VOP Newsfeed

4/11/10 Why do I pay only $474 in Virginia income tax?

4/7/10 Grassroots Response to Health Care Passage

4/3/2010 Grassroots group eyes reform

3/30/10 Augusta Free Press audio show on VOP's state budget proposals

3/15/10 New Yorker audio slides on Martinsville, site of VOP's newest office

1/22/10 VOP on NPR's Morning Edition

11/25/09 Charges dropped against Joe Szakos, the Anthem Blue Cross customer arrested for questioning rate increases

Great New Books on Organizing:

By Lauren Dart

As my canvassing partner Jennn and I knocked on doors across Northern Virginia, we experienced tornadoes, flat tires and some interesting characters. But too often we found that in that area everyday individual concerns overwhelm most people. The idea of community reliance and the importance of relationships seemed to get lost. In a fast paced atmosphere, many of us rely on first impression and surface judgments.

One day in a Fairfax neighborhood, I knocked on a door and quickly went over my spiel about the Virginia Organizing Project. I could tell the busy lady on the other side of the door was uninterested in what I had to say. She politely denied my request to answer some questions, taking my literature only so I would leave. Feeling discouraged again, I still handed her a non-partisan voter guide, mentioning the information inside about Virginia voting procedures.

Then, as I thanked her and walked away, she stopped me. One of her family members was not registered to vote, and she asked if that was covered in the guide. When I pulled out voter registration forms and explained the process, she seemed completely taken aback. She asked me about VOP, and seemed shocked that I would help her with no demands on her. Then we were able to find personal connections. Her daughter was attending the University of Virginia in the fall. She was intrigued by my plans for the future and she warmly answered the questions she had told me she did not have time for five minutes earlier. As our conversation ended, she reached out her hand to me and wished me luck in my important work.

I walked away with a huge smile and pep in my step. Never lose your belief that people can change, I thought. We can’t lose faith in individual compassion. Most often, people will dismiss you as out to take their time and money. But by proving people wrong about their assumptions, you can break through and get real things done.