With the Ohio Campaign for Change's sprawling and aggressive ground efforts, volunteers have been engaged for months now in every single part of Ohio. In terms of their activities, they've done everything you'd expect from a campaign, and much much more. Sure there's been canvassing, phonebanking, and data entry, but there have also been house meetings, debate watch parties, birthday pot lucks, booths at festivals--too much to name. Here is a look at some moments from all the activity in the field over the last five months.
Back in September, Field Organizer Liz, in Port Clinton, held a very special house meeting... on an island!
John Donne's observation that "no man is an island" was the theme of last week's Obama house meeting on, well, an island. Marty and Kelly, longtime residents of Put-in-Bay, rounded up a dozen of their friends to talk about how high the stakes are in this election. Every vote in every precinct of Ohio -- including the hundreds that will be cast for Barack and Joe at polling places in the middle of Lake Erie -- will make the difference this year.
In Marion, a debate watch party did its job--drew an undecided into the fold. Field Organizer Hannah snapped a picture:
Anderson Township, in Cincinnati, is known as a historically conservative area. Which is exactly why volunteers held neighborhood meetings there, so that Obama supporters would know they're not alone! Local team leader Vanessa writes a moving account of the Anderson Township meeting--where everyone seemed to be shocked by the turnout:
I have been campaigning in this little conservative village for some time now. People are very reserved and do not like to talk about politics. And I'm just witnessing the power of Obama message. People are tired of war, are tired of unaffordable health care or schools not up to the level of the global economy. But they have also find a leader who gives them hope that things can be improved if we just work hard. And people are demonstrating their desire for a better country that goes beyond their personal interest. We had about 50 people convening at the Anderson Center to learn about the campaign and its grassroots effort, and to share their extraordinary and ordinary stories. I myself learned form my parents and relatives, who lived the end of World War II, how horrible is the war from their stories. I moved from Italy, where I grew up, to Japan and now I have been leaving in Cincinnati for 7 years. I was never in favor of the war in Iraq since the beginning. I would like my daughters to grow in a world as peaceful as possible. Another lady at the meeting told us her story about her childhood in Korea during Korean War and Vietnam War, and described them as an horrible experience, and she wish other people don't suffer as she and her family did. Unaffordable health care and schools that are not able to prepare future generation to compete in the global economy were also some of the reasons Anderson residents are choosing Obama as their next President of the United States. The meeting was a very energizing experience and I'll keep working with those new friends to elect Barack Obama our next President of Unites States.
Finally, Courtney has this heartwarming story from canvassing last weekend:
TaLisa and I canvassed Ward 4 today, a very economically depressed area of Columbus. Several voters that we spoke to felt that their vote would not count even though they were registered. Amidst all this, there two young boys that were playing football with an empty Gatorade bottle across the street from our targeted doors. These two boys, in the third and fourth grade, helped direct us to which doors were occupied. After several not-homes, we stopped to talk to them and asked if they knew Barack Obama. The fourth grader did, but the third grader did not. We gave them literature and told them to take it to their parents…And they sat down on the sidewalk where they were playing and began reading it out loud to one another and expressed they were excited about taking it with them to school.
TaLisa and I canvassed Ward 4 today, a very economically depressed area of Columbus. Several voters that we spoke to felt that their vote would not count even though they were registered.
Amidst all this, there two young boys that were playing football with an empty Gatorade bottle across the street from our targeted doors. These two boys, in the third and fourth grade, helped direct us to which doors were occupied. After several not-homes, we stopped to talk to them and asked if they knew Barack Obama. The fourth grader did, but the third grader did not. We gave them literature and told them to take it to their parents…
And they sat down on the sidewalk where they were playing and began reading it out loud to one another and expressed they were excited about taking it with them to school.
Do you have a story from volunteering? What kind of Obama activity has gone on in your area in the last five months? Let us know in the comment section below.
And it's not too late to make some memories in these last days of the campaign. Sign up to get out the vote right now.
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