DURHAM FOR OBAMA (DFO) was formed in 2008 to organize the local grassroots effort to elect U.S. President Barack Obama and now serves to support our nation's Plan to Renew America's Promise in resourceful ways that empower Durham and all of its residents.
Statement of Purpose
Durham for Obama (DFO) is a volunteer grassroots organization dedicated to local, regional, and global cooperation and progress. Founded in February 2008, DFO leads and supports initiatives that combine community and democratic ideals with direct action to meet the civic demands of the city and county of Durham, in recognition of its character and history, which are rich with tradition, struggle, and promise.
Our foundational goal is to build on the historic political change that has taken place on the national level with a local plan of action that will improve Durham and rebuild our nation. We aim to bring a spirit of hope and resourcefulness to efforts to create real and meaningful change on a local, human scale. DFO accomplishes its goals through partisan and non-partisan political and community organizing that respects and empowers every resident of Durham.
Because we believe it is important to have our voices heard in the local and national conversation, we encourage a dynamic interaction between our organizational goals and the Plan to Renew America's Promise.
DFO's specific goals include:
Expanding voter participation through voter registration and voter education.
Organizing collective political action, community building and community action projects.
Insisting that political leaders remain accountable to the people.
To achieve its goals, DFO will:
Identify issues of concern as voiced by members of the Durham Community;
Research the root causes of these issues and the existing efforts to address them;
Communicate and collaborate with Durham residents, other organizations and community groups, federal, state and local government officals and representatives, and members of the Obama-Biden Administration;
Create problem-solving action plans that are congruent with the mission, purpose, and goals of DFO;
Implement action plans, making effective use of our active presence in every precinct in Durham County through county-wide, precinct level organizing; and
Review and document progress in a manner that facilitates DFO's effectiveness and sustainability.
We welcome you to explore our website and share your ideas, time and effort. Take a peek at the community service projects that DFO is engaging in here. And see what else is going on with our sister website at www.turningncblue.com as well as the Durham County Democratic Party.
Announcements
*** ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA LISTENING TOUR - JULY 7 ***
Organizing for America (OFA) has officially landed in North Carolina! OFA will be touring various counties throughout the state to re-engage and mobilize the grassroots movement in support of President Barack Obama.
Most importantly, this will be a time for the OFA staff to hear first hand what concerned citizens want to see from the Obama Administration and how OFA can help them mobilize around the issues that effect them the most. There are four main objectives that we hope to accomplish:
Bring the community together
Introduce OFA and OFA staff to the community
Gather ideas and information on how participants envision OFA in their communities
Utilize the information gathered to build a statewide plan that will be implemented and communicated to the White House
Please join us on Tuesday (July 7), from 7-8:30pm, at St. Joseph's AME Church, 2521 Fayetteville Street in Durham, as we discuss how North Carolina will organize around the issues of healthcare, education, and clean energy to push forward the President's agenda. NOW IS THE TIME TO BRING REAL CHANGE TO NORTH CAROLINA!
*** LOCAL ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA VOLUNTEERS WITH TIM KAINE ***
*** DURHAM FOR OBAMA: THE MOVIE ***
In an effort to capture, document, and celebrate the inspiring stories that comprised one of the most successful campaigns of our time, Grassroots Productions is making a documentary film about Durham for Obama. This film is about the grassroots movement
in Durham, NC, that helped turn a red state blue. We hope to not only relive the stories of volunteers and community organizers, but also to remind viewers how enriching and satisfying it is to be part of a larger movement toward a greater good. We hope to come to a better understanding
of how this movement happened and what it will take to keep it going. Please help us make this film! To donate, volunteer, view a 4-minute preview, and learn more about this project, please visit our website at www.AGrassrootsProduction.com. Thank you for your help!
*** HELP FUND DURHAM FOR OBAMA'S WEBSITE ***
We need to raise some money to keep DFO's website, database, and listserv going. Without the website and listserv, we have no easy way to keep in touch with you and let you know about post-election organizing efforts. The website, listserv and database costs $80/month. If you can contribute to this cause (we'd like to raise enough to keep the website up for at least a year), please make a secure donation via paypal at our donation webpage. For further information, please email donate@durhamforobama.org. Thank you!!
Upcoming Events
Please join us and get weekly email updates of upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.
See our CALENDAR for all future events. Click on any calendar event and directly sign up at the linked website or contact the event coordinator for further information.
Wear a Durham for Obama t-shirt
T-shirts are available for $15.
For more information, see link or contact: Tim at Tim@durhamforobama.org
Commemorative Barack n' Roll t-shirt
Show your Bull City Pride for Obama with this t-shirt. Available for $15. For more information, see link or contact: thao@durhamforobama.org
CALL FOR ACTION
HEALTH CARE REFORM
It is time to make President Obama and Congress pass comprehensive healthcare reform that will provide quality, affordable healthcare for all. There is only one way to do this: support an honest public option. President Obama would like healthcare reform to be ready to sign in October, meaning that the legislation will be written in the next 30-60 days.
It is not enough to support whatever bill comes out of the Senate Finance Committee; we must work to shape this legislation. You may be asking yourself what you can do to help.
Respectfully,
Michael Pearlmutter and Kathy Murray, Co-Chairs for DFO's Health Care Committee
CALL / WRITE YOUR LEGISLATORS TO SUPPORT HEALTHCARE REFORM
Letter template:
Senator/Congressman XXX:
I am writing to ask you to support health care reform that guarantees quality, affordable health care for everyone. I want a choice: to be able to keep my private insurance, or join a public
health insurance plan option based on a family's ability to pay. I also want rules to regulate the insurance industry so that health coverage would actually be there when I need it.
Sincerely,
your name and address
Contact the following key legislators:
SENATOR KAY HAGAN **** URGENT!! **** She needs convincing! Be persistent!
Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC)
701 Green Valley Road Suite 201
Greensboro, NC 27408
Greensboro Phone: (336) 333-5311
DC Phone: (202) 224-6342
E-mail contact form: http://hagan.senate.gov/?p=contact
In addition, NC legislators on key committees related to health care:
GK BUTTERFIELD(D)
413 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3101
Fax: (202) 225-3354
SUE MYRICK (R)
230 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone:(202) 225-1976
Fax:(202) 225-3389
COORDINATE AN EVENT
We need a number of volunteers to coordinate activities such as phone banking, canvassing, and having a table at different locations (Farmers Market, Juneteenth, etc.). If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kathy Murray or Michael Pearlmutter
JOIN DURHAM FOR OBAMA'S HEALTHCARE WORKING GROUP
If you are interested in healthcare reform, you can start right here in Durham. Join Durham for Obama's Healthcare Working Group and get involved today. To join, send a blank email to healthcare-subscribe@durhamforobama.org
Questions? Contact: kathy@durhamforobama.org or michael@durhamforobama.org
SHARE YOUR OWN PERSONAL HEALTHCARE STORY
If something has happened to you that indicates why healthcare reform is urgently needed now, please share your story below. The more real life stories we can amass, the more obvious it will be that real reform must happen right now.
The DFO Education & College Access Working Group urges you to stay involved in the campaign to support the DREAM Act.
This summer, the Summer DREAM Campaign, sponsored by Adelante Education Coalition, is aiming to mobilize grassroots support for the DREAM Act, federal legislation which would provide a pathway to naturalization for undocumented students who either attend college or join the military for 2
years. NC Senator Kay Hagan is one of few newly elected senators who does not currently support the DREAM Act: Join us in telling her that ALL CHILDREN ARE DESERVING OF THE AMERICAN DREAM!
On July 2nd, we're hosting a call-in day to Senator Kay Hagan's DC office.
Thanks to AFSC, we have 8,000 postcards available to be signed and mailed to Sen Hagan. We're organizing volunteers to get postcards signed at a series of 4th of July festivals across NC. See our list below for events. Volunteers do not need to be experts, just concerned community members. Feel free to sign up for whatever time frame fits your schedule.
We have a series of events across NC through the end of the summer, so if you can't make any of our July 4th events but would like to participate in other postcard signing opportunities, just shoot us an email!
Greensboro
- 9:30am-6pm
- Center City Park, 200 N Elm St Greensboro, NC 27401
- free parking: Bellemeade Deck (Greene & Bellemeade), Greene St. Dec
(Greene & Washington), Church St. Deck (Church north of Friendly)
Charlotte
- 6-10pm.
- Red, White, and Boom
- Memorial Stadium: 310 N. Kings Drive, Charlotte, NC 28204
Asheville
- starting at 1pm
- Pack Square and along College Street
