I'm Voting For Them!

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Overly stimulated, slightly nervous (will I get that shiny new bike) and incredibly grateful. We made it to Election Day 2016.

Elections matter – they really really do.  Not just for President but all those down ballot races and initiatives too – they often have the biggest impact on our communities.  Tomorrow we will wake up with new leadership, new promises, new opportunities, and new found hope. 

My mom took Election Day very seriously. I remember going with her to vote each year at Savin Rock Community School (yay Westies). She understood how important each and every vote was and what a privilege it is to live in a country where every vote counts. She taught me that “your vote is your voice” and she would have been so excited to vote today. I’m voting in her honor and to express the voices of others I care about.

I’m voting for my mom who struggled with mental illness and homelessness and would have benefited from universal health care.

I’m voting for my dad, an Air Force Veteran and cancer survivor, who is unable to vote due to a series of complicated immigration issues but knows that access to housing vouchers are critical to keeping Veterans out of homelessness.  

I’m voting for my grandparents who immigrated to the United States to give their kids a better life and for the thousands of immigrants and refugees who want to do the same. We are stronger when we welcome people to this beautiful, diverse country.

I’m voting for my kid brother, an incredible journalist, who is fighting to keep media honest, transparent, relevant, and engaged.

I’m voting for my niece and nephews who deserve to grow up in a country free from gun violence and the impacts of climate change and full of love regardless of race, identity, or who they love.

I’m voting for my LGBTQ friends and family who know that love is love is love.

I’m voting for my Grandma Bev, my personal hero, who worked long hours as a caregiver, who would have benefited from equal pay for equal work ,and who always told me that I could be President.  

I’m voting as an Alumna of AmeriCorps who deeply believes that National Service creates a pipeline of anti-poverty leaders.

I’m voting for the work I care about. I absolutely believe that hunger, homelessness, and poverty are solvable issues if we do more of “what works”.  Our federal safety-net if highly effective and we need it to be stronger. We need to tackle the structures, policies, and institutional racism that keep people poor.

I’m voting for the country we are today, the country we will become tomorrow, and the country we hope to be in the future. We’ve come a long way America and we have a long way to go. It starts tomorrow.

 Vote. Vote. Vote.