The Power to Change the World Rests with Volunteers Like You
“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
August is a month of change for the Anderson County Democratic Party. This is the month we select new officers, new district chairs, and form the committees that will carry out our vision. It is an exciting time, a time to take stock and prepare for the next round of elections: the 2022 midterms. And since practically every office in Anderson County is held by a Republican, we have a lot of work to do. We must talk with our neighbors and friends; we need to explain and show why Democratic policies are superior and how they work for all of us. They must understand this if we expect to elect more Democrats up and down the ticket. This reorganizing meeting is a starting point. It is an opportunity to build a wider base, forge stronger alliances, and create a movement that will begin to change Anderson County from a “safe” red district to a purple or – dare we dream – a blue district.
Our intrepid leader, Lt. Col. Eric Keller, U.S. Army (ret.) is stepping down. His Ph.D. in political science imbued him with a healthy interest in data, for the push-and-pull of the numbers game, and for making sense of graphs that to many of us look like collections of random dots on a page. During his tenure, ACDP broadened its reach and increased its base. But Eric would be the first to tell you that he is not the one responsible for these gains. He would point to the team of officers, district chairs – all volunteers – and the others who came in and gave generously of their time and money. After all, this is the backbone of the Party, the volunteers.
Yes! The mighty volunteer. The Democratic Party is powered by its volunteers. Who are these people that volunteer? The short answer: we are you. We are Anderson County residents with diverse experiences and even more diverse backgrounds. To volunteer, you do not need a special skill set, or have a vast knowledge of election laws, or even have any experience in politics; to volunteer, you need only to show up. That is all.
Many volunteers choose to help by phone-banking – that is, calling other Anderson County Democrats to get them motivated and out helping – and some like to canvass – that is the door-to-door information-sharing process that can be tiring but extremely rewarding. However, there is much more to it. Your ideas, your passions, your energy can impact and drive our decisions and programs. If you have contacts in the high school and want to help with our youth outreach, come and join us. If you like throwing parties, organizing fundraisers, bringing people together, come and join us. Or if, like me when I first joined, you just want to be part of something bigger than yourself and make a difference in your community, come and join us. We have a place for you. The point is your participation, no matter how small you think it may be, is a big deal. If you are reading this, we need you.
I expect many of you reading this are still on the fence, worried about time commitments or feeling anxiety about starting something new. To you I would just like to say that nothing is scarier than the unknown. You will never be pushed to do more than you are willing to do, and we are some of the friendliest people around. (I mean, c’mon, we’re Democrats!)
So, if you can make our reorganizing meeting on August 21, and help us elect our leaders for the next two years, we’d love to have you. Otherwise, please fill out a volunteer card here or donate here. Or you could go for the trifecta and do all three!
This is your call to be great. This is your call, as Dolly Parton put it, “to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” Come join us. Together we can change the world.