It’s Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime and the livin is easy,
So the Song lyrics go. But at NWSOFA the livin is anything but easy. August is traditionally the time of vacations, family picnics, picnics and swimming. It is also the time as we heat up the attention to our Progressive Issues. While we continue on all fronts to bring attention to our Issues and make sure the Legislators who are home on their vacation hear from us. And hear from us they will!
The NWSOFA Chapter, had 9 events / meetings in July and we are planning 10 for August (so far). We are also family, a Progressive family and all races, rich or poor. It’s a huge tent and all who enters join the fight for equality. We are the voice & energy of many that can move public opinion and shape politician’s opinion. This August 8th we will have our 2nd annual Picnic.. you are all invited .. Join us for an afternoon of friendship and fun with folks that think like you.
Stop arguing with the radio or TV and add your voices to NWSOFA
As Jim Messina, OFA Chairman of the Board stated recently, “OFA is not a political campaign. We’re a built-to-last movement that’s not going anywhere. When the polls close and elections end, we’re the ones still here, fighting for the principles we believe in.” “We are and will continue to be the sum of millions of grassroots voices calling for change.”
For this Summer, the NWSOFA has added two (2) new initiatives: 1) Outreaches to the youth at the college and university level and 2) Outreach to the minorities in the Northwest Suburbs, while continuing to work harder to win the hearts and minds of those that voted for: Marriage Equality, ACA Healthcare reform, Climate Change, Minimum Wage, Gun Violence Prevention, Equal Pay for Equal Work for Women, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Join the NWSOFA Team
as we continue to move our social issues forward this Spring … Sara & Bill
NWSOFA is Action..
in 2013 We Found our Voices
in 2014 We Amplified our Voices
In 2015 We are Adding More Voices to our Community for Social Change
We Sometimes FORGET how Powerful a Force We are
and that Creating Social Change is a PROCESS not a Destination!!
NWSOFA August 2015, Events and Meetings
NWSOFA SWW
Stand With Women Meeting
“Expresso & Expression”
August 4th 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
@ the Corner Bakery
in the Northpoint Shopping Center, 470 E Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL
“NWSOFA & OFA stands with women-from expanding women’s leadership and economic security to protecting health care choices.”
ECONOMIC SECURITY…
Women are the main breadwinners in a record-high 40% of households with children, but current workplace policies too often don’t reflect today’s reality. That hurts our families and hurts our economy. There are measures our country can take to ensure economic security for women and families everywhere, like raising the minimum wage and supporting paycheck fairness.
EQUAL PAY…
Women deserve equal pay for equal work. It’s that simple. Women working full time make an average of just 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. If things don’t change, we are holding our families back and compromising our children’s chances at success.
Almost two-thirds of workers making minimum wage or less are women, earning just $14,500 a year-below the poverty line for a family of four. Sign OFA’s petition and tell lawmakers it’s time to raise the minimum wage.
Only 51% of women have access to paid leave after having their first child, and 40% of private-sector employees work at a company that does not offer sick pay. The lack of access to paid leave and affordable childcare options threatens the economic security of women and working families. Add your name and say you support workplace policies that reflect today’s reality.
————————————————-
Nikki Gundimeda, SWW Issue Lead
“Meet for coffee and discuss what issues are important to you and the women you know.”
The gap between white men and everybody else in tech starts in high school. Teens of all stripes are glued to their smartphones, but, per a new study .. click on the title above to see the rest of the story.
NWSOFA Climate Change Team is Supporting the
EPA and Department of Transportation
@ The EPA Public Hearing
Thursday August 6, 2015
Palmer House, 17 East Monroe St, Chicago
9 am – 5 pm
There is an EPA hearing on
Thursday, August 6th at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, 17 East Monroe Street. The hearing will start at 9am and end at 5pm. Once a person decides he o
r she
w
ould like to testify at the hearing the Sierra Club will set up a time that is b
est for you. This is also helpful for people who cannot attend the entire event.
Background: The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation have proposed standards to reduce carbon pollution and oil use from freight trucks. The agencies will hold a public hearing in Chicago on Thursday, August 6. With the support of Sierra Club’s Beyond Oil campaign, the Illinois Chapter will turn out supporters to testify at the public hearing, applauding the agencies for their proposal and asking them to strengthen it.
We talk a lot about the Clean Power Plan, and the electricity sector is number one for carbon pollution — but transportation is number two, and these trucks rules, along with the fuel economy standards from the first term, are a really big deal in cutting down that slice of the pie.
