Feed and supply the troops!
In my piece yesterday “Get Out the Vote (GOTV) – Ann Arbor-style“, I mentioned how a couple stopped by our Obama campaign office with a box of Bunny Grahams and thanked us for what we were doing. It was a small gesture but it really perked us up and put smiles on everyone’s faces.
My wife has had some trouble with her back that has kept her from knocking doors. But, she wanted to do something so she packaged up a bunch of her Obama photomosaic posters and sent them to Obama offices all around Ohio to sell to raise funds for their office or to give to volunteers that are going above and beyond the call of duty.
It’s completely in line with the title of the poster “Forward Together” and for Anne’s motivation for creating the image in the first place.
What she didn’t expect was to get an email like this:
Anne,Today we received your poster made up of all the rally faces for President Obama. I’ll say that being from MI myself, it gave me the uplift I needed today. I’m a Field Organizer in Montgomery County which is one of the counties that decided Ohio in 2008 and in turn will decide Ohio in 8 days. We work hard down here and when things happen like this…it really is uplifting to all of the staff in this office and me especially since I feel like someone from home appreciates what we are doing down here. I can’t think you enough for this gift for the office it’s definitely an amazing work and would love to commend you what you’ve done. We will continue to work hard down here to make sure that we have another 4 years of surging forward!!!
Thank you so much!
So, are you someone who can’t do the door-to-door thing? Hate talking on phones? How about finding a local office or two and bringing down some food or drinks this weekend? Most office have “Comfort Captains” who are in charge of the food and drink but, to be honest with you, most GOTV teams are so focused on getting their turfs cut, their walk lists created, their call lists in order, their data entered, the volunteers recruited and their shifts filled that the role of Comfort Captain is often over looked.
What do folks want? A variety of things. A crockpot of soup. Some quick healthy snacks you can stick in your pocket. A veggie plate, maybe some hummus. Make it compact and not complicated to eat. Make it self-contained (for example, if you bring soup, make sure to provide bowls and spoons, too.) Make it healthy and nutritious. Make it fun! I’ve seen photos of Obama cakes and cookies and fruit trays decorated with Obama pins. Use your imagination.
You can coordinate your donation with the office ahead of time to see what they need or you can just drop by and surprise them. If you don’t know where your local office is and how to contact them, you can find that information by clicking HERE.
Not everyone can go out and knock doors or make calls (though we’ll try to encourage you to do that.) But most of us can do a little something to fortify those who can. To feed them. To make sure they have something nice to drink. Or something to lift their spirits.
That’s how we get it done: Forward Together.
