Hi there,

My name is Michelle Alwardt, and I lead the operations team at Vote Forward! One part of my work at Vote Forward is fulfilling requests that come into our Free Stamps & Letter Kits program, which wrapped up for the year on October 1. I get to see the work this incredible volunteer community does every day and the huge impact we make together.

I’ve worked for political organizations for a long time, but a few years ago, I found myself wanting to engage in direct voter contact in my personal time in a way that made a real difference. In 2020, I started writing letters and postcards to turn away from doom scrolling and toward taking action. After seeing the efficacy data for letters, I turned to letter writing full-time and haven’t looked back!

As a neurodivergent person managing chronic illness, letter writing helps me engage at my own pace and where I feel safe in my own space. Being able to do this work in a way that is sustainable for my ability, flexible for my life, and able to meet me where I am, has been really meaningful to me personally. It has helped me be still, working with my hands, and calming down my brain when winding down for the day.

Photo of Michelle holding several bundles of letters and smiling

This year, I’ve been particularly inspired by the creativity and work of a group called the Queer Voting Coven. I knew I could mobilize my own queer coven and started my team by setting up a personal letter writing page—HOT TO GOTV! I knew that my friends would also get to channel their energy into action, and would be more likely to get involved when asked by someone they knew personally. If you have a group of friends who you think would write with you, I encourage you to start your own personal letter writing page!

Create your own page

For me, voting is a tactic to move the needle forward on the policy change we want to see. At a time where our elected officials may not live up to many of our hopes and dreams for the future we want to build, I find comfort in community and in the simple message to engage in the process. The future is up to us, and we as a collective have incredible power.

I’m so thrilled to be a part of this incredible letter writing community. Together, we’re so close to reaching our 10 million letter goal, and with a little more work from each of us, I know we can get there.

Thank you for being an important part of Vote Forward and this work that means so much to me.

Michelle Alwardt
Head of Operations
Vote Forward

P.S. Don't forget to mail your voter turnout letters no later than Tuesday, October 29!

Our small team works tirelessly to develop new campaigns, analyze data, and improve the letter writing experience for volunteers like you. If you can, please consider making a contribution to help sustain our efforts over the long term.

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