[fvc-wat-announce] A small sign of change & hope

[Shannon Adshade]

Please bring some buttons to our meeting on the 25th Sharon!! See you then!!

Shannon Adshade, B.A., B. Ed, O.C.T.
Teacher Parklands Classroom & Rotary Physical Education,  W.R.D.S.B.
519-884-1470, ext. 1146

285 Benjamin Road,
Waterloo, ON, N2J 3Z4
Fax: 519-886-8479

www.lutherwood.ca<http://www.lutherwood.ca/>


________________________________
From: fvc-wat-announce-bounces at listserv.thinkers.org [fvc-wat-announce-bounces at listserv.thinkers.org] On Behalf Of Sharon Sommerville [sharonsommerville at gmail.com]
Sent: October 17, 2012 1:15 PM
To: fvc-wat-announce at listserv.thinkers.org
Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] A small sign of change & hope

Hello Fair Vote Friends,

At times working toward establishing a fair voting system seems overwhelming & some times even futile given the strength of our entrenched system but yesterday I had a chance encounter with 3 women which brought me some hope.  I would like to share that story with you as hope is a good thing to pass around.

Yesterday I took some clothes to the Maycourt Shop in Kitchener.  The Maycourt Shop is a consignment store for women's clothing which is run by volunteers and the profits go to charitable organizations.  There were two volunteers and a customer at the counter where you drop off clothes. We chatted as we conducted business and one of the volunteers asked me what my button was about.  Yeah!  An opportunity to talk electoral reform with three nice ladies whom we normally wouldn't encounter.  I gave my 1.5 minute overview of FVC & the need for electoral reform. They asked some questions & we had a great conversation with some good laughs.  The women were hopping angry about a number of issues which they recognized wouldn't exist if we had a fair voting system.  One lady took my email address to look into electoral reform little more.  As we said good-bye the women thanked me for doing this important work and wished me good luck.

Three random, middle aged, middle class ladies who never having given electoral reform any previous thought were engaged with the idea of proportional representation and saw the relevance in their lives.  Perhaps we are reaching the tipping point where greater numbers of people are recognizing that a more equitable & democratic Canada starts with our electoral system. It was a good lesson to wear a FVC button, talk to everybody who will listen and keep building the momentum 1, 2 or 3 people at a time. Really it's up to us to make this change happen. If you would like a button and don't have one, please let me know & we will get one to you or come to our planning meeting next Thursday, the 25th at the Misty Mountain Coffee Bar, 33 Queen St. S., in Kitchener at 7pm and pick one up, we have lots!  It would be great to see you at the meeting.

Wishing you well,
Sharon
Co-Chair
FVC- K/W












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