables on display had signs that said “Then” and “Now”. The latter was filled with sign-ups for Organizing for America volunteer opportunities, a place to sign up to call your congressman in support of health insurance form, and a place to drop off letters to members of Congress in support of reform. Flint township leader Mary Putnam spoke to the crowd, telling them of the friends she made during the campaign and the weekly meetings they still have to continue to push for change.
Nathan C. shares with us his memories of last year's election.
During the campaign in 2008, I primarily made phone calls, knocked on doors in my neighborhood, sent text messages and did a little bit of data entry. The memories I have of November 4th, pretty much amount to feelings of a victory and teamwork. There were so many people involved in every community working together to achieve a goal. The evening of November 4th, I specifically remember reading a book to my daughter and falling asleep at around 9:00PM. The following morning seemed like a dream come true for America. We celebrated then, we celebrate now, and we continue to do what we did then to make our local communities stronger all across this country. Together we have a voice and together we must move forward to make this country a better place for all of our citizens. Why I continue to work with OFA is because it represents what we the majority voted for. The people of this country need a powerful voice to be heard at a moments notice. The more organized we become together as a team; the louder our voices are heard. Please continue to volunteer in your local community as much as you can and always know that it does make a difference.
Like many in Michigan, Christine joined the President’s campaign late in the election. President Obama was not on the ballot during the Michigan Primary, and there was little campaigning in the state by any Democratic candidate. The general election brought heavy campaigning from both Presidential contenders, and allowed Christine an opportunity to be involved in history.
“Getting involved in a presidential campaign was something that I had always wanted to do, but I never seemed to have the time to volunteer. In 2008, I was able to not only make the time to get involved, but I’d also found, in Barack Obama, a candidate that I believed could not only bring about much needed change, but one that I could support wholeheartedly.”
Unlike Christine, Chris Savage had been involved in previous election. His motivation to get involved with a local Dexter group could be found in those defeats.
“I got involved because I felt like I had really dropped the ball in 2004. Although we had volunteered on Election Day, we never got fully involved in the Kerry campaign and, when he was defeated, I felt defeated. I vowed I would never let that happen again.”
As Chris knocked on 1000s of door and made hundreds of calls in his community, Christine was running a phonebank in her home in Fenton every week from the beginning of September until Nov 4th. Christine remembers fondly the empowerment her volunteers felt when they were able to convince undecided voter to support President Obama. For Christine and Chris and millions of others across the country, the final results on Nov 4th proved that change could come from the ground up, and could lead to stronger communities.
“On election night, I remember standing with my team of volunteers, people I’d only known for a few weeks, but people who were tirelessly dedicated to fighting for change, and I remember the sense of accomplishment in creating this community of volunteers and the joy at not only having won, but of having been a part of something much larger. More importantly, for the first time in eight years, I had a restored sense of hope; hope that change was not just a possibility but also a reality.”
The ability to affect change has kept Chris, Christine, and hundreds of grassroots leaders involved in their movement for change with Organizing for America. Chris was able to get a lot of the friends he made during the campaign active again with OFA in the pursuit of health insurance reform. Christine has again taken a leadership role in Genesee County, not only in continuing to run a phonebank but also training and empowering other leaders.
“I have learned that we can’t just wait for change, we have to work for change every day. Today, we continue to work hard for change, as Organizing for America fights for real health insurance reform.”
Ann Arbor- One of the strengths of President Obama’s 2008 Campaign for Change was the record number of youth that got involved in hopes of changing the country. The College Democrats at the University of Michigan were a part of these efforts last year, and fortunately they have continued their efforts in a big way with Organizing for America –Michigan.
UMCD’s work with OFA- Michigan began with a meeting between their leadership and OFA- Michigan staff. Shortly after, Amanda Caldwell was chosen as the OFA liaison and they began to tackle health insurance reform by hosting weekly phone banks and doing outreach on campus. Since then Amanda and the College Dems have proven to be grassroots leaders on their campus and in the state.
A recent friendly competition with student organizers at Michigan State University proved the College Dems’ ability to affect change. On Thursday, October 15, more than 60 students from UMCD made over 1700 phone calls to Michigan residents urging them to call their representatives in support of President Barack Obama's plan for health insurance reform. At this event, UMCD members set the national record for the most phone calls made at a single Organizing for America event. Starting early in the day, UMCD members began calling potential supporters to encourage them to contact their members of Congress about health insurance
"It was great to see so many of our members turn out to the event," said Samuel T. Marvin, chair of UMCD. "Health care is a student issue. By working on comprehensive health insurance reform now, we are making an investment in our future.
In addition to UMCD's involvement with OFA Michigan, the group also activates on progressive issues and campaigns for Democratic candidates. Last fall, UMCD members volunteered for congressional candidates Gary Peters, Mark Schauer, and Bart Stupak. The members have also been volunteering for Marty Griffin's campaign for State Senate throughout the fall.
