[ [link removed] ]Powered by People[ [link removed] ]Powered by People





Hi John,

My name’s Matthew and I’m a volunteer with Powered by People based in
Houston.

I had a really moving encounter with a Texas transplant this last weekend
and I wanted to share what happened with you:

We were trying something new and going to an apartment complex to interact
with voters. My findings were that I had much more success talking to
people in the parking lots than on their doorstep (maybe I am too
intimidating ).

Anyway, I approached an older woman who had just parked and asked her if
she had a moment to talk.

If I am being honest, I had some misgivings about her. She seemed put out,
but said she could give me a minute. I told her about the raffle for an
HEB card that we were doing for anyone who checked their voter
registration.

Begrudgingly she admitted that she "should get registered to vote." She
had bad eyesight, so I helped read the form to her so she could fill it
out.

In the space between those moments, we started to talk.

She told me about how she had moved to Texas to help take care of her
brother and sister-in-law who had since passed away.

She told me about how she was from California and that she was devastated
by what was happening in the country.

At some point, I introduced myself and she asked me if I knew what my name
meant. Having gone to Catholic school for 10 years of my life, I told her
that I did, that it meant "gift from God" and laughed about how that can
be a lot of pressure to aspire to. She then proceeded to tell me that her
son had been named Matthew, but had also passed away about 4 or 5 years
ago (he was about my age now, when he passed).

She said that it was the memory of her son and how upset he was about the
"Cheeto Bandito" that inspired her to register to vote with me. We spent
another 10 minutes or so trading quotes about the value of being stoic in
the face of adversity and the importance of community.

At the end she gave me a hug, thanked me for helping her, and told me that
this random conversation in a parking lot today with a stranger was a
"gift from God." I'm not crying, you're crying 🥹. 

I'm sharing this because I want you to know exactly what your support
makes possible.

I showed up that day because Powered by People gave me the training, the
tools, and the community to do this work.

[ [link removed] ]Will you help send more volunteers like me out there? A gift of any
size — $10, $25, $100 — goes directly toward reaching voters who are ready
to be found.



[ [link removed] ]Donate $3



Thank you,

Matthew




 


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