Press Release
“Root Camp” Announced to Develop a Grassroots Farm Team Across America
First national development initiative by newly launched Grassroots For America
(Thursday, 1 April 2004) — Grassroots activism is a lot like baseball. The playing field is distinct, and certain positions must be filled for a team to take anchor and play in a community. And, like baseball, to sustain the game, grassroots activism needs a farm team development program. Enter “Root Camp”, a new national initiative announced today by Grassroots For AmericaSM (www.GrassrootsForAmerica.US).
Root Camp will provide qualified instructors recruited from within the grassroots community to train local leaders on the critical operations necessary to integrate citizen involvement in the political arena. Training topics will include: precinct organizing, local governance, voter registration, caucus operation and more. “Many leaders developed out of the Dean campaign who gained real expertise on how to organize their communities,” said Pam Paul a GFA board member who conceived the idea for Root Camp and is the Root Camp program director. “Our first step is to bring those folks together on a brainstorming team to develop a cohesive Root Camp training program, do some train-the-trainer exercises and then hold quarterly Root Camps in every state.”
American history is strewn with brief hot upswings in grassroots activism that rapidly dissipated after a specific goal was achieved. The American suffragette movement won women the right to vote, but today 46% of eligible women voters are not registered to exercise that right and fewer still actively engage for candidates or issues. In the 1960’s, the anti-war movement rallied millions of young people for mass protests and pressured the U.S. government to retreat from Vietnam, but the energy of that movement died almost as soon as the troops returned home.
“We believe the big difference between grassroots organizing and political party organizing is the organic way citizens evolve into activists,” said Paul. “Root Camp is designed to be of, by and for the grassroots because everyday people learn better and become excited by folks they have a shared background and experience with.” Root Camp is the first major national initiative announced by Grassroots For America, a new service bureau that developed this year out of the Howard Dean campaign. The idea stems from GFA’s charter to help progressive grassroots leaders around the nation organize, mobilize and publicize their efforts.
About Grassroots for America:
Grassroots for America (GFA) is where the grassroots go to get things done. GFA is a service bureau to progressive organizations across the nation providing the infrastructure, networking and promotional services they need to achieve their goals. GFA is a not-for-profit corporation operating as an IRS chapter 501(c)4 organization. For more information, please go to www.GrassrootsforAmerica.US.