As always - ask people if they are registered to vote, specifically ask women to run for office, and consider ways to support AFDW through committee work below!

Hello Democrats!
It's been a packed couple of weeks from the last days of school for many, Memorial Day, the Senior Democrats in-person meeting in Little Rock, the NFDW Virtual Conference, and more - many AFDW Members have been traveling and logging on to make a difference in Arkansas!

There are updates galore below, please take a minute to read through all the details and information about what's been happening and what is in the work for Democrats this week, this summer, and the next 18 months! 

New Subscribers

If you’re receiving this for the first time, it may be due to records being found and updated. If you have not connected with your local Democratic Women chapter, please reach out to them today to renew your membership!
Or if you are not sure where to begin to get connected again, please take a moment to fill out THIS FORM.

Stay strong and safe!

Gracie Ziegler

AFDW President

gracieziegler@gmail.com

479-466-2735

Juneteenth Events coming up!

ATTN: engaged Democrats across the state!
The Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus personally invites ALL OF US to join them in one of the 3 parades being planned to participate to celebrate Juneteenth.

The Democratic Black Caucus needs volunteers walk alongside the vehicles and pass out hand fans, information about ADBC, and wave some big VOTE flags!  It would be WONDERFUL to have a lot of Democrats to show up and show out and let the community know we are here, and join the party to help make a better Arkansas!

Let Debrah Mitchell, President, Arkansas Democratic Black Caucusknow if you would like to join in the work! Please email President Mitchell directly at: info@ARKdemocraticblackcaucus.org

The work of the AR Democratic Black Caucus is VITAL to the success of Democrats in our state - we stand with them in all they do. 

PRIDE Events across Arkansas

The 2021 NFDW Conference is COMPLETE!

NFDW Values Statement - draft for editing

One of the first orders of business from the new NFDW leadership team is drafting a values statement that reflects the organization and supports the work of strategic planning. NFDW is requesting feedback on the draft - you can find the draft BY CLICKING THE BUTTON BELOW.

If you have any edits or ideas, please reply to this email by June 20th
and they will be compiled and shared with NFDW. 

Some edits I see immediately are adding EQUITY as part of the D&I statement, the need for inclusive pronouns (not just she/he, but they), and using direct action verbs like WILL instead of should. I'd also like to see inspirational leadership quotes used that are the words of women!  I'm glad to see they plan to make direct statements for Black Lives Matter as well as understanding, as a national organization, we have a lot of work to do to support ALL women.- gz

The Pulaski County Democrats have announced an Arkansas-focused campaign staff training program this summer! Building the Bench is an a la carte program to allow future staffers to focus on a specialty or attend all courses to prepare to be a Campaign Manager. Completely free of charge, this program is open to all Democrats around the state at all skill levels and will be conducted virtually.

Sign up today to help Build the Bench!

Upcoming AFDW Events

• The discussion of “The Sum of Us” has had to be postponed, we'll find a time that works best for our members and reschedule. Read at your leisure and share your copy with others if you can. 

This is a new section to our newsletter - we will try and keep a running list as people announce publicly. Please let us know if a Democrat announces in your area and we’ll add their info to this running list. 

It’s important to remember that this will be a very active primary and while we definitely encourage people to RUN FOR OFFICE, as an organization we do not endorse candidates before the primary. Our goal in sharing information is just that - sharing as much as we can to get the word out about people running, how you can get involved, and the best way to be informed voters!

Please review candidates as they announce and engage with them directly if you have questions or are wanting to get involved with the campaigns as individuals. 

Democrats who have announced their run for office in Arkansas (in alphabetical order by ballot race):

Behind the Scenes!
We need your help to track data, organize information, and support the information that needs to be shared. 

COMMITTEES OF AFDW

• Rules, Resolutions, and Revisions - review the Bylaws annually and make recommendations to the Executive Board 
• Programming - works to plan programming throughout the year and the AFDW annual convention every August
• Fundraising -  planning and  implementing fundraising events
• County auxiliary expansion - shall work with counties not yet affiliated to kick off affiliation and monitor progress, reporting, start-up, etc.
• Candidate recruitment - as simple as asking your friends and neighbors to run for office and helping them get the tools they need to move forward with filing

Additional work being done by volunteers

• Organize Data - we're making it easier to contact different committees and groups. Can you help with some data entry work? 
• Communications - Share and Create Content - we want to make sure no matter where you are online or not, you can get up-to-date information from AFDW. We need members to share from our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts to their own pages and groups to help signal boost and amplify.
  • Just click that SHARE button anytime you see new material. 
  • Share the information when you're talking to your friends on the phone or safely if you are gathering with friends or family. 
• Register Voters - it's never too early to register to VOTE. Be sure to ask everyone you know if they are registered and ask them to confirm their voter information is still accurate. You can do this by visiting VoterView.