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DCTMI depends on dedicated volunteers to get out to farmers markets, help us organize volunteer fairs, and connect with new volunteers to get them placed with our partners.

The videos below will give you a flavor for outreach work or click here to go to our YouTube Civic Canvassing & Tabling Playlist or read about it or read about our vision here. However, if tabling and canvassing at outdoor events isn’t for you, we also need help emailing, texting, and calling people who volunteered before to check in and see if they’d be interested in getting more involved.  Let us know when you sign up and we’ll be sure to connect you to the right team.

The Big Picture

More than 60,000 DC students read below grade level or need extra support and we are working to sign up volunteers to help!  More broadly, we believe that our democracy needs a new “civic mindset” if we are to survive and thrive.  At the heart of this vision is the idea that we need to and CAN become wiser, more compassionate, and more active in working together to make a better world — and DCTMI’s “civic canvassing” will help you develop theses and other leadership skills and the mindset you need to make a difference!

Speak Your Truth

Can you “speak your truth” to friends, family, co-workers, bosses, or people who work for you?  Nobody wants to keep their light under a basket, as they saying goes.  But it sometimes takes courage just to do it and practice to learn how to speak with kindness AND firmness, even when we suspect the listener may not want to hear it!  The work we do helps us build the courage and the skill to be a good communicator.  It’s a practice with benefits that can spillover into all facets of your life!

 
Demonstration: A 90-Second Starter Conversation

Here’s a short example of the simple, authentic, and direct conversation we try to have with folks to explain what we are doing and why!

Johanna Talks About How She Canvasses

Johanna is our most successful canvasser ever!  Her approach:  Trust that people WANT TO HELP!  Here’s how she thinks about her volunteer work with us. (2 minutes)

Watch our How-To Video

Learn more about “The Art of Civic Canvassing” — the art of connecting with strangers to make a better world!

We build on the mindset of other social movements, but with a focus on one-on-one engagement.

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