Penny Hero (dot) Net

I volunteered for the Obama campaign and called voters in swing states yesterday and today. I really wish I’d gotten involved sooner! It was actually a lot of fun, and it was amazing to see the huge diversity of people who showed up at the headquarters to help. I wish I could have taken pictures!

Highlights:

I called maybe 70-100 people in Illinois, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. I talked with a LOT of answering machines and a good number of people too. I didn’t get a SINGLE McCain supporter!

One of my favorite calls:

Me: Hi is Justin* there?
Him: No he’s not, can I take a message?
Me: (*sort of flustered*… do I leave a message with this person or not? I decided to introduce myself) Okay sure. I’m Emily, and I’m a volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign and I—* (he cuts me off)
Him: Oh! It’s you guys. Yeah nevermind. This is James. Go ahead and say what you were going to say. And good work!

* = name changed

Needless to say, “James” was an Obama supporter. hehe.

Another woman I called also interrupted me after I said “Barack Obama” and seemed really excited to hear from me. Apparently she’d been volunteering and phone banking for Obama for months and was really excited to hear from us. She asked where I was calling from and we had a neat little chat. I don’t even remember what state she was in but that was a good call.

My VERY favorite call was to an older woman (I think the sheet said she was in her 80s. I’m not sure). She answered the phone and when I was done introducing myself, she said she voted early this morning, and that today was also her birthday! She said “And all I want for my birthday is for him to win!”

I wished her a happy birthday, and that I wished the same thing, thanked her, etc, and all the other people around me making calls laughed and a few clapped for me. :) It was great.

I guess a lot of other phone bankers didn’t have quite as uplifting experiences. There are a lot of people out there not voting for Obama, and even a seriously undecided and conflicted man my co-worker spoke to. He was still unsure who to vote for because he had specific questions related to the military (he was about to join). She did the best she could being sympathetic and giving him the hotline number so he could talk to actual real people (rather than a website or something) and hopefully he’ll find the answers he needs.

Anyway, it was a great experience. Very uplifting and inspiring to see crowds of people showing up to sit on their phones for a few hours. Volunteers opened up their homes to host phone bankers and train people. Some restaurants nearby also gave us space to sit. And then of course there were the lines of chairs on the sidewalk!

Not sure how to end this blog entry… Just wanted to share some of that. :)