All posts by graftoncodems

Your Passion, Your Leadership: A Workshop Series for Aspiring Women Advocates.

There is a great series beginning in March for Aspiring Women Advocates. It will be at the Howe Library and I believe it will be hybrid but the zoom link has not yet been released. RSVP for each individual program to get updates.  

ZOOM registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

In partnership with the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, MomsRising, and other women-centered community organizations, this six-part workshop series will empower women in the Upper Valley to step into their power as leaders and advocates. Using the disproportionate impacts of HB 1569 on women’s right to vote as a central case study, the series will provide participants with the tools, skills, and confidence necessary to engage in effective advocacy. From understanding how power operates on a day-to-day basis in our communities, to mastering communications and social media, to managing volunteers and sharing success stories, each session is designed to strengthen women’s voices and build a more representative democracy. 

The six part series will be held at the Howe Library in Hanover.  You may RSVP for as many segments as you wish:

Analyzing Power  MARCH 5, NEW TIME 5:30 pm.  RSVP HERE,

Zoom registration here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

This workshop will introduce participants to tools like power analyses and power mapping, helping leaders identify who holds influence in their respective communities, where gaps in representation exist, and how to strategically shift power in the direction of equity. Participants will learn how to identify where decisions about schools, healthcare, and local services are being made—and how best to influence them.

How to Use your Voice for Advocacy MARCH 12, 6pm Eastern.  RSVP HERE

Zoom registration here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

From writing persuasive emails to calling elected officials and testifying at hearings, this workshop will equip participants with practical strategies to make their voices heard and influence important policy decisions at every level of government.

Communications and Social Media MARCH 19,  6pm Eastern.  RSVP HERE

Zoom registration here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

Learn how to craft compelling messages, engage effectively on social media, and use communications tools to educate, mobilize, and grow your audience. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training, MARCH 26, 6pm Eastern.  RSVP HERE

Zoom registration here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

A hands-on, accessible session designed to build comfort with digital tools—covering everything from managing emails to Zoom meetings—so that every leader can confidently engage in advocacy and organizing in today’s hyper-online world.

Managing Great Volunteers, April 2, 6pm Eastern. RSVP HERE

Zoom registration here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WCMn1VFOQwq27uBv8HQr2g#/registration

This workshop will focus on recruiting, training, and sustaining volunteers, with strategies for creating inclusive and energized teams that can carry the work forward.

Stories of Success, APRIL 9, 6pm Eastern. RSVP HERE

A panel of women community advocates will share firsthand experiences of organizing against harmful policies, building coalitions, and winning real victories, offering inspiration and practical lessons for participants’ own leadership journeys.

Municipal elections, March 10

Are you ready?

In March, many of our communities are electing mayors and members to the school board, library board, select board and city council. You should be able to find a sample ballot on your town website to know who is running. If not, call or email your town clerk. To find their contact information, click on the SOS voter information link .

Check your town’s candidate list. Do you know what skills these candidates need for the positions they wish to fill?  Do you know what experience and qualifications these candidates bring?  And most important — do these candidates reflect your values? 

The officials you elect in your community and the decisions they make shape your everyday life. They are responsible for the conditions of your roads; how schools are funded; they guide urban planning, immigration policy and policing. The very things, I might add, that Rep. Wendy Thomas, D-Merrimack, spoke about at the Merrimack Town Hall ICE Protest last Saturday. 

Equally important, we need to test out the new New Hampshire voting laws and see if we have the right papers to vote! A lawsuit filed last month challenges a recent New Hampshire law that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when casting a ballot.

Be prepared. Watch the video of New Hampshire Secretary of State Scanlan on recent changes to the NH election law, including student voting registration, real ID and what to do if you have been removed from the rolls. Click on voter information on the SOS voter information website to see if you are in the system and to find your local election office for details. And remember to bring a photo ID to the polls; no photo ID, no ballot.

TWO Calls to action! 


Oppose Merrimack Human Warehousing

1. Recent reports are that the Department of Homeland Security has been working with Gov. Ayotte on the economic impact of the Merrimack immigration detention center project, something Ayotte has denied. She did say on WMUR that she believes in “a local voice on this.”

Call Ayotte’s office and tell her we do not want to be part of thenationwide network of immigrant detention centers! (603) 271-2121

2. From Granite State Organizing Project:

Representatives Congressman Chris Pappas and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander are collecting constituent feedback on the proposed ICE facility and they will be sharing the results directly with the Department of Homeland Security. Now is the time to speak up. Submit your feedback here AND please encourage others to do the same. We have asked that the forms remain ‘live’ over the weekend Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01): Submit Feedback Here
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH-02): Submit Feedback Here

Celebrating in Hanover!

One Year protesting in Hanover!
Feb. 27, 5:30 – 6:30 
Sawtooth Kitchen, Hanover

On Friday, February 27th, Hanover will mark one year of gathering on the corners in downtown Hanover. 

Everyone who has participated over the course of the last year is invited  to show up for the visibility with the signs you held then (and now).

Following the visibility, we will gather at Sawtooth Kitchen on Allen Street to celebrate this persistent, feisty, friendly community of concerned citizens. You are all invited as long as you have shown up on the corners at least once. If you haven’t been there yet, there’s still time.

Attendees are responsible for their beverages, and we will provide the food (or Sawtooth will …but the cost is covered). We will have a “year of posters” display, a raffle, and maybe some special guests!

Time to register for seats on town boards

Time to register for seats on town boards
From Wednesday, January 21 to Friday, January 30.

In the last couple of decades, we have seen an assault on our town committees by rightwing Free Staters. We have to be alert to this movement. This is a threat to our libraries, schools, fire and safety, and road maintenance. So if you can, please check with your town clerk to see what positions are up for election.

To be included on the ballot, you must file a Declaration of Candidacy with the Town Clerk between Wednesday, January 21 and Friday, January 30. The positions usually include Selectboard, Library Trustee, Planning Board, and can also include Cemetery Trustee, Trustee of the Trust Fund, or Town Treasurer.

You can find more information on https://lwvnh.org/
Thanks Plymouth Area Dems for the reminder.