Grassroots Gathering 2015 - Celebrating Virginia Organizing's 20th Anniversary!

Why should you attend the 2015 Grassroots Gathering?

Celebrate 20 years of grassroots organizing in Virginia | Share your accomplishments with others working toward the same goals | Meet new people from different chapters, organizations, and parts of the state | Learn something new through participatory workshops, engaging speakers, and expert panels | Relax during down time in a pool, rocking chair, coffee shop, basketball court, or with plenty of games.

The full cost for the weekend will be around $120. We ask that everyone pay what they can to help share in this cost, but please do not let the expense be a barrier to your participation.

The Grassroots Gathering planning committee is finalizing the details for a fantastic 20TH ANNIVERSARY weekend. Register today and check back soon for updates.

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Schedule

Friday, October 9

5:00 Registration

7:00 Welcome and Supper

8:00 Music and Dancing | Special Performance by Mighty Joshua!

Saturday, October 10

7:30 Breakfast and Registration

8:30 Welcome

9:00 Mass Meeting | Special Guest: Attorney General Mark Herring

10:15 Workshop Session I: Skills to Win Campaigns

11:30 Workshop Session II: Hot Topics in Local Chapter

12:30 Lunch

1:30 Group Photo

2:00 Workshop Session III: Making Statewide and National Change

3:30 Open Time and Local Chapter Fair

5:00 Mass Meeting

6:30 20th Anniversary Celebration Dinner

Sunday, October 11

8:00 Breakfast

9:00 Action Small Groups

10:30 Report Backs

11:00 Closing and Send-Off

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Workshops

10:15-12:30 : In-Depth Strategy

Campaign Strategy Chart * TWO-HOUR WORKSHOP

The Midwest Academy Strategy Chart is a great tool used to develop winning issue campaigns. This two-hour workshop will give you an opportunity to learn how to use the chart and to apply it to your own local campaigns.

Facilitated by Brian Johns (Room G-44)

10:15-11:15 : Skills to Win Campaigns

Virginia Organizing 101

New to Virginia Organizing? This workshop will give you an idea of Virginia Organizing's 20-year history, what issues we work on across the state, and how you can get more involved in making change in your own community!

Facilitated by Harold Folley and Jay Johnson. (Room 130)

One-to-one Conversations

Through intentional one-to-one conversations, we learn about important issues, identify potential members, and develop strong public relationships. Learn how and why we use one-to-one conversations to build a strong grassroots organization.

Facilitated by Haley Wilson and Debra Grant (Room 134)

Understanding Power

In organizing, our decisions are guided by power analysis. How can we build power to make the changes we want to make? In this workshop, you will define power, learn how to conduct a community power analysis, and discuss ways to build power for the long haul.

Facilitated by Joe Szakos and Johnny Mayo (Room 138)

Participatory Research

To build winning local campaigns, we need to be able to understand the complex issues in question. Learn from the Alliance for a Just Society and Virginia Organizing how important research work is not limited to professors and experts but can be done in a way that includes us all!

Facilitated by Sam Blair and Denise Smith (Room 142)

Make Your Voice Heard: Writing Letters to the Editor

Decision-makers—politicians, CEOs, and others—look to media to see what people are talking about. Learn the tricks of writing letters to the editor that will be published and amplify your voice!

Facilitated by Amanda Pohl (Room 143)

Fundraising to build grassroots power

Are you nervous about asking people for money but want us to keep doing our great organizing? Find out how to get over those jitters and learn how to be an effective fundraiser.

Facilitated by Michele Mattioli and Kathy Stanton (Room 141)

11:30-12:30 : Hot Topics in Local Chapters

Climate Change Roundtable

Climate change threatens all Virginians. Join leaders from across the state for a roundtable conversation about how we might respond to the challenges.

Facilitated by Colleen Garrison and Teresa Stanley (Room 130)

School to Prison Pipeline

School punishment policies that disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities can put young people on the path to incarceration. Learn how organized people are taking a stand against this system at the local level.

