|
If there was any doubt that the Spanish-speaking community in the United States is geared up for mobilization, recent headlines regarding the massive immigration protests have erased that doubt. As one organizer put it, "The sleeping Latino giant is finally awake." Another added, "This is history in the making, and the country will be transformed by it."
Wellstone Action wants to be a part of the effort to educate and mobilize Latino voters. Through our sister organization the Wellstone Action Fund, Wellstone Action has launched an expansion of our Spanish-language voter engagement work by adding a Spanish-speaking training team and producing a 130-page Spanish version of our Voter Engagement manual. Electronic copies of the manual will soon be available on our website.
Since our founding in 2003, Wellstone Action has become a national center for training and leadership developed, creating a growing number of high-quality, skills-based training programs. The Voter Engagement Schools are a recent addition. These specialized trainings build on the efforts of individuals and organizations in the non-profit arena to educate, engage, and mobilize voters across the country.
Voter Engagement Schools are designed for any constituency, but the Wellstone Action Fund is focusing particular attention on educating and mobilizing voters in the Latino community. Our National Field Director Rudy Lopez has extensive experience organizing in the Latino community and has conducted several Spanish-language trainings for Wellstone Action, with more scheduled. Another senior trainer is Irma Palacios, director of Mi Familia Vota and the subject of a recent Newsweek magazine profile.
Read more about the Voter Engagement Schools by clicking the link above, and check back for updates!