NWSOFA Is Holding It’s Annual Picnic on August 8th
Plus
Celebrating President Obama’s Birthday!!
Save the Date August 8th @ 1 PM till Whenever:
Save the date… bring lawn chairs and a plate to pass and your favorite beverage. Families invited.. We have ALL worked hard for the past year now lets take a little time off and relax and enjoy ourselves.
The NWSOFA Picnic is open to all OFA-IL and NWSOFA Members… Great conversations, relaxation, paddle boating, kayaking and swimming (if your so inclined). Just sit and relax or take a trip around the lake or play some games.. You have earned this time!
Location: 4152 Terramere Avenue, Arlington Heights … We’ve got the perfect venue, just southwest of the Lake-Cook and Arlington Heights Roads Intersection!
Members of the NWSOFA Gun Violence Prevention team will be speaking at the Forum/Discussion at Countryside Unitarian Church on Smith Road in Palatine, Sunday, August 9th.
There will be Social time starting at 8:30 a.m. and the one hour Forum/Discussion will begin at 8:45 a.m.
10 Progressive Campus and Communitiy Programs were presented by the local Interns.
“Wonderful”
“Amazing”
“Powerful”
“We are in good hands with these Future Leaders making Change in there communities.”
NWSOFA Diversity Outreach Team
In Partnership with 25 “Open Communities” Partners Clebrated:
“Justice Day 2015”
Over 500 Enjoyed a Perfect Summer Sunday @ the Winnetka Village Green Sunday, July 26, 2015
We’ve come a long way, but still have a long way to go !!
It was a celebration. 50 Years ago (in 1965) the North Shore Summer Project, galvanized thousands of residents to push for open housing and brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Winnetka Village Green to inspire over 10,000 people to “go all out to end segregation.”
NWSOFA’s Diversity Outreach Team was there with Open Communities and 25+ Partners
Dynamic: Father Pfleger – called out Winettka resident, Gov. Bruce Rauner for not being there and doing more for the Illinois residents 20-miles south of Winettka (he told me he was expecting to be booed when he said that, but was happy that he received applause).
Informational: Hilary Shelton – Closely linked the work of NAACP with legislation in order to achieve justice. Informed crowd that the NAACP has a listing of the Civil Rights Federal Legislative Report Card (we have a copy for you).
Legislative: Jan Schakowsky was a sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act to replace the SCOTUS rejected part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Historical: Per Jan Schakowsky: MLK slept in the basement of her synagog when he spoke here 50-years ago because he was not allowed to sleep in a hotel due to the attitude for black citizens.
Comments from the NWSOFA Attendees:
Another good event and the feeling of community grows. They were also going to have another Selma March going from major cities in segments and ending up in DC. Should bring in lots of media to highlight how far we’ve come but still have a way to go
Our NWSOFA Attendees said every Speaker was better than the one before.. but they called out: Father Michael Pfleger and our own Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, 9th District of Illinois as Memorable Moments.
I continued to be inspired and motivated when I interact with so many people who are devoting their personal time or have devoted their lives to improve the lives of people they have never met. This is what community organizing is and how community organizing improves who we are individuals, as well as our communities.
The peaceful, thoughtful, educated approach to ensure justice, inspired by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King’s life, continues to be the most effective way in which to make change happen.
Dr. King’s words still ring true and give me chills every time I read them or hear them recited.
Sunday afternoon at the Justice Day 2015 celebration at the Village Green Park – what a wonderful event
NWSOFA Held it’s Leadership Summit for Current and Upcoming Leaders on
Wednesday Night, 7/22
NWSOFA is growing. We have have new issue teams, a growing membership and a greater sphere of influence as we expand our traditional Northwest Suburbs boundaries.
With this comes new responsibilities and requirements of planning, executing and growing our NWSOFA team and the new extended NWSOFA space.
The meeting was designed to get new ideas on the table. We asked our “current” and “future” leaders to get involved , to learn from our experienced “organizers” and be part of the “Progressive” excitement in the Northwest Suburbs.
“College is a necessity, but it is priced like a luxury.”
Our team Organizing meeting was held July 21st and was devoted entirely to listening intently to young people.
