Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Courageous Voter Conversations Team Check-in, Thursday June 20 – 6:45 CDT

Note: the June 6th check-in has been cancelled because it’s so close to the national conference. Join our next support check-in meeting on Zoom Thursday June 20th from 6 to 6:45 Central. We are holding these every other Thursday (except July 4th). The dates are May 9, May 23, June 6, June 20, July 11, July 25, and Aug 8. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS MEETING! To get the Zoom link, go to cclwi.org/calendar-for-CCL-Wisconsin and click on the event on the June 20th calendar page.

These meetings are for everyone who is or intends to be holding conversations with people in their personal networks who are environmental supporters but don’t vote regularly. Paticipants have loved them!

We know that conversations with the people around us are important, and yet it also can be hard to do. We are all learners in this undertaking so the Zoom check-in lets us share what we are learning, practice our techniques, set personal goals and cheer each other on! If you missed the training, you can watch the videos and learn more at the check-ins. [Note: We are not recording the check-in meetings]

Conversations with people in our social networks make a difference because:

  • We can reach people that aren’t registered, aren’t on campaign lists, or don’t respond to phone calls from unknown callers.
  • We can take more time to listen and respond to them, and talk more than once.
  • We learn communication skills that are useful throughout our advocacy work and lives.
  • We start or deepen relationships in our community

You can get more information on our team page on our cclwi.org website. 

Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Register for Wisconsin Night at CCL national’s phone banking, Wednesday, May 29th, 6 – 7:30 pm

Join co-hosts Jun Gesteland and Madeleine Para when they host our fourth Wisconsin Night phone banking session on 5/29 at 6 pm CT! No experience is required–they will train you. In the session, we will join other phone bankers from across the country to take part in a campaign for another state that has an upcoming election. At the end, we will have a brief team meeting to share our thoughts. These sessions will prepare us for when we run our own Wisconsin-focused phone banking sessions during the primary and presidential elections.

Register here

If Wednesday nights don’t work for you, you can sign up for other phone banking sessions on the Environmental Voter Project’s (EVP’s) website. If you have questions or would like to join our phone banking team, please contact jun.gesteland@gmail.com.

Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Courageous Voter Conversations Team Check-in, Thursday May 23rd 6 – 6:45 CDT

Join our support check-in meeting on Zoom Thursday May 23rd from 6 to 6:45 Central. We are holding these every other Thursday (except July 4th). The dates are May 9, May 23, June 6, June 20, July 11, July 25, and Aug 8. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS MEETING! To get the Zoom link, go to cclwi.org/calendar-for-CCL-Wisconsin and click on the event on the May 23rd calendar page.

These meetings are for everyone who is or intends to be holding conversations with people in their personal networks who are environmental supporters but don’t vote regularly. 

We know that conversations with the people around us are important, and yet it also can be hard to do. We are all learners in this undertaking so the Zoom check-in lets us share what we are learning, practice our techniques, set personal goals and cheer each other on! If you missed the training, you can watch the videos and learn more at the check-ins. [Note: We are not recording the check-in meetings]

Conversations with people in our social networks make a difference because:

  • We can reach people that aren’t registered, aren’t on campaign lists, or don’t respond to phone calls from unknown callers.
  • We can take more time to listen and respond to them, and talk more than once.
  • We learn communication skills that are useful throughout our advocacy work and lives.
  • We start or deepen relationships in our community

You can get more information on our team page on our cclwi.org website. 

Jun Gesteland (he/him) WI Climate Voter Campaign

My Thoughts On Phone Banking

Hi! This is Jun, a volunteer with the Environmental Voter Project. The New York Presidential Prima–

*click*

Ugh, another hang-up.

Phone banking can get frustrating. Personally, as a recently graduated over-achieving high school student, I have always been accustomed to working hard and being praised for my results. I was not used to getting rejected over and over again. Getting hang-ups repeatedly, therefore, was a new experience when I started phone banking. Over time, though, I’ve understood that frequent hang-ups, wrong numbers, and talking to people who have moved are all normal. Now when I get hung up on, I don’t think much of it and move on to the next call. I can always reassure myself that, even if I don’t get to have a real conversation with anyone, I’m still helping by cleaning up the phone banking list (i.e. removing wrong numbers and people who have moved).

In fact, I find phone banking to be fulfilling; I am using our democratic system to help make a real impact in the climate movement. Phone banking allows us to reach out to people with our real voice—not with robocalls or automated emails. I think there is something special about a real human encouraging you to vote that a robot cannot provide. I especially enjoy the sense of community phone banking gives me—something many have struggled to find after the pandemic further isolated us in our own digital worlds. My favorite part about phone banking sessions is the debrief, when phone bankers share stories about their calls. During the debrief of our second Wisconsin Night on 4/3, I enjoyed talking about my calls, empathizing with others’ frustrations, celebrating victories, and sharing advice with other Wisconsin phone bankers. The debriefs remind me that I am not alone in climate advocacy and that no matter how many hang-ups I receive, and no matter how small my personal successes may seem, together, we are making real change.

When I say, “real impact” and “real change,” I mean it. Phone banking is an efficient, effective, and economical method of outreach. Over the past nine years, the Environmental Voter Project—a CCL partner and the organization we are using to train CCL WI members—has used phone banking to contact 10.5 million environmental non-voters across the US and mobilize over 1.8 million of them to vote in every federal, state, and local election. 

For phone bankers looking for advice, here are a few tips:

  • Smile! Smiling can help uplift your tone and put the person you are calling at ease. 🙂
  • Receiving many hang-ups is normal. Try not to take them personally. After all, we all have busy lives and receive spam calls frequently. 📞
  • Take your time. In between calls, take as much time as you need to review the script, stretch, get a snack, get some fresh air, etc. Consider chair dancing to lift your spirits when you are frustrated! 🪑💃

Find information about our third Wisconsin Night here!

I hope you can join us in making a difference in this year’s election season! Our past three Wisconsin Nights have been huge successes—Wisconsin volunteers have joined other phone bankers from across the country to have hundreds of conversations! Join me and Madeleine Para as we co-host the next WI Night Phone Banking session on May 29th at 6 pm CT! Register here.

Resources

Feel free to contact me (jun.gesteland@gmail.com) if you have questions or would like to join the phone banking team!

Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Courageous Voter Conversations Team Check-in, Thursday May 9th 6 – 6:45 CDT

Starting May 9th, join our support check-in meetings on Zoom from 6 to 6:45 Central every other Thursday (except July 4th) until the primary election in August. The dates are May 9, May 23, June 6, June 20, July 11, July 25, and Aug 8. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS MEETING! To get the Zoom link, go to cclwi.org/calendar-for-CCL-Wisconsin and click on the event on the May 9th calendar page.

These meetings are for everyone who is or intends to be holding conversations with people in their personal networks who are environmental supporters but don’t vote regularly. 

We know that conversations with the people around us are important, and yet it also can be hard to do. We are all learners in this undertaking so the Zoom check-in lets us share what we are learning, practice our techniques, set personal goals and cheer each other on! If you missed the training, you can watch the videos and learn more at the check-ins.

Conversations with people in our social networks make a difference because:

  • We can reach people that aren’t registered, aren’t on campaign lists, or don’t respond to phone calls from unknown callers.
  • We can take more time to listen and respond to them, and talk more than once.
  • We learn communication skills that are useful throughout our advocacy work and lives.
  • We start or deepen relationships in our community

You can get more information on our team page on our cclwi.org website. 

Madeleine Para WI Climate Voter Campaign

Register for Extending and Debriefing our First Courageous Voter Conversations, Thursday April 25, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

This is last in a three part series to train ourselves to have effective conversations with potential climate voters in our social circles. Share your experiences of your first conversations, learn from others, and get your questions answered as you plan your next steps. We look forward to hearing YOUR questions and experiences so far. If you can’t join us live, the recording will be available a few days later.

REgister here for Workshop #3


If you missed the first two workshops, you can listen to the recordings beforehand. These communication skills are useful in many places in our lives! Our goal this election season is to listen with compassionate curiosity and help people activate their own values and reasons for being an environmental voter. Our facilitator is Brandyn Keating. She is the CEO of YOUnify and has years of experience with voter engagement and deep canvassing.

Next steps:

  • Sign up for the Courageous Voter Conversations team to receive future notifications. 
  • Listen to Workshop #1: Effective Voting Conversations with your Social Networks. 
  • Listen to Workshop #2: recording of Workshop #2: Effective Conversations using the BRAVE technique.
  • Starting May 8th join our support check-in meetings on Zoom from 6 to 6:45 Central every other Thursday (except July 4th) until the primary election in August. Save these dates and watch for updates: May 9, May 23, June 6, June 20, July 11, July 25, Aug 8.

With all the discord surrounding our politics these days we know that there are lots of environmental supporters who need some extra inspiration and support to vote. Through conversation and personal networking, we can reach many people who are otherwise going to be missed by the campaigns. In a state like Wisconsin, every vote counts!

Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Register for Wisconsin Night at CCL national’s phone banking, Wednesday, May 8th, 6 – 7:30 pm

2024 may be the most vital election year yet for our planet. With phone banking, we can mobilize hundreds of environmentalists to vote.

Please join and support Wisconsin CCL member Sam Moon, who will host our third Wisconsin Night phone banking session on 5/8 at 6 pm CT! No experience is required–Sam will train you. In the session, we will join other phone bankers from across the country to take part in a campaign for another state that has an upcoming election. At the end, we will have a brief team meeting to share our thoughts. These sessions will prepare us for when we run our own Wisconsin-focused phone banking sessions during the primary and presidential elections.

Register here

If Wednesday nights don’t work for you, you can sign up for other phone banking sessions on the Environmental Voter Project’s (EVP’s) website. If you have questions or would like to join our phone banking team, please contact jun.gesteland@gmail.com.

Madeleine Para Uncategorized, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Earth month and beyond: Get your flyers, buttons and t-shirts!

Resources for your outreach!

April brings snow, rain and… Earth Day! Oh yeah, flowers too. It’s always a big month for talking to people about climate change, whether by tabling, making presentations, getting published in the media or helping people take action. Let’s make the most of it.

  • Wear a t-shirt or a button. Glen Ecklund will mail them to you upon request, simply email CCLwisco@gmail.com. Buttons are $5 for one, $10 for 5, and $20 for 20. T-shirts are $20 if you pick them up and $26 if Glen mails them to you. Prices include shipping.
  • Carry a quarter page flier with you. We have two different versions, a voter information flier and a Climate Voter Campaign flier. Print a few at home and stash them in your bag for those unplanned moments in the grocery store or pickle ball court when you’ve turned the conversation to climate change. 
  • Attend our Courageous Voter Conversation workshops to hone your skills at drawing people out on climate and voting. 
  • Log your efforts in the CCL action tracker, especially your climate conversations. Why? Because it feels good, to be honest. It helps you notice that you are getting stuff done. Congratulate yourself every time  you do it.
  • Use CCL’s Letter to the Editor tool to write to the papers about why you are a climate voter. 
  • Invite your friends to write postcards with you in honor of Earth Day. Get set up with postcards, instructions and names by emailing cclwisco@gmail.com. If it’s a nice spring day, you can do it in the park!

Whatever you do this month, we hope you find a way to make it fun. Action is the antidote to despair, and having fun with friends while you do it makes it all the sweeter.

Madeleine Para WI Climate Voter Campaign

Postcarding is Off and Running!

by Phil Smith

As of April 1 The Wisconsin CCL Climate Voter Campaign has sent out 15,905 names and addresses to 49 volunteers. Wow, that’s pretty amazing! We have about 4,000 postcards left.

The Chequamegon chapter is leading the way, under the leadership of Bruce Moore!  They have already recruited 43 volunteers hat have pledged over 3,000 postcards and they hope to secure pledges for another 2,000 post cards. Bruce summarized their approach as follows:

  • Get postcards into the hands of postcard writers as early as possible, to maximize the available time to write postcards.  Starting in April yields 15 weeks before the July 23 mass mailing date.
  • Provide a Climate Voter Campaign postcarding announcement for CCL members to use to invite people in their social circles to help, for example family members, book clubs, or churches.
  • Submit the invitation/announcement to other environment-friendly organizations in your area, such as Audubon, League of women Voters, Wild Ones, or the Sierra Club.

I’ve heard that many of you are already holding routine postcard writing parties. It’s a great way to enjoy and expand your friendships as we work to help save our planet. In 2020, with over 3.2 million votes cast, Joe Biden won Wisconsin by only 20,000 votes.  We are targeting 20,000 registered voters, who rarely vote but are likely “environmental” voters.”  Research shows that postcarding makes a difference!

Also, don’t forget our other ongoing campaigns:

  • Like the postcard says: “Make sure your friends & family vote.” Join our courageous voter conversations team to learn how to have conversations with people in your network that really work.
  • Reach more people by phone banking with us before the August 13th and November 5th elections.
  • Learn about our Wisconsin Climate Voter Campaign and join a team at cclwi.org

You are making a difference!

If you need more postcards send an email to cclwisco@gmail.com with your name and address and number of postcards. We will mail you the postcards and I will email you the names and addresses.

Onward! Phil Smith, Postcarding Team Lead

Madeleine Para Events, WI Climate Voter Campaign

Register for Effective Conversations Using the BRAVE Technique, Wednesday April 10th, 7-8:30 p.m.

Learn and practice skills that help you listen well and activate people’s own stories that motivate them to be an environmental voter. Leave with a plan for how you will start having your courageous voter conversations.

Register for Effective conversations using the brave technique

This is the second in a three part series to train ourselves to have effective conversations with potential climate voters in our social circles. We can learn to listen with compassionate curiosity and help people activate their own values and reasons for being an environmental voter. Brandyn Keating, CEO of YOUnify, has years of experience with voter engagement and deep canvassing. She will lead us through three workshops on Zoom. They will be recorded and posted on cclwi.org, however you’ll get the most benefit by attending in person if you can.  Watch the first workshop.

Sign up for the Courageous Voter Conversations team to receive future notifications: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfsKdgvELKMZXAu5j8Df6VmEhlFzQNsQ_FtETbXuUAZcis1g/viewform 

With all the discord surrounding our politics these days we know that there are lots of climate supporters who need some extra inspiration and support to vote. Through conversation and personal networking, we can reach many people who are otherwise going to be missed by the campaigns. In a state like Wisconsin, every vote counts!