Grassroots in action!
December 29, 2008
by Jennifer Lee
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Reaching out to women is a part of educating people on women’s numbers in our congress and governorships. I keep a stack of The New Agenda flyers in my car and when I enter a restaurant or a store I take a few with me for distribution.
Last week I walked up a boulevard in my neighborhood that is famous for its Mexican bakeries (”panaderias”) and restaurants (”taquerias“). I took our flyers written in Spanish.
At each establishment I handed a flyer to a women and their response were the same: they looked at it and read it with great interest.
In one panaderia I handed it to a woman and then complimented her on the beautfully arranged baked goods behind the counter. She smiled.
The next day I went back to this panaderia to buy a bag of the sweet rolls and cookies for our Holiday celebration.
I walked in and in front of me, taped to the display case was The New Agenda flyer.
And, a man was standing there reading it.
I was so thrilled I took a photograph. For 2009 I hope that people keep a stack of flyers with them so they can pass them around to people. After experiences like mine you’ll always want a few with you.
Members: Please note that grassroots material such as this flyer can be found under our “Grassroots” Tab.
Well done, but you should consider reviewing the Spanish translation of the flyer, because it is full of mistakes (”las derechas” instead of “los derechos”) and even phrases that don’t make any sense, e.g. “Promover women’ direccion de s” (should be “Promover el liderazgo de mujeres”), or the last phrase about the political parties.
-small actions, big consequences. There is no telling how many women and men will read that flyer and think about what it says. The trashing of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin was a spark that has mobilized women more than people would have thought possible.
wild2,
Could you help us with this? Could you go through the version in our grassroots section and email us any changes that we should make? You can send changes to our inbox (JoinTheNewAgenda@yahoo.com) and we will be sure to make those changes.
Thanks so much!!!
So pleased to see all the work you have done. Since I am a professional with regards to Spanish language and linguistics (teaching, writing, etc.), your efforts to communicate in Spanish I know are deeply appreciated by the people who have allowed you to put up the posters.
NMK please look at the post above yours and help us if you saw problems?
Jennifer – Wow! Gotta’ love it! Thanks for sharing the story and taking a picture!!!!
I’ve keep flyer supplies in my car from taking action this year:
- flyers
- tape (scotch and duct)
- push pins (some places have community bulletin boards)
I recommend keeping stuff in the car cause you never know when you’ll be somewhere to post a few or hand some out. I used to go out at specific times to canvass and would bring everything with me then, but then I discovered that there were a lot of circumstances when I wished I had a flyer with me and I didn’t (like during an impromptu conversation with a shopkeeper), so I decided it was best to keep everything in the car so it’d be handy.
Also, depending on mood, time and money, sometimes I print them on plain paper, but sometimes I go to Kinkos and print them on card stock, sometimes colorful stock that will draw attention.
In addition to handing out flyers, there are lots of great places to leave a stack or post some:
- public transportation stations and/or on public transportation (not sure about legality, though)
- public phone (hard to find these days; also not sure about legality)
- laundermat
- car wash places where you wait about 20 minutes for someone to wash you car (great place cause folks are just sitting around bored)
The possibilities are endless!!!
Good for you Jennifer!
Small things are good for posting: business cards, stickers!
MAXIMIZING THE RELEVANCE AND INFO OF/ON FLYERS:
1. Since the economy is front and center on everyone’s mind, perhaps frame some of our mission within the context of economics and how women lose out.
2. For flyers we are handing out and not posting, it’s easy to take advantage of the back of the flyer. This is a place where you can expand a bit on some of the bullet point issues. I wouldn’t make it text-laden, but a few short 2-3 sentence educational paragraphs could help make some of the bullet points even more clear, concrete and compelling.
3. If you create something for the back, just add a note at the bottom of the page that says “over” or “see reverse side for additional information”.
4. If you do create a template for the reverse side, the only downside is that you need to use paper that is not super thin, or else the ink shows through a bit. But, I think it’s worth it.
When designing flyers think about an audience that doesn’t live, breathe and drink these issues every day, at least not consciously. Make no assumptions. Spell it out. Educate.
Amy, check your email. I send a proposal for a new translation.
Got it. Thanks for your help wild2!
Libraries.
Post Office
Restrooms.
Women’s locker room in a health club
Campus lounges.
Harkening back to Thia’s lovely piece about Laura Bush, I’m just giving everyone a heads up that there is a piece about First Lady Bush at American Thinker today (sadly, it’s not Thia’s piece). Unfortunately, the author has created the very dichotomy that TNA is working hard to chip away at regarding old notions of liberals and conservatives, and in so doing, the author has diminished Clinton en route to praising Bush. This is a great opportunity for all of us to descend upon that site and do a bit of educating. In short: Why must one woman fall in order for another to rise? Here’s the link for anyone interested in posting. (No need to register at that site. Posts are moderated, but most go through rather quickly. I don’t think they allow anyone to embed a link in their post.)
http://www.americanthinker.com.....nolia.html
If TNA is going to have Spanish-speaking flyers, me thinks you best be prepared to have a Spanish button on the site that translates. Otherwise, you’re simply attracting Spanish speakers to a place where they won’t be able to read anything. I realize translation is a MAJOR undertaking and not something that can be at the top of the likely looooooooooong to-do list. But, just thought I’d throw that out there. After spending many years working with monolingual Spanish speakers, I relate to what Jennifer posted about how much a flyer in Spanish would be appreciated, while also thinking ahead to the sense of disappointment, confusion and pointlessness once a Spanish speaker who sees such a flyer visits the site. (Unfortunately, I am not bilingual – always had ot use interpreters – but I hope TNA will get some translators involved who are willing to give of their time to make this a bilingual site English/Spanish.)
[...] Click to download and printEsto es una continuación de lo que Jennifer Lee empezó en su “Grassroots in action!” Jennifer guarda los volantes en su coche para entregárselos a los negocios que visita. Ha notado [...]
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