Notes from the College Outreach Team meeting
Discussions:
Plan a meeting with a speaker or panel of speakers to inform ourselves and future college attendees about:
scholarships, grants, programs to lock in tuition rates without increases (Bright Start, College Illinois pre-pay), loan rates, free community college programs, Pell grants, Fafsa forms, White House helpful websites, being sure local college credits transfer to the 4 year college of your choice, jobs available while at college to help pay (work/study), tips for saving money like going to summer school locally, which universities allow AP credits and which don’t, how to learn about campus safety and self defense classes, health insurance options
Possible speakers: bankers, high school counselor, someone with experience who just went through everything, college admission counselor
Shared issues of concern:
informing public school administrators and school board members that they need to keep educating the educators about diversity sensitivity, and the urgent need for more diverse faculty and staff (OFA could support a visit to a school board meeting, facilitate a meet-up between a Harper diversity club and a high school or middle school club, or facilitate forming a diversity club where there isn’t one)
finding a way to attend the college of your choice which is the best in your chosen field of study, despite the cost
increase visibility of OFA in general and the college outreach team specifically on social media
helping those who are already out of college learn about possibilites for solving the enormous debt they currently have
Idea for video round table, ongoing blog posts of questions, concerns, factual information, helpful websites, youtube, tumblr, vine, power point or video re-creation of the helpful tips sheet.
Discussion points included whether to film a long video which could be edited into many shorter postings, or shorter videos which are easier. The advantage of one longer video is that the set would be consistent, and it would save on transportation.
The location should be quiet, and have access to daylight.
Advantages of the various platforms were discussed including size of audience reach, serious vs. entertainment expectations of users.
Actions:
At the end of the meeting, the Team agreed to design the media and messages for posting to the various OFA media platforms, and submit the finished products for review and clearance of OFA standards by NWSOFA college outreach team and review “Ivory Tower”, the documentary about why college costs so much, research scholarships and grants and will find out about free college program requirements both in the city and suburbs, and will establish ties to Harper so students whose interests match ours know how they can join our teams for action, and spearhead the effort for the November volunteer fair table.
Fiscal and Economic Issues Discussion Group held their July Meeting on Monday 7/20
Karl Faulstich our Fiscal Co-Lead .. kept us on tract ..
Great information
as we discussed the economic recovery and the budget challenges in Illinois and nationally. Key Data points:
June’s jobs report shows 2.9 million jobs added nationally in the last 12 months
223,000 jobs added in June
Illinois’ jobs growth continues to be lower than last year
Illinois has begun our 2016 fiscal year without a budget, so we expect the state of discussions in Springfield to again be a major part of the meeting. Hopefully things will improve between now and the 20th.
As always bring your articles, questions and comments and let’s have another lively discussion.
Attend the monthly NWSOFA Fiscal & Economic Discussions (held monthly) and be the most informed on your block or your discussion group!
The NWSOFA
Gun Violence Prevention (GVP)
Held their July 16th Meeting the
-same night as the 5 Soldiers were killed in Chattanooga, TN
The GVP Issues Team meet on Thursday night.. We had a group that were interested and committed.. People were just shaking their heads at the Tennessee shooting. There wasn’t the fury that we heard over Charleston, but I think the determination to do something to diminish gun violence was still there.
We spent much of our time on the proposal from the Illinois Council against Gun Handgun Violence calling for strict, statewide rules that all gun sellers would have to abide by. The Illinois Council is preparing packets for members of groups like ours to take to mayors and other elected officials asking for their support statewide rules for gun sellers. The packets should be ready soon, and we should be able to get someone to do training for those who are willing to go out to meet with their mayors.
We also talked about the economic costs of gun violence for our society. These costs are very high, billions and billions of dollars a year. Several groups that we have partnered with are beginning to talk about this issue. It is sad to say but it sometimes economic costs gain more traction than other arguments.
NWSOFA GVP Partner Event with People For a Safer Society
Fight Back.. Wear Green .. Skokie
As you may know, last week the Village of Niles approved the extension for the special use permit allowing the gun shop and firing range planned for 6143 Howard Street in Niles to proceed with plans to begin construction. We are not giving up and we appreciate your support. Here is some news coverage:
This week there are two opportunities for you to support our efforts to stop the gun shop and shooting range from opening. We will be seeking support on this issue at the following meetings:
Skokie Village Board meeting – Monday, August 3 at 8:00 pm at the Skokie Village Hall located at 5127 Oakton in Skokie.
District 219 Board meeting – Tuesday, August 4 at 6:45 pm at the District Office located at 7700 Gross Point Road in Skokie.
Denyse will speak during public comments about the location of the gun shop at both meetings, seeking support from the Village of Skokie and District 219. We don’t want a lot of people making comments, as that may have a negative effect on board members. But your presence in support will speak volumes.
If you have a green
ribbon, or something green, please wear it as a sign of support.
