Become a more effective volunteer

Bay Chapter offers training series on activist skills

Introductory training: Thursday, July 28, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Introductory training (repeat): Thursday, August 25.
Intermediate training (elections): Thursday August 4.
Intermediate training (grassroots lobbying): Thursday, September 15.
Advanced training: to be scheduled.

All trainings at the Sierra Club's national headquarters in San Francisco, 85 Second Street (near Montgomery BART). Alternate dates and locations may be scheduled if there is sufficient interest.

"We were right. But we didn't win because we were right; we won because we were organized" - Lois Gibbs, Love Canal activist, executive director, Center for Health, Environment, and Justice.

The Sierra Club depends on organized volunteers to carry out all our work. Volunteers walk precincts, write letters, and testify at hearings. All the Club's important victories - from our local victory to stop the expansion of San Francisco Airport, to the epic national effort that blocked the Grand Canyon Dam - were achieved through the concerted efforts of volunteers. Our grassroots leaders are proud to be part of the inspiring grassroots tradition of Lois Gibbs, César Chávez, and David Brower.

How does a grassroots volunteer get started? Some were raised on the picket lines or pushed at a young age to staff their dad's campaign headquarters. But most folks need a little help to get started. The activities of grassroots organizing aren't rocket science, but they need to be learned, and feeling a part of a community of action is important even to longtime activists.

Beginning in July and continuing into the fall, the Chapter will offer a monthly training program for people interested in deepening their participation in environmental work. The introductory class will give new and potential volunteers an opportunity to meet one another. We'll learn about the nuts and bolts of campaign work, how grassroots work is effective, and why it is important. There will be two intermediate trainings in the two main aspects of environmental advocacy: elections - how to pass good laws and elect environmental leaders, and grassroots lobbying - how to get leaders to take action on our issues. In late fall, we'll offer an advanced training for volunteers ready to develop their own campaigns from the ground up. The intermediate and advanced trainings will feature local elected officials and grassroots leaders as guest speakers. Folks who complete the entire series will receive a certificate and a letter of recognition - and even better, they'll be organized to win on the issues they care most about.

To sign up, to get more information, or to request a training in your area, please contact Jonna Papaefthimiou at (510) 848-0800, ext. 312, or email Jonna-at-sfbaysc.org