Coastal Post Online
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS
MONTHLY - FREE PRESS
(415)868-1600 -
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924
September, 2004
The MMOB Hits 100,000 Mom Milestone.
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Mother-to-mother peer network mails voter registration forms
and
encouragement to unregistered single moms.
Mainstreet Moms Oppose Bush (The MMOB) is an grassroots,
get-out-the-vote organization dedicated to registering single moms. Through
"Adopt-a-Swing-State" letter writing parties, they send personal
notes and voter registration forms to women that did not vote in the 2000
presidential election.
Launched by one woman in Bolinas, California, just nine months before
the 2004 presidential election, The MMOB has grown to 1500+ members in 45
states. MMOB founder, Megan Matson, is surprised and delighted to have reached
the 100,000 moms served milestone this week and credits The MMOB's passionate
unpaid crew.
Lists Manager, Diane Dvorin, of Boulder, CO, says, "The pace
picks up every day. Every time I think I've finished filling requests for lists
of names, more pop up on my screen... and, this is the good news! We've done
FL, MO, OH, NV and WA, so far."
Not all letter-writers are mothers; they just share the belief
that the Bush administration's short sighted policies, invasion of Iraq, and record federal deficit will be a long-term burden for the innocent generations to
come. Don Abrams, of Georgia, the Membership coordinator, says, "You don't
have to be a mom, just have one!"
The all-volunteer MMOB is part of the new Do-It-Yourself activism,
where creative use of the Internet has made national organizations viable on a
shoe-string budget. With far-flung entrepunerial members sharing the work load,
Mainstreet Moms exhibit the 24/7 enthusiasm of a new thing Silicon Valley
enterprise, even without that IPO at the end of the tunnel. Feedback from
letter recipients gets shared and cheered coast-to-coