The weekend of March 18-22 was the official launch of our Get Ready to Run initiative, which took four NYC veterans on a four-day trip to Washington, D.C. The program will involve follow-on support and training for these four veterans, as well as future cohorts that we select, train, and support.
Watch and listen to what our four future candidates have to say about their Get Ready to Run experience during their visit to the Newseum:
The centerpiece of the weekend's training was the Veterans Campaign Workshop, and we are proud to be developing an ongoing partnership with this great organization. Our weekend also included personalized meetings, conversations, teambuilding, and networking to provide NYC veterans with a solid foundation of knowledge, contacts, and resources for their future campaigns.
Learn more about our Get Ready to Run weekend in March 2016:
Friday: A visit to the Lincoln Memorial to pay homage to President Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a personalized talk with Matt Zeller, an Afghanistan veteran who ran for U.S. Congress in upstate New York. A visit to the Vietnam War Memorial to pay respects to the service and sacrifice of our predecessors. A visit with Iraq veteran Phoebe Gavin on her role managing social media for ThinkProgress and how future candidates can develop their online presence with the communities they care about and serve. An informative talk about political campaigns with Allison Jaslow and team at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's Washington, D.C., office. NYC Veterans Alliance Happy Hour with DC-based veterans and supporters at The Gryphon.
Saturday: Veterans Campaign Workshop training on making the decision to run for office, campaign communications, media training, and more, plus reception. Team dinner at Founding Farmers.
Sunday: Veterans Campaign Workshop training on fundraising concepts and strategies. Reception for NYC Veterans Alliance members and supporters at Commissary.
Monday: Meeting with Terron Sims, Vice Chair for Recruitment for the Democratic National Committee's Veterans and Military Families Council, about how political parties vet and support candidates, and what veteran candidates in particular should be doing and thinking about before they opt to run for office. Visit to Newseum and on-camera practice training. Meeting with staff at the Congressional offices of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA). Meeting with Jeff Jacobs of NextGen Persuasion on creating personalized campaign narratives and synthesizing the lessons of the weekend
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Show your support by providing needed funding that will allow us to provide follow-on training and support for these four NYC veterans, and to select and train future cohorts of NYC veterans so they can have these same opportunities.
Thank you for your support!
Click HERE to meet Elma, Samuel, Elana & LaTasha.