To piggyback on my earlier post
about new politics, I just came across something that relates and which
is a great step forward. I've worked with Tom Perriello briefly a few times in
relation to some of the faith-based groups he has been instrumental in
forming, and now he is running for Congress. He's working something
very cool into his campaign: "The campaign will tithe 10% of
all its volunteer hours to community service projects around the
district." I love how this model begins to move politics from promises
about what we will do after the election to also include examples of
positive change and leadership here and now.
"I was raised to believe that a strong faith is a
lived faith that must be made clear by our deeds. I want my campaign
for Congress to reflect those same values," said Tom Perriello. "That
is why we are asking our campaign team to commit 10% of their volunteer
hours to local charities to reflect the value of service to community
and to country."
Perriello Campaign Launches Unprecedented Initiative to Tithe 10% of Volunteer Hours to Community
May 12, 2008—Danville, Charlottesville, and Collinsville, VA—With events in Danville, Collinsville, and Charlottesville, the Perriello for Congress campaign launched its volunteer tithing initiative, unprecedented for a political campaign. The campaign will tithe 10% of all its volunteer hours to community service projects around the district. The campaign has logged more than 1,700 volunteer hours in total; over the weekend, volunteers kicked off the initiative by tithing 42 volunteer hours and moving forward, will tithe 10% of its hours.
"I was raised to believe that a strong faith is a lived faith that must be made clear by our deeds. I want my campaign for Congress to reflect those same values," said Tom Perriello. "That is why we are asking our campaign team to commit 10% of their volunteer hours to local charities to reflect the value of service to community and to country."
Perriello campaign volunteers launched the volunteer tithing initiative in three locations around the district. In Charlottesville, volunteers worked on constructing a house for Habitat for Humanity. In Collinsville, they brought groceries to the local post office for the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive. In Danville, they served food to the hungry at a local church.
Tom Perriello is the Democratic candidate for Virginia's fifth congressional district. Born and raised in the district, he is a national security analyst and has founded faith-based organizations.
The via above also links to this post (excerpt below):
Quote:
I'd like to propose that Democratic candidates for president demonstrate their boldness by taking a different approach to their campaign spending this year. I want them to give it away. Not all of it, mind you. Just 10%.
I'm asking every Democratic candidate for president to commit to donating 10% of all funds raised to charity.
The candidates can use their choice of charity to demonstrate their concerns. These kind of dollars could make a huge difference in funding for widespread problems like autism, or make possible cures for an "orphan" disease. A candidate might fund a "Meals on Wheels" program for a year, or after school programs for at-risk youth, or free clinics for those lacking health care. Heck, they could put their names across the back of every Little Leaguer in New Hampshire and it would still be better than paying millions for an ad firm to create another vacuous flag-waving sixty second spot and millions more to run it in the Tivo-bypassed wastelands.
Roll it into one big donation, or spread it around. Either way, I'm willing to bet that the media attention garnered from these donations will far exceed the effectiveness of any commercials that could have been made using the same funds. At the same time, the candidates will actually be helping people.
In addition to putting out the funds, candidates should send out the volunteers. I was not at the first Dean organizing meeting in my area, but I was there for the second. Within a couple of months, we went from a half-dozen people meeting in someone's living room, to more than a hundred people crammed into a banquet hall. If you were involved in a similar group, I don't have to tell you that the level of enthusiasm, the idea that we were going to change things was heady. But almost from the beginning, there was another note that circulated among all the hope and fervor -- frustration. One person after another came through the door with one question on their lips, "what can I do?"
In 2008, don't waste your volunteers making phone calls to people who have been called a hundred times before. Instead, put them in that "Obama" or "Richardson" or "Hillary" or "Edwards" shirt and send them out to work at a local charity.
Instead of a campaign being marked by a short term flood of reporters and roadsides cluttered with rain-soaked signs, you have it in your power to turn the 2008 campaign into an outpouring of good works. Instead of making the campaign into a massive expression of ego, it can be an explosion of compassion.
Christian Science Monitor has an article about Tom and a few others in a similar vein:
Quote:
Early on, Perriello set aside 10 percent of the time and resources of his campaign staff to work on local projects. Larry Campbell, assistant pastor at Bible Way Cathedral in Danville, Va., says he was surprised that Perriello's campaign wanted more than a photo op when they visited his food bank.
"I've had many political candidates come through, but I've never had any work along with us in the area of social-action changes," he says, citing ongoing help from Perriello volunteers. "Most candidates who are running for national office have more programs just getting people out voting for them, but to give back to the community is a heavy statement for social change."
...
"Politics was either going to be part of the problem or part of the solution, but it was no longer something we could ignore in the solace of the nonprofit sector," he says. "The struggle in our country right now is a struggle to replace the culture of corruption with a culture of service to country and community."
So far, the Perriello campaign's tithing project has included work at food banks and adult day-care centers, as well as building housing for the poor and repairing furniture.
"The tithing project is not just about ensuring that the least among us still has a voice in the political process. It's also about making sure we are part of a transformation in the country to restore a culture of service," he says.
...
Larry Kissel, a high school social studies teacher who came within 330 votes of defeating Rep. Robin Hayes (R) of North Carolina in 2006, is organizing his 2008 campaign around the themes of public service.
The campaign office doubles as a "constant food drive," and staff requesting vacations are urged to "go anywhere you want to for as long as you want to as long as you help people where you are while you're there, " says campaign spokesman Tom Thacker.
...
Democrat Josh Segall, whose contest for Alabama's Third Congressional District is ranked by House Democrats with Perriello's as one of 20 "emerging races" in the 2008 campaign, is also combining an aggressive Internet campaign with local community service. While a college student, Mr. Segall started a farmers market as well as an advocacy group, Home Grown America, that urges Alabama colleges to buy food from local farmers.
"Our volunteers are not just volunteering for Josh but will be volunteering for public-service projects, such as farmers markets or highway maintenance," says campaign manager Don Weigel.
To piggyback on my
A political official cannot promote life...
1014 - [size=large][color=purple][b]hey[...
Starting in microstock - Denise,I usuall...
What's your favorite? - I was wondering ...
It's really annoying how people assume p...