WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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A new organization coming to Bloomington will be encouraging young women to run for political office. Rise to Run will bring girls and young women together in order to get insights into the political process, connect with mentors and become involved with activism. Co-coordinator of Rise to Run’s Bloomington branch, Regina Moore, says having young voices in the political process is crucial and Bloomington can be a great training ground.
“Bloomington has an incredibly forward-looking progressive bent to it and I think that with the resources that we have in Bloomington it just makes sense – its just the perfect place for this type of thing to be done.” says Moore.
Rise to Run will assemble an advisory council of women in Bloomington with political experience this summer. In the fall, they will begin publicizing the organization to young women all over the city, with an emphasis on IU. Co-coordinator of Rise to Run’s Bloomington branch, Rachel Guglielmo hopes Rise to Run will be able to teach its members all the fundamentals they may need. “The kinds of things that we want to train women in are basically all the skills she needs to run a campaign – very practical skill: through developing a strategy, strategic planning, messaging, working with the media, fundraising budgeting, endorsements, partnerships, technology, targeting, sealed operations with direct voter contact, legal issues – just practical mechanics of conducting and winning a progressive campaign” says Guglielmo.
The group is starting with four pilot programs in Bloomington; Durham, North Carolina; Madison, Wisconsin and San Francisco, California. By 2020, Rise to Run aims to have hubs in all 50 states
