If your handwriting is not good enough for letter-writing, we have something else you can do to make a difference in the upcoming General Election.  Join us in making phone calls to Black voters to help them navigate the racially motivated voter suppression rules. This is a non-partisan event in partnership with the Center for Common Ground.  As we learned from Rev. Aaron on Sunday, our Universalist faith calls upon us to bring hope and courage in the face of adversity.  Let’s put our faith into action together.

Beth will provide the training in a zoom meeting and then you can give it a try. All you need is a computer (laptop or desktop).  If you use a tablet, you can still make calls but have to exit the zoom meeting when you do. Calls are made through your computer browser.  We will be making calls along with at least 2 other UU Congregations.  Let’s have a good showing from UUCW!  Many of the calls go to the voter’s voice mail where they can benefit from the information you provide.  If you reach a “live voter” that’s a bonus and you’ll have access to all the details they may need to be able to navigate the voting system where they live.

Please RSVP to me directly or via GOtV@uucworcester.org so we know who to expect and to receive the zoom meeting link.

We will meet by zoom beginning at 6 PM ET/5 PM CT/4 PM MT and make calls till 8 PM ET.  Then we’ll spend a few minutes debriefing.  If you cannot stay the entire time, please at least stay for the training and try making 5 calls.

To qualify as a UUA Good Trouble Congregation in 2024, we now need about 465 phone calls to be made.  Please help chip away at this goal one call at a time!

You can view this training video before the phonebank to see how it works.  http://centerforcommonground.org/pdi.  You can also check out the Guidelines that we will review during the training. If you can’t make it on Wednesday, October 2nd, you can make calls on your own (and report your #s to gotv@uucworcester.org) with the resources found at https://www.centerforcommonground.org/phonebanks. 

You do not have to be a Unitarian Universalist to participate in this phonebank. Invite your friends and family!  We believe that all of us are needed in the fight to make the world a better place for all, one voter at a time.

If you would prefer to do letter-writing instead or in addition to phone calls, please go to Vote Forward’s website and choose a campaign at https://votefwd.org/.  We have until October 14 to mail out the letters.

All activities with the GOtV Team are listed here.

Beth Posner-Waldron, Coordinator, UUCW Get Out the Vote Team

*The reference to “good trouble” is taken from the late Congressman John Lewis who said “…Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

The post GOtV News – Make Good Trouble with Phone Banking on October 2nd first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Have you taken a look at the price of first class stamps these days?  It’s gone from $.68 to $.73 during the summer.  That means that for every 100 letters UUCW sends out with the letter-writing effort through Vote Forward, we need $73 for postage.

Several people are writing letters in batches of 20 to low propensity voters across the country, giving them the information they need to exercise their right to vote.  Some people have written 100s of letters which means they have a huge expense to bear in addition to the time they are putting in.  We could really use your help with the cost of stamps.

The Get Out the Vote Team will receive 50% of the donations made during the offering on September 22nd which will help reimburse people for the cost of stamps and other supplies.  In addition, for the next several Sundays, we will have a jar at the foyer of the church to collect stamps that you buy–please no flags because, sadly, they are associated with voter suppression.

We will be doing postcards and/or letter-writing during coffee hour for the next few Sundays until mid-October.  Also, if you would like to take a batch of letters home to write “why you vote” to someone in FL, AZ, NC or another battleground state, contact GOtV@uucworcester.org or stop by our table during coffee hour or go to https://votefwd.org/campaigns and print out a template for 5 letters to get started. 

There may still be batches of postcards with Reclaim Our Vote to send to women in Florida. Contact Vickie Cox Lanyon directly or via GOtV@uucworcester.org or see Vickie during coffee hour on Sunday. Let’s get in some Good Trouble together making the world a better place for all, one voter at a time!

In solidarity and with great gratitude, 

UUCW Get Out the Vote Team

The post GOtV News – Please Donate Stamps! first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Let’s make some good trouble* in advance of the November 5th General Election. Democracy is not a spectator sport! You can make a difference by calling Black voters in Southern states to help them navigate the voter suppression rules. This is a non-partisan event in partnership with the Center for Common Ground. I will provide the training and then you can give it a try. All you need is a computer (laptop or desktop) or tablet to participate virtually. Calls are made through your computer browser. We will be making calls along with at least 2 other UU Congregations.

RSVP to GOtV@uucworcester.org. The Zoom link will be provided prior to the meeting on Monday, September 16 at 6 PM ET/5 PM CT/4 PM MT. To qualify as a UUA Good Trouble Congregation in 2024, we still need about 800 phone calls to be made. Please help chip away at this goal one call at a time!

You can view this training video before the phonebank to see how it works. http://centerforcommonground.org/pdi.

You do not have to be a Unitarian Universalist to participate in this phonebank. Invite your friends and family! We believe that all of us are needed in the fight to make the world a better place for all, one voter at a time.

In solidarity and faith,

Beth Posner-Waldron, Coordinator, UUCW Get Out the Vote Team

*The reference to “good trouble” is taken from the late Congressman John Lewis who said “…Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

The post GOtV News – Make Good Trouble with Phone Banking on September 16th first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

If you’re not going to Ferry Beach, here’s another way to get together.  Please join me and folks from UUCW’s Get Out the Vote Team at the Western MA Democracy Fair sponsored by the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence.  Saturday, September 14, 11-2.  The fair will be held on the USN front lawn or inside (if it rains).   220 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060, USA   This is a non-partisan event.  What happens in W. Mass. impacts us, too!  UUCW will have a table, displaying our new banner, talking to attendees about voting early, making sure they are registered to vote, and encouraging folks to Vote your Values and Make Your Voice Heard.  Want to carpool from UUCW or near Mass Pike in Sturbridge? Contact me directly if interested.

More details from the press release:  “Fairgoers will learn about democracy and have fun while doing it! You’ll learn what’s going on in Western MA to defend, strengthen, and fix democracy…and to take action! There will be voter registration, postcarding, phone banking, education, and much more as local organizations share what they are doing. Plus – International Democracy Day is Sept 15, and we’ll talk about ways democracies around the world have succumbed to autocracies and have overcome authoritarian regimes.” 

Shared by Beth Posner-Waldron, coordinator of UUCW Get Out the Vote Team

The post GoTV News – Western MA Democracy Fair – Sept 14 – 11 am – Unitarian Society of Northampton first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Saturday, August 24, 2024 is the last day to register or update your registration for the September 3rd State Primary.  Make sure you are ready to vote in the Primary.

Make sure you are ALSO ready to vote in the upcoming November 5th General Election!

CHECK WITH YOUR OWN TOWN/CITY FOR EARLY VOTING and MAIL-IN BALLOT DROP BOX DATES, TIMES, and LOCATIONS

For more information, go to the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Page

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/elections-and-voting.htm

Prepared by Ann Hollander and Beth Posner-Waldron, 8/19/24, UUCW Get Out the Vote Team members

The post Get Out The Vote Team News – August 20, 2024 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

The Get Out the Vote Team is taking part in Reclaim Our Vote (ROV)/Center for Common Ground’s postcard campaign again.  We will be sending postcards to people in Virginia who are often the focus of voter suppression to remind them about the importance of voting in their state election and provide instructions for how to vote early.  They are electing Governor, Lt. Governor, Atty. General and state delegates (similar to our State Representatives).  Contact Beth Posner-Waldron or Vickie Cox-Lanyon directly or Beth via GOTV@uucworcester.org for more information or to sign up to help.  

The only skill needed is being able to print or write a few sentences and an address legibly and add some doodles or artwork, if you are able.  We have all the materials, including stamps (or you can supply your own stamps–no flags, please, as they can be associated with voter suppression–no dog images, either)  

Let’s keep Virginia a voting-rights state and help get out the vote!  A large turnout can make a huge impact on the outcome of the election, as we know from November 2020’s general election and January 2021’s special election in Georgia.  Whomever gets elected in Virginia gains a platform that can impact future national elections, too, and affect all of us, in a negative or positive way.

Postcards need to go out by October 18.   You can read more about the ROV postcard campaign here.  Vickie has already ordered the supplies so you do not need to do anything other than help write the cards.

Past elections have shown that the more people who get out to vote can make a big difference in who gets elected.  You can make a big difference with just an hour or so of your time.  Please join us on 10/6 or grab some postcards to do at home.  Call or email Vickie Cox-Lanyon or Beth Posner-Waldron directly to arrange to get your postcards and addresses or email Beth at GOTV@uucworcester.org.

The post Help Get Out the Vote in Virginia first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.