UMCD holds weekly chapter meetings every Thursday in the Michigan Union at 8pm.
Volunteers all over Michigan watched as President Barack Obama spoke via webcast tonight from New York, urging them to continue their efforts to push for reform. The speech comes near the end of Organizing for America’s national day of action that urged over 200,000 people to call their member of congress.
The president's address struck a chord with Neighborhood Team Leader Marisa Downs. "Great motivating speech. We got your back Mr. President. We're just getting started on cleaning up this country."
Marisa needed little motivation to take part in Organizing for America’s efforts “Time to Deliver” day of action. Activism is in her blood. “My father was in the Peace Corp and my mom followed civil rights leaders like Cesar Chavez and the Kennedys. I also had great teachers who taught me how important it is to be informed and involved.” Marisa and her fellow volunteers from the Plymouth Democratic Club have been working for reform for months, making thousands of calls, and getting hundreds of voices involved in the process. Tonight’s effort is just another day in the office. Marisa’s group even had to change locations so they could continue to make calls.
In Lansing, volunteers continued to reach out to their community after inspiring words from President Obama. The phone bank began at 4 p.m. at the Michigan Democratic Party HQ and by 5:30 p.m., volunteers had run out of phones and were almost out of call lists. One phone call went to Interlochen nurse Kathie, who agreed to contact her members of Congress.
Kathie volunteers at the Father Fred Foundation in Traverse City and said she was going to tell her member of Congress about the plight of the uninsured she sees every day as a nurse. By the time Marsha Parrot-Boyle sat down to watch the President's speech, the Lansing effort had reached out to over 1,000 people. Marsha responded to the President's address by simple saying. "It was inspiring. Let's do it!"
As Organizing for America continues to reach out to communities across the nation today, volunteers at Oakland County Democratic Party HQ have been making calls into their community since 11 AM. Linda Schwartz is one of over 30 volunteers in Michigan who have been making calls today to get supporters for the President’s health insurance reform principles to call their member of congress.
Linda took the call to action even though it involves something she doesn’t normally like to do. With the status quo being unsustainable and health insurance costs continuing to skyrocket, Linda knows she has to get out of her comfort zone to help deliver health reform we need. “Making calls is not my favorite thing to do but I believe we need to have true health reform. I am willing to put my personal fears aside for this cause.”
Thousands of people in Oakland County and across the state of Michigan have already committed to calling Congress. As Organizing for America surpasses 100,000 commitments today alone, Linda and her fellow volunteers continue to bring more voices in the process.
Volunteers across the state of Michigan are taking part part in a national day of action to support President Obama’s plan for health reform, calling on their neighbors to ask them to tell their representatives that it's time to deliver on health reform.
The Antrim Women’s Democratic Club is reaching out to other women in their community in support for reform. Volunteers like Lynne want to make sure other women know that reform will end discrimination for gender and pre-existing conditions and give greater choice to American families, all while lowering costs to American Families. Lynne also sees this as an opportunity for Americans supporting reform to remind Washington of their seat at the table. “It’s important to be involved in this debate and to talk to our representativess because we elected them," she expalined. “They work for us!”
Volunteers in Detroit have been calling their neighbors since noon. This is Jeffernell's first time in the Organizing for America Detroit office, but he decided that he had to get involved now. "I did not have a lot of time to give, but I believed I needed to do something, no matter how small or how little. So today, inbetween scheduled appointments that I had downtown, I decided to stop in to make some calls."
Clarkston- Two years ago, Melissa Bernardi was a part time bookseller in Clarkston, Michigan. Today, Melissa is a proud Community Organizer with Organizing for America in North Oakland County. For Melissa, her venture into organizing began when she heard about her friends experiences with the other campaign experiences of her friends.
“I was always impressed by the stories a dear friend had told me about his experience working on the Bobby Kennedy presidential campaign, which led me to volunteering for Obama for America last year."
Like many working with Organizing for America, Melissa was inspired by her work on behalf of then Senator Obama.
“My first experience was a canvass in my town at the end of August that consisted of 3 other local volunteers. By Election Day there were literally hundreds of community members streaming through my house to knock on doors. By being a volunteer for the campaign I discovered how many of my neighbors shared my views, but had been too quiet or felt too alone to voice them.”
After the campaign ended, Melissa missed the spirit of community and activism she had experienced. It was not long before Melissa began volunteering with Organizing for America. Since then, Melissa has been a leader in the state of Michigan in the campaign for health insurance reform. She has reached out to thousands of Oakland Country residents in support of reform, led or participated in dozens of citizen contact events, and attended several trainings on community organizing. She even got the chance to meet Vice President Joe Biden in August. For Melissa, it’s all about having a voice in the process.
“The end of the campaign just left me wanting to continue being a voice for change in my community. Being a Community Organizer for Organizing for America has given me that voice to inspire others.”