Friday, October 25, 2024

Feel Good Friday - League of Women Voters

With the United States Presidential election less than two weeks away, it’s time to dust off a post from eight years ago and reacquaint everyone with the League of Women Voters.

Headquartered in Washington D.C., the League of Women Voters (LWV) was founded in 1920 by Carrie Champan Catt six months before the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified. You can take a deeper dive into their history and click this link to see photos of LWV through the decades.


As they explain on their website, LWV “is a nonpartisan, grassroots nonprofit dedicated to empowering everyone to fully participate in our democracy” and their mission is "making democracy work”. One of the ways they do that is through protecting voters. This includes ensuring compliance with laws like the Voting Rights act, as well as modernizing voting systems and expanding both early voting and online voter registration.


Speaking of which, "The League is one of the nation's largest and most longstanding community based voter registration groups." Once they've got you registered, they can get you educated. The website Vote411 will populate with detailed information for elections in your area once you input your address.


You can also use this directory to find one of the more than 700 Leagues across the country to get information on issues affecting your city and state. For example the League of Women Voters Oakland, where I live, posts recordings of recent candidate forums as well as publishes an Easy Voter Guide for the California statewide initiatives. I'm very happy to have these resources to review!


There are active leagues in all 50 states and together they engage in advocacy, education, litigation, and organizing to protect every American’s freedom to vote. You can get the complete breakdown of their work here.


If you want to get involved in your community and play an active role in our democracy, consider joining the League of Women Voters as a member. You can also stay informed of their work by reading their blog and amplify their message on social media by following LWV on Facebook and Instagram.


If you haven’t already done so, use the League of Women Voters’ resources to study up on the issues and then get out and vote!


Friday, October 18, 2024

Feel Good Friday - The Cat Network

Most of the time, I use this blog to highlight an organization that’s connected in some way to the time of year or current events. But sometimes I just want to talk about cats. Enter today’s Feel Good Friday Organization, The Cat Network.


Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, The Cat Network is a grass roots organization dedicated to humanely reducing cat overpopulation. The 2,500 volunteer and donor members that make up the network work towards this goal in several ways.


The first  focus is on sterilization. The Cat Network educates the public about the need to sterilize their pets. They also provide access to low-cost spay/neuter services for stray, homeless and abandoned cats through their certificate program. Members of The Cat Network can purchase low-cost spay and neuter certificates that can be used at participating veterinary clinics. As well, the Miami Meow Mobile is a fully equipped surgery center on wheels that can provide sterilization procedures, vaccinations and basic wellness care for cats.


The second focus involves advocating non-lethal population control and humane public policy. That includes working with multi-family developments to enact TNR (trap/neuter/release) efforts rather than extermination of stray cats on their properties. The Cat Network website lists advice on trapping feral cats for people who want to help in their own communities.


Finally, The Cat Network assists members in finding homes for rescued stray cats and kittens. Before a cat is placed in a home, the member and adopter sign a contract and the member collects the adoption donation of $75. If you’re looking to bring a cat into your life, click this link to learn more about the adoption process.


Since they began almost 30 years ago The Cat Network’s members “have trapped and sterilized over 51,000 stray and abandoned cats and have adopted out over 7,000 cats”. That’s a lot of cats!


If you’d like to join The Cat Network in their efforts to help homeless cats, there are many ways to get involved. People living in South Florida can volunteer, become network members or foster cats. All of us can make a donation and amplify their work on social media by following The Cat Network on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Friday, October 11, 2024

Feel Good Friday - Somos Votantes

We’re in the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month and you may have heard we have an election coming up in a few weeks. A perfect time to discuss the work of Somos Votantes.


Founded by Melissa Morales in 2019 and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Somos Votantes and it’s political action arm, Somos PAC are the “largest independent Latino civic and voter engagement programs in the country.”


Morales worked in the U.S. Senate while she was in law school and didn’t see many Latinos in government. A desire to see her community represented in politics is what inspired her to create Somos Votantes. This is a Latino-led, Latino-focused organization that runs non-partisan programs designed to increase the participation of Latinos in local and federal elections and to advocate for progressive policies. 


Specific work they do includes sharing information with the Latino community about the resources available to them through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and non-partisan, mobilization programs to educate voters on the mechanics of voting and maximize Latino participation in elections.


In the last five years, Somos Votantes has knocked on nearly 4 million doors, sent over 10 million pieces of mail, invested over $4 million in Latino-targeted TV, nearly $1 million in Spanish-language radio, and over $4 million on paid digital ads. They held 100+ community organizing events, engaged more than 20,000 small businesses and were the biggest independent contributor of real-time, qualitative data on Latino voters. They’ve been busy!


The best way to stay abreast of Somos Votantes’ education and outreach efforts is to connect with them on social media by following their Facebook and Instagram pages. If you want to help them increase voter participation among Latino communities, you also can support them with a donation. And if you haven’t done so recently, now would be a great time to check your voter registration status!




Friday, October 4, 2024

Feel Good Friday - National Federation of Filipino American Associations

October is Filipino American History Month, a perfect time to learn about the work being done by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.


Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is “the largest national Filipino American organization, aimed to promote active participation in civic and national affairs.” 


The first Filipinos in the Americas arrived in Morro Bay, California in 1587. Today there are over 4.2 million Filipinos across the United States and NaFFAA wants to serve as their voice. The mission of NaFFAA is to “promote the welfare and well-being of Filipinos and Filipino Americans throughout the United States by amplifying their voices, advocating on behalf of their interests, and providing resources to facilitate their empowerment.”


This work is organized around four pillars. National Advocacy centers on immigration reform, recognition for Filipino veterans, an anti-hate crimes task force, and promoting small business and financial education. Leadership Development engages and empowers the next generation of Filipino American leaders at various leadership summits and conferences. Civic Engagement encourages participation in politics through voting or running for office. The final pillar, Advancing Filipino Culture, celebrates - you guessed it - Filipino culture, arts and entertainment.


While leadership forums and gala nights bring people together on an annual basis, there are more activities being done at a local level. NaFFAA has thirteen-member regions that cover the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Pacific Islands. You can check this map to see who the region presidents are and find out how to get involved in your local chapter.


If you’d like to see NaFFAA achieve their vision of Filipino American communities that are culturally, economically, and politically empowered and engaged, you can support them with a donation. To stay in the loop with current events and help amplify their message, follow the National Federation of Filipino American Associations on Facebook and Instagram