MsSpentyouth

Name:	MsSpentyouth
Location:	Cary, NC

My personal volunteering highlight:

Alright, so I work two full-time jobs, and I care for my granddaughter as well as the rest of my family. This generally gives me enough time for a quick sweep over the daily basics. But in 2008, I made a commitment to do more: I took five months' worth of Fridays off my first job as vacation days to volunteer for the Obama campaign and the Coordinated Campaign of the N.C. Democratic Party. I also took a significant reduction in hours in my second job as well. And I put that time to work as phone-bank coordinator for the Obama campaign's headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. In addition to coordinating in-office phone banks, I organized a systematized virtual phone-bank network with daily e-newsletters that went out to thousands of phone bankers all across the U.S. We made more than half a million calls from June through November 4.

When our computers slowed down on November 4 and we were unable to pull up call lists, I sent my office full of phone bankers out in the thundering rain to canvass door-to-door, and put out emergency blog posts to get people in to canvass the critical precincts in our area and to encourage voters in line to stay and cast their votes. The office was soon filled with umbrella-carrying canvassers (some who heard about the Emergency Blogcast Announcement from relatives or friends on the other site of the United States) who braved the horrible weather and coaxed out voters who might otherwise have given up on going to the polls and/or staying in line long enough to cast their ballots.

More about my volunteering with progressive organizations:

I'm on the fundraising committee of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. I also do some writing and public speaking on behalf of the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Our Cary for Obama group continues to meet regularly and work on key areas in the community, such as food-bank collections, repairing and revamping computer equipment to give to low-income schoolchildren, support animals shelters in need of assistance during these tough economic times, and activate volunteers in advance of important legislative votes.

More about my work on current campaigns and issues:

I'm developing grassroots support to encourage the U.S. to sign the Rome Statute that governs the International Criminal Court and become part of the international community that opposes war crimes worldwide.

What motivates me:

My immigrant great-grandfather was a state senator in South Dakota, and my family on that side has always been active in community efforts. I simply cannot remember a time when I wasn't aware of political issues and the importance of activism. I maintain my activism because I believe in what my grandmother told me about what we have to do even when it seems useless: "All the housekeeping in the world won't solve dust, but we do our daily work because it keeps the dust from winning."

How I try to motivate others:

I spent seven years as a marathon walking coach for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and that experience taught me that every single person in this world will rise to the challenge that calls him or her. There is no point trying to motivate someone for a cause that doesn't fit, but it's worthwhile to ask what they're interested in and find out what motivates them and why. They may not be inspired to join my cause, but the discussion we have together may inspire them to take up their own cause. And then we all make things a little better.

My suggested bumper sticker slogan for the Stand with Dr. Dean campaign:

Support the public insurance option. It's the healthy choice.