Document Actions
Community Organizers at Work
Campaign for Community Values E-Bulletin:
Born out of a mass rejection of the failed policies of individualism and divisiveness, the Campaign for Community Values is a return to the beliefs our country was founded on: shared responsibility, shared sacrifice and shared success.
Take a look at what’s NEW in communities across the country since we last updated you:
Community Organizing in Action!
Community organizers work to engage and empower historically marginalized communities.
Ø In Illinois, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is confident it will surpass its goal of registering 20,000 immigrant voters this election cycle. They have already eclipsed the 19,000 mark. ICIRR is reaching out to immigrants who have been citizens for a while, but hadn’t registered for various reasons – including lack of information, language barriers and intimidation by the process. Catherine Salgado, spokesperson for ICIRR, said the group’s 20 fellows, most of whom are children of immigrants, are going to churches and door-to-door to encourage these citizens to register and vote.
“Anywhere that attracts a lot of immigrants,” she said, “we’re there.”
Ø In the Seattle area, two community organizations are working tirelessly to register newly naturalized immigrants and citizens in poor and minority communities. OneAmerica has focused primarily on registering immigrants at naturalization ceremonies, and has added more than 23,000 new voters to the state’s rolls. Washington Community Action Network started their voter registration work in earnest two weeks ago, but already has registered 1,626 voters at bus stops, discount chain stores and downtown streets. Washington CAN is confident they’ll reach their goal of 5,000 by October 4, the state’s voter registration deadline.
Joshua Welter, community organizer at Washington CAN! said “There is really a very a strong appetite from people to get registered and go out and vote.”
Ø Watch our video of community organizers talking about their work
Community Values Voters Spell Out Hope for Nation On Eve
of Values Voter Summit
Statement by the Campaign for Community Values
For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Contact: Germonique Jones 202-339-9331, Mary Moreno 202-339-9316
Washington – On the day America is commemorating the tragedies of September 11, elected officials, religious leaders and others are traveling to Washington for a values voter conference hosted by the Family Research Council. Speakers at the Summit will take the same old divisive approach to solving the challenges we face as a nation, a far cry from the unity we experienced seven years ago when we showed what America is capable of when we act as one nation, one community. Like the people attending this weekend's summit, millions of Community Values Voters are also going to vote on their values, but we believe our country is healthier when we care for each other and share responsibility and sacrifice.
Statement by the Campaign for Community Values:
“Americans across the political spectrum are hungry for real change. Intolerance and discrimination continue to plague our hearts, our neighborhoods and our politics. Immigrant families continue to be terrorized by our government, millions cling to a healthcare system that puts profits before people, and the American dream has become its own worse nightmare as families struggle in an economy that serves narrow, greedy interests.
“Community Values Voters believe everyone has inherent value and worth in the American story, and democracy means having a real voice and power in the institutions that affect our lives. Shared responsibility and shared sacrifice are central to a healthy nation. Those are the values we should be talking about.”
###
What Community Values is all about:
The Center for Community Change, working
with more than 300 hundred grassroots organizations, recognized the demand from
Americans for more cooperation through our interaction with diverse communities
throughout the country. We recognized that Americans wanted to vote on common
values and a common goal - to make their country a better place for their
families, neighbors and communities.
This call for change bubbling up across the country is a demand
to a return to community values. This year will be the year
of the Community Values Voter. Community Values Voters are banding together to show
that our country is closer to its ideals when we include everyone, when we care
for each other, when we recognize everyone’s inherent value and worth. Only then
do we have an
America that
works for all of us. Community Values Voters — across
communities, across political stripes – will hold elected officials accountable,
no matter who wins. This is the next wave of change in
America.
See highlights from the Campaign for Community Values:
Ø Launch of grassroots voter project telephonic press briefing June 23, 2008
o http://www.communitychange.org/press-room/press-releases/community-voting-project-teleconference
Ø Heartland Presidential Candidate Forum in Des Moines, IA December 1, 2007
o http://www.communitychange.org/our-projects/communityvalues/our-events/heartland-presidential-forum/
For more information about the efforts of the Campaign for Community values or to visit a voter project, contact Germonique Jones: gjones@communitychange.org
