Hi John,
Let us introduce ourselves: our names are Emily Flores and Leslie Santiago and we’re current students at Lewis & Clark College. We started as the 2024 Democracy Fellows for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters Education Fund in the fall of this year!
Our goal for this fellowship was to equip both students and the general public with knowledge and skills they need to be effective advocates and voters for the environment. We held classroom presentations, club presentations, tabling sessions, sent emails, phone calls, texts, and ran a mock election to engage with thousands of Oregon voters about changes to City of Portland government and ranked choice voting (RCV).
In order to reach as many voters as possible, we sent 55,708 emails to educate them about the process of RCV. We tabled at 18 events and presented in 14 classes to bring voters further awareness of RCV. Then, in the final days leading up to the general election, we sent out 1,224 texts and 136,218 email reminders to those who took our pledge to vote. Voters were delighted to have someone check in and get the support they needed to cast their vote.
We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be a democracy fellow without the proper funds from generous donors. During our time as a fellow we’ve learned so much as voters and advocates. We’re writing to you today to ask: would you consider making a year end donation to OLCV, so youth like us can continue to educate young voters and climate activists?
Did you know that $1,500 is all it takes to sponsor an OLCV campaign fellow to help train the next generation of climate organizers? $5,000 could help fund an innovative youth-led climate campaign, engaging young climate activists in OLCV’s work!
