The buds of MAY
The heat is on; it got all the way into the seventies on Saturday. People went into the myriad circles and parks around the district and relaxed. Dave ate some asphalt over a catch of Frisbee, and a few of us found time for a Sunday night barbeque. Green, white, and pink buds are meandering out of the trees in the neighborhood, and rejuvenating the gray-scaled metropolis.
In the office, we’re meandering out of our hibernation, too. My whiteboard has stories to pitch and emails to write, playgrounds to build and dreams to fulfill. Four of us are doing this full time. I pick whatever ideas are ripe enough and cultivate them. A group of high school students wants to make DC recreation centers more welcoming. I want to harvest their ideas, articulate their desires, and broadcast their message.
Dave is attending a networking dinner party tonight for a group called YouthBuild, which encourages inner-city youths to rebuild their communities while receiving career training. He says a few senators may show up, and there will be partnerships to forge and contacts to receive. Work doesn’t end when Dave picks up his salad fork; he has a full lid tonight.
Zac is building a website for Raise Your Civic Currency, an incentive-based approach to civic action. He’s had to learn a new computer language and uncover codes and inconsistencies in the computer software. I saw the model for the homepage yesterday and it looks great, two weeks ago he didn’t even have network access.
Maya has a Sidekick, usually stuck to her face. She is on the phone and computer communicating with foundations and endowments every day, making sure we have the capital to finance our ideas. She also manages Claire, Tara, and Greg, who are working with college campus groups to start a dialogue between young people and political candidates.
Our jobs are distinct, but they are hinged to the successes and failures of the team. We need each other to succeed at any task, and we know how to hit our stride in the conference room and in the living room. On Saturday, we celebrated four years of youth empowerment with Mobilize.org. We washed down funny videos from Election Day 2005 with Bud Light (Uma Mehta, you’re a true talent), and we fashioned our own Mystery Science Theater 3000 out of The Italian Job.
The videos made me recall the thick of our campaigning last year. It is very cool to watch the budding of our midterm programming, but it is cooler to be part of the process that makes it grow.
DP
In the office, we’re meandering out of our hibernation, too. My whiteboard has stories to pitch and emails to write, playgrounds to build and dreams to fulfill. Four of us are doing this full time. I pick whatever ideas are ripe enough and cultivate them. A group of high school students wants to make DC recreation centers more welcoming. I want to harvest their ideas, articulate their desires, and broadcast their message.
Dave is attending a networking dinner party tonight for a group called YouthBuild, which encourages inner-city youths to rebuild their communities while receiving career training. He says a few senators may show up, and there will be partnerships to forge and contacts to receive. Work doesn’t end when Dave picks up his salad fork; he has a full lid tonight.
Zac is building a website for Raise Your Civic Currency, an incentive-based approach to civic action. He’s had to learn a new computer language and uncover codes and inconsistencies in the computer software. I saw the model for the homepage yesterday and it looks great, two weeks ago he didn’t even have network access.
Maya has a Sidekick, usually stuck to her face. She is on the phone and computer communicating with foundations and endowments every day, making sure we have the capital to finance our ideas. She also manages Claire, Tara, and Greg, who are working with college campus groups to start a dialogue between young people and political candidates.
Our jobs are distinct, but they are hinged to the successes and failures of the team. We need each other to succeed at any task, and we know how to hit our stride in the conference room and in the living room. On Saturday, we celebrated four years of youth empowerment with Mobilize.org. We washed down funny videos from Election Day 2005 with Bud Light (Uma Mehta, you’re a true talent), and we fashioned our own Mystery Science Theater 3000 out of The Italian Job.
The videos made me recall the thick of our campaigning last year. It is very cool to watch the budding of our midterm programming, but it is cooler to be part of the process that makes it grow.
DP
posted by Mobilizing America's Youth at 10:35 AM
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