Thank you for working to make a safer society!
About NWSOFA
In January 2013 we started as a gathering of friends and neighbors from the NW Suburbs who wanted to continue to have impact on the progressive issues we voted for in 2012.This grassroots, bottom up movement spread across the country and sparked the creation of Organizing for Action, OFA National which now has Chapters all over the country. This is a non-partisan, volunteer organization that focuses on progressive issues we are committed to taking Action on to make a difference locally, statewide and nationally.
NWSOFA’s 1st Issue Team was right after the tragedy at Sandy Hook. The Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) team felt we needed accurate information and facts, events to teach others and actions we could take to make a difference on pushing for common sense gun violence prevention. That has been our basic format as new issues arose and team developed. We now have the GVP, ACA/Obamacare, Climate Change,Fiscal Issues and Stand with Women Issue Teams.Check out their individual pages to see all the events they have scheduled and to join the teams you want to make a difference with. Other teams are developing such as for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
OFA National coordinates “Days of Action” that Chapters across the country will all do on the same day. Each team also has local events and may work with affiliate organizations i.e. Sierra Club, Al Gore Reality Project, etc. to combine like-minded groups on a local, state or national event.
In this type of organization there are numerous ways you can be involved with the teams and in other roles.We were looking for ways to get our events out and now have a Twitter Master, Kathy,and Press Lead, Kym.
Two new initiatives were introduced in January 2015 from OFA. The first one is to get more young people involved in progressives issues. We prioritized working with colleges to reach out to them. One of the major benefits of joining us is learning to be a community organizer. These skills can be beneficial for a lifetime. The second initiative is working with under served populations that traditionally have not a voice on issues that are crucial for them. If either of these sound like something you would be interested in helping to develop, please let us know.
Maybe you have a special skill we haven’t even thought about give us a call we’re always open to new ideas and teams.
Thanks for stopping and hope you’ll stay and join us.
NWSOFA is a whole, diverse wonderful family of people who want to do more than talk about the social issues. We explore and dig deep on the facts and decide what actions we can take that can have an impact locally and nationally. NWSOFA members not only “talk the talk”, but we “walk the walk”.
All our teams have numerous events that will enlighten and inspire you and yes, challenge you to make the effort to make a difference.
We invite you to join us!
Follow NWSOFA on Social Media
Click to Follow us on Twitter
Follow us @NWSOFA’s Website
Click to Link to WebSite
Follow us Facebook
Click to Link to Facebook
July Events ..
NWSOFA in Photos
NWSOFA Attends the OFA COI leaders of Tomorrow “Intern Summit”
NWSOFA Diversity Team as a Coalition Member
at the Justice Day 2015 July 26nd
NWSOFA Leadership Summit – July 22nd
NWSOFA College Outreach Team Meeting
July, 21th
NWSOFA Fiscal & Economics Team Meeting July, 20th
NWSOFA Gun Violence Prevention Team Meeting July, 16th
NWSOFA Climate Leaders Attends Climate Summitin Chicago July 11th -12th
NWSOFA Attends OFA new HQ “Open House” July 10th in Chicago
NWSOFA Walked in the Arlington Heights
4th of July Parade
Fight for Progress in Style:
Click the Above Image to go to the Store
Do you have a few dollars to spare to support our Progressive movement @NWSOFA Supplies, Newsletters, Databases, etc?
To leave a message or Sign up for an Issue Team .. Just click the Sign Up button and fill out the NWSOFA Comment log.
We will be in touch with you shortly.
Notice:
This is a public meeting / event(s)
NWSOFA is a 501(c)4, non-partisan organization.
All opinions are solely those of NWSOFA
It’s time to Act .. It Is Time To Get Involved
Over the years the American Citizens have lost their voices, believing that we can not make a difference. We have been beat down by the constant droning noise of the conservative right. This onslaught has made us like sheep .. afraid to express our views. Not anymore! OFA gives us back our voices and by working together we are making change one issue at a time. Together we can and will make a difference.
Thank You to our NWSOFA Issue Leads in 2015
Just Click on the Photo to link the NWSOFA e-magazines daily & archived articles
In January 2013 we started as a gathering of friends and neighbors from the NW Suburbs who wanted to continue to have impact on the progressive issues we voted for in 2012.This grassroots, bottom up movement spread across the country and sparked the creation of Organizing for Action, OFA National which now has Chapters all over the country. This is a non-partisan, volunteer organization that focuses on progressive issues we are committed to taking Action on to make a difference locally, statewide and nationally.
