Making a difference, one person at a time.

Thursday, June 2nd, Khadijah and I got a chance to speak to some senior citizens at Independent Living Center off of Akron Drive in Winston. The citizens that attended expressed a lot of concern about the new legislation being introduced.  They also expressed other fears, such as community centers not getting the necessary funding, less and less people with health care, and the possibility of losing their Medicare.  Even with all of their concerns, the members of the Independent Living Center showed that they remain hopeful, trusting that their elected officials will stand up for their needs, and protect what they have fought so hard to achieve.  They even asked for our assistance in writing letters to the governor, which we provided.

On June 6th we traveled north to Dobson, and were invited to speak with the Senior Democrats of Surry County.  There were a few more people at this meeting, and to say they were a lively bunch would be an understatement.  We did get a chance to speak with them about the Photo ID bill and some other voting restrictions that are being proposed.  We were also able to touch base on our “Cut the Strings” initiative that is focused on our support for public campaign financing – and successfully got some signatures from our petition.  Just like the seniors at Independent Living Center, the Senior Democrats are worried about other issues being currently debated now as well.  They seemed to show the most interest in ensuring that the voter’s right to vote remains protected, and they seemed more than willing to support any type of “call to action” proposed to do just that.

These speaking engagements really showed that people are very concerned about this legislation being proposed, which are changing voting laws and only making it harder for many groups to get out and vote.  However, after both speaking engagements, Khadijah and I were invited back to speak or help with initiating voter registration.  We accepted an invite to come and speak to a local branch of the NAACP, at their next meeting, regarding the Photo ID bill.  So far the Winston-Salem team has experienced working with a range of people, youth to seniors, and we are truly realizing that the people WANT change.  It is our job to inform and educate the people of the issues and how they are/will be affected.  No matter their age, race or party, that is exactly what we intend to do!

Making a difference, one person at a time.

Kayla and Khadijah

The Winston-Salem Team