Volunteer Positions

We live in a stream of emerging movements. These movements are powerful. From the day of the Women’s March until the civic participation of women has been POWERFUL The largest group of women ever now have taken their seats in congress. African Americans have played a pivotal role in winning new seats in this past election. Spurred on by the youth from Stoneman Douglas High School a high number of youth turned out for the midterm election. Through our 10×10 get out the vote campaign we helped our children and grandchildren find there way to the polls. Just Elders hope to bring the knowledge  and experience gained in a lifelong search for justice to this  stream.

WE BELIEVE THAT INCREASED ‘CIVIC PARTICIPATION’ will be the key to the election in 2020. Our Campaign is named, WE THE PEOPLE. We need your help.

We invite you to raise your voice at www.justelders.org. It is like a blank book where each of our members can make their contribution to our movement. What you post there is available world-wide, 24 hours a day/ seven days a year. Your post is just one click from your Facebook or Twitter page.

TELL YOUR STORY!

Stories connect us and inspire us. You can share your story as a blog post.  Those we know or are recommended by a member of the steering committee, blog without moderation. Other receive credentials to blog with moderation. Moderation means that one of our editors will read you post to assure compliance with our standards. Use this form to request credentials.

KEEP US UPDATE ON A CONTEMPORARY ISSUE

Just Elders can become a reliable source. We have to help one another get past the sound-bites and talking points. Some of among us have been working on a particular issue for 25 or 39 years. They can show us where to take the fight! Here is a list of contemporary issues: Land use, Education, Climate Change, Gender Equality, Health Care, Immigration, Incarceration, Militarism, Poverty, Racism, civic participation, education and employment, campaign reform, gerrymandering, and other threats to our democracy.

We need Issue Bloggers who will tell us when it is time to speak out on a particular issue and when it is time to call our representatives.

Sue Engh shares her family lifetime concern for the Boundary Waters of Minnesota.   Joel Elwanger’s post is his story of a lifetime of caring about the incarcerated.  Mary Gonzales invites Elders to join the DACA fight.

Your experienced voice is needed as these movements flow into action for change. Choose your issue and keep us informed.

Some of us have chosen to organize local chapters in Chicago, Erie, Milwaukee, Oakland, Racine, Twin Cities. We use our Just Elders blog to report on our chapter’s progress. Here is the Milwaukee chapter’s last post.    It recommended that local chapters host a Facebook page.   This is Milwaukee’s page maintained by Christopher Cox.

Why not test the interest for a Just Elders chapter in your city. Here are some of things we have learned about how to do this.

Others are choosing to organize virtual chapters. Members of these chapters meet online.

Kathy Partridge has organized the Interfaith Organizing Virtual chapter using a Facebook closed group. Here is more information about how to organize a virtual chapter.

The invitation to connect to Just Elders is an invitation to become an Explorer.  We wrote in our convening statement: “We want to explore new methodologies of organizing that will combine relational face-to-face organizing with tools of emerging technologies.”  Emerging digital technology is transforming the way we all work. Communication is transformed  as our tools become less expensive, smaller and provide low-cost, nearly unlimited. internet digital data storage. Our smart phones connect us to all of this and one another in the cloud.

Our exploration include more that social media. We are using digital media to meet via teleconferencing and videoconferencing. We are recording our presentations and streaming them with YouTube. We have met in the cloud to record videos that tell our stories and illuminate issues. Every Elder with a smart phone in their hands can live stream video of any event and call people to action.

Every Just Elders chapter could benefit from photographers, videographers, and hosts for teleconferences and videoconference. If this interests you let us know.

We are asking a question, “How can we combine face to face organizing with digital tools? One of the foundations of organizing is the listening campaign. We are embedding a digital listening campaign in www.justelders.org. Will people’s responses to our virtual  listening campaign lead to issues campaigns? Here are some ideas about how a virtual issue campaign might work.

If you would like to become an issue leader combining these tools let us know.

We believe that in the collective memory of Just Elders is the history of faith based community organizing. Here is how you can help preserve this history.