[fvc-wat-announce] Volunteer opportunities/Meeting Tuesday

[Paul Nijjar]

The clock is ticking. We have less than three months to spread the
word about MMP, and there is a lot to do. Currently there are not
enough active volunteers to keep up with all the available outreach
possibilities, so this is a good time to get involved with the
campaign.

Here are some tasks that are coming up in the next little while. If
you can help with these things, you can either contact me or attend
our volunteer meeting this Tuesday (details below).


Staffing Displays
-----------------

We are arranging to be present at several more events this summer.
Taking a few shifts at a display is an excellent way to practice
explaining the referendum and MMP to others. You do not need to be an
MMP expert to participate; we attempt to have two people staffing each
booth at all times, and we learn as we go along.

Staffing opportunities that are coming up include:

   - Tuesday July 24 9:30am-5pm: campus display at the University of
     Waterloo.
   - Saturday July 28, 12pm-6pm: Afro Fest at Waterloo Park
   - July 28,29, 10am-6pm: Hillside festival at Guelph Lake
   - Friday Aug 3, 7:30pm: Artswork at the Button Factory, Waterloo

We are looking into other possibilities as well, including the Mill
Race Festival in Cambridge (Aug 3-5) and Music and Movie nights at
Waterloo Park. You can also sign up to be on our display staffing
booth, and we will contact you whenever an opportunity comes up.


Organizing Outreach
-------------------

There is a huge amount of event organizing to be done. This is an area
where we could use volunteers the most. We are looking at:
   - Setting up panel discussions
   - Approaching organizations to arrange speakers
   - Setting up our presence at local universities and colleges (our
     college presence is pretty weak now)
   - Arranging to set up our displays at local events
   - Finding out about upcoming all-candidates meetings and arranging
     to be present at them

Organizing events is not always fun, but if lots of people take on one
or two tasks we can keep the workload managable.


Displays and Materials
----------------------

There are quite a few display materials we would like to put together
over the next few weeks. If you like being creative then this is a job
for you! Some projects we would like to work on include:

   - Setting up a second display board (in the next week, if possible)
   - Creating a largish canvas banner to announce our presence
   - Designing and ordering buttons and T-shirts


Office Space
------------

We are looking for some cheap/free office space in a good location to
use as our campaign headquarters. (Any leads would be appreciated!)
We could use some volunteer labour to help investigate places.


Fundraising and Donations
-------------------------

Although we have been keeping our campaigning frugal, office space,
vendor booths and display materials all cost money. If you can help
raise some cash then we could use your help. We can also take
donations -- contact us for more information.


Brochures/Booklets
------------------

We have lots of brochures and booklets available. If you can
distribute some in your workplace and neighbourhood, we would love to
get some material to you. You might leave material at doctors
offices, local shops, community meeting places, and other places where
people gather. You can also take some material to distribute to family
and friends.


Meetings
--------

We will be discussing these items and more at our meeting this
Tuesday. The volunteer meeting will start at 7:00pm, and will be held
at the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work Building, 120 Duke St.
West just behind Kitchener City Hall.

The Laurier chapter is having their next meeting on August 9. For more
information, contact fvclaurier at gmail.com

The University of Waterloo chapter usually has meetings on Tuesdays.
Contact exec at fairvote.uwaterloo.ca for more information.


- Paul

--
Paul Nijjar - http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion
Next electoral reform info night: Tuesday August 14, 7pm