Facilitated by Addie Alexander and the Fredericksburg Chapter (Room 134)

Speak Your Mind: Media Spokesperson Training

This training will help you hone in on your interests and skills to generate media coverage on important issues. After this workshop, you’ll be prepared to serve as a spokesperson for your local chapter on the issues that matter to you most.

Facilitated by Amanda Pohl and Sandra A. Cook (Room 138)

Immigrant Rights

With Comprehensive Immigration Reform stalled in Congress, Virginia has still made progress on immigration issues at the state and local level—in-state tuition, ending ICE holds, and more. What’s next for immigrant rights?

Facilitated by Isabel Castillo and Ray Scher (Room 142)

Civil Rights Past and Present

Join veterans of the Virginia Students’ Civil Rights Committee for a conversation about the history of civil rights struggle in Virginia and how we can build on it in our work today.

Facilitated by Dottie Edwards and Fancy Terrell (Room 143)

After Marriage Equality: LGBTQ Campaigns

Now that marriage rights have been won, what’s next in the fight for LGBTQ equality? Hear stories about Virginia Organizing’s local work on the issue and share ideas for paths forward.

Facilitated by Joe Szakos and Keith Johnson (Room 141)

2:00 Workshops | Making Statewide and National Change

Building a New Chapter

Statewide and national change starts locally. If you are part of a new or emerging Virginia Organizing Chapter, this workshop is for you! Established local Chapters will share insights, ideas, and challenges that they encountered along the way.

Facilitated by Teresa Stanley and Andrae Hash (Room 130)

Women’s Issues

Explore challenges specific to women in Virginia, including economic opportunity, health care access, and discrimination, with facilitators from the ACLU and Women’s Equality Center.

Facilitated by Kathy Greenier and Allison Kennedy (Room 134)

Restoration of Rights

Virginia Organizing served as a strong voice in the recent improvements to Virginia’s Restoration of Rights process. Come learn about the recent changes and how you can help others get their rights back!

Facilitated by Cathy Woodson and John Mahan (Room 138)

Retirement Security

An interactive discussion of the serious threats to Social Security and Medicare in a time of polarization, extremism, and misinformation…and what we need to do about it.

Facilitated by the Social Security Strategy Committee (Room 142)

Health Care Reform: Building a Story Bank

In the Affordable Care Act’s fifth year, we are hearing more and more success stories from individual and families across the Commonwealth. At the same time, we continue to hear about the need for Medicaid expansion. Join Families USA for a training on collecting and vetting stories for a statewide story bank.

Facilitated by Airrion Andrews and Toni Mack (Room 143)

Virginia Organizing 301 (Advanced)

Are you an active member who is interested in the long term growth and development of Virginia Organizing? Then you should join this workshop for an hour of discussion around growth, chapter sustainability, working together across chapters, and a big picture vision for Virginia Organizing!

Facilitated by Bob Becker and Addie Alexander (Room 141)

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Cost Sharing

So that we can continue to put our resources into building capacity, we ask that participants share in the cost of the Grassroots Gathering by paying a portion of the expense for your attendance.

Full cost for the weekend, meals included:

Please pay what you can—less if you can’t afford the full cost, more if you can share in someone else’s cost. You can also work with your chapter to raise the money. Don’t let the expense be a barrier to your participation!


A deposit of $20 is requested to reserve your space in the weekend.

There are two ways to submit your payment:

¨ You can make a payment online:

Visit http://www.virginia-organizing.org/more-ways-to-donate/#paypal. Click on the DONATE button to go to the PayPal site, then either enter your PayPal account information or, if you don't have a PayPal account, click “continue” to the left of the log-in box to pay with a credit card. After entering your information and moving to the next screen, please click on “Designate funds for [group]” and write “Grassroots Gathering.” This whole process takes less than five minutes!

¨ You can mail a check along with your registration form (write "Grassroots Gathering" in memo line):

Virginia Organizing

703 Concord Ave.

Charlottesville, VA 22903

Summer SPECIAL: Everyone registered by August 31will receive a free Virginia Organizing Water Bottle!

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Nik Belanger at 434-709-4953 or nik.belanger@virginia-organizing.org.