April 2024 Contents Co-President's Message Recent Activities: Community Partner Junior League DIEB Summit Mark Your Calendar! Annual Meeting (May 13) Upcoming Event: Voter Registration Training Live via Zoom (June 13) Opportunity to Serve: Juneteenth Celebration (June 15) Upcoming Event: LWV National Convention (June 27-30) Know an artistic adolescent? Tell them about the 2024 LWVVA Youth Poster Contest! Opportunity to Serve: Become a Digital Program Guru! Virtual Events and Webinars |
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Hello Members: April has been a very busy and productive month for LWVLY! We registered new voters at the Poplar Forest naturalization ceremony and at the CVCC Student Appreciation cookout. We showed up at the Lynchburg City Council budget meeting to make our voices heard. We wore teal and denim in solidarity with the YWCA of Central Virginia's activities for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We supported our Community Partner, the Junior League of Lynchburg, by participating in its first DEIB Summit on April 13th and by planning to attend the JLL Community Garden Party on April 28th at Point of Honor. We also have been diligently planning for the LWVLY Annual Meeting coming up in May. As we head into Election 2024, please be mindful that our work will only continue to increase. What we do is vital to ensuring that all elections are fair and free. It is imperative that all LWVLY members continue to be zealous advocates, engaged, well-informed, and ever ready to continue our work of empowering voters and defending democracy. We look forward to seeing you all at the Annual Meeting. Bethanie Mickles, Esq. and Jennifer Gauthier (Co-Presidents) |
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Recent Activities: Community Partner Junior League DEIB Summit |
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On Saturday, April 13, 2024, the Junior League of Lynchburg (LWVLY Community Partner) hosted its first DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Summit at CVCC. The event consisted of three workshops and a panel discussion that explored a variety of DEIB topics such as implicit bias, microaggressions, lived experience, how to create a culture of belonging, civic engagement, and homelessness in central Virginia. Presenters included Robert Canida, Ph.D. of Lynchburg College; Olivia Raj of the Junior League of Lynchburg; and LWVLY Vice President Muriel Mickles, Ed.D. Panelists included Anna Koehle, Ed.D.; LWVLY member Jennifer Woofter; and LWVLY Co-President Bethanie Mickles, J.D. WDBJ-7 provided news coverage of the event, which you can check out here. |
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DEIB Summit attendees, including LWVLY Co-President Bethanie Mickles. |
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Mark Your Calendar! Annual Meeting (May 13) |
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We're excited to see you for this year's annual meeting including dinner and a presentation! RSVP HERE Monday, May 13, 6-8pm Charley's Restaurant 707 Graves Mill Road The annual meeting is where we vote on our new Board slate, so your presence is important! In addition to conducting this essential League business, the Annual Meeting is a time to catch up with other LWVLY members and hear from speakers on timely topics. This year's meeting will feature guest speaker Brenda Moss, gun control advocate and founder of the Shawn Moss Wellness and Growth (SWAG) Foundation. This event is open to the public; we encourage you to bring friends who might be curious about the League or interested in this year's guest speaker. All guests should plan to order individually from the menu, and LVWLY Members should also plan to renew their annual membership ($60) if they haven't done so yet. Please be sure to RSVP so we can plan appropriately. We look forward to seeing you on May 13! |
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Opportunity to Serve: Juneteenth Celebration |
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Please join us to register voters at Lynchburg's Annual Juneteenth Freedom and Remembrance Day on Saturday, June 15th. The event will take place from 10am to 2pm at Miller Park. We need two volunteers to cover two shifts: 9:30am to 12pm (noon) and 12pm to 2:15pm. To be eligible to register voters, members will first need to take a quick, online certification training (about 30 minutes) here. It's an easy training program, and you will always be paired with someone who has previously volunteered, so you can feel confident in your ability to help folks. Please contact Jan Willinger at 434-444-5076 or jaintheburg@gmail.com. Please make sure to sign up with Jan ahead of time so that we can assure we always have adequate staffing! |
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Upcoming Event: Voter Registration Training |
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What? Virtual voter registration training for all members of LWVVA, partners, and individuals interested in doing nonpartisan voter registration When? July 13, 2024; 2-3 PM This training will be conducted by the Virginia Board of Elections and will satisfy Commonwealth requirements to conduct third party voter registration drives for the period July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025. All attendees MUST sign up here by July 7, 2024 in order to receive the Zoom link. REMEMBER, effective July 1, 2013, all individuals or organizations requesting twenty-five (25) or more voter registration applications from the Department of Elections (ELECT) or local voter registration office must register for and complete ELECT certified training. This training is required for LWVLY members who wish to participate in voter registration activities. |
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Know an artistic adolescent? Tell them about the 2024 LWVVA Youth Poster Contest! |
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The League of Women Voters of Virginia invites posters from students who are Virginia residents to tell students and adults about the importance of voting in our democracy, the need to cast an informed vote, the security of their vote, and the accuracy of vote counting. The LWVVA website has complete details, including frequently asked questions and content rules. Posters must be submitted here by June 30, 2024. |
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Upcoming Event: LWV National Convention (June 27-30) |
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Registration for the 2024 National Convention is now open! On June 27-30, 2024, National Convention will occur in Washington, DC, giving LWVLY an excellent opportunity to send a large delegation. Convention will be a fully hybrid experience, with both combined and unique experiences for in-person and virtual attendees. All information related to National Convention, including registration and hotel bookings, can be found here. Delegates from all Leagues will vote on our 2024-2026 Program, 2024-2026 budget, 2024-2026 LWVUS Board of Directors and Nominating Committee, and submitted bylaws amendments. There will be opportunities to network with fellow League members, participate in a variety of workshops and trainings, and hear from dynamic speakers. LWV will also host a Lobby Day on Thursday, June 27. |
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Opportunity to Serve: Become a Digital Program Guru! |
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As part of a national organization, our LWVLY has access to numerous resources to educate voters, share information, promote the League and generally empower voters. In fact, we have more great programs available than we currently have the human resources to manage! There is a powerful app called Vote 411 which offers a one-stop site for everything about elections---folks can check their voting status, see what's on the ballot for their local election, or find their polling place. League in Action (part of Outreach Circle) is another great app---this digital organizing platform could help us build a digital community where people could view a list of actions to support their particular areas of interest. But we need people to learn these systems and help us fully implement the programs in Lynchburg. If you're interested in helping us integrate a digital program, contact Jan Willinger at janintheburg@gmail.com or 434-444-5076. |
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Virtual Events and Webinars |
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Mondays (weekly), 3:30-4:15pm Eastern Event: Election Rumors Briefing Call Price: Free In collaboration with the Algorithmic Transparency Institute, LWVUS will be hosting weekly election rumors briefings to address trends of mis/dis/mal-information. During these briefings we will get an overview of the MDM landscape and answer any questions that you may have on addressing these concerns. Briefings will be held via Google Meet. To join the video chat, visit meet.google.com/npj-vsco-apy. To join by phone, call 631-898-6521 (PIN: 190612266#). |
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The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging the informed and active participation of citizens in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. We never support or oppose any political party or candidate. |
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