Virginia OFA Director: "Organizing in Support of the President"

The following is a guest post from Brandyn Keating, Virginia State Director of Organizing for America. Previously, Keating worked with the Coalition for Social Justice/Coalition Against Poverty, and in support of Governor Deval Patrick's historic campaign to be the first African American Governor of Massachusetts. She first joined the Obama campaign as an out-of-state volunteer coordinator for the Rhode Island primary, then she moved to Pennsylvania and worked on the primary there as a Field Organizer before ultimately taking on the role as GOTV Director for the state of Wisconsin during the 2008 general election. Thanks to Brandyn Keating for this post, and if you want to volunteer, please click here.

Like many of you, I worked tirelessly as a part of Barack Obama’s historic campaign last year and celebrated our success on Election Day. But, change in Washington won’t come just because we were able to elect such an amazing President. This is why I’ve answered the President’s call to action and spend every day organizing grassroots support for his agenda as a part of Organizing for America (OFA).

We made a step in the right direction in November, but real change in Washington will take time, and it will also mean that we must continue make our voices heard so our representatives in Congress enact the change we want to see. So I ask you to join me as a part of OFA Virginia and support the President’s vision for America:

There are many ways to get involved:

*Joining grassroots OFA campaigns to support the President's agenda. Online, on the phone, on doorsteps and in town halls in communities across the country, we're building the bottom-up support that makes real change possible.
*Spreading the word to friends and neighbors about the President's approach on the big issues facing our nation, like health care, energy and education. Nothing is more powerful than your voice in your community.
*Serving our community in ways big and small. Rebuilding America starts today.
*Connecting with other supporters to form strong local groups, ready to take on whatever challenges we face.
*Supporting leaders who share our values and are ready to carry forward the fight for change.

As the President travels to Virginia tomorrow to talk about health care, it’s important for me to place an even greater emphasis on the urgent need for health insurance reform in this country, how success of the President’s plan can ONLY happen with your help, and how waiting to reform our broken system is no longer an option.

Across the country, far too many people continue be uninsured, over 45 million in fact. And, in Virginia alone, 14 percent of the population lacks insurance, regardless of their employment status. With the rising cost of health care, more and more people are finding themselves uninsured and businesses, especially small businesses, are finding it harder to offer insurance to their hard working employees.

So I urge you to ACT NOW in support of the Presidents plan for reform that will reduce the costs that are preventing so many from being insured, guarantee choice of plans and doctors, including a public option, and ensure quality affordable care for all. Action on this critical issue can fit into any schedule, just simply sign back into your MyBO account from the campaign and sign a declaration in support of the President’s plan, share your unique health care story, sign up for a health care event, or organize your own event. And, don’t forget to urge your friends to do the same!!

Click here to volunteer for OFA today.

I look forward to working with you in support of the President’s plan for the country as we build OFA in Virginia together. He needs your hands to continue to make positive change happen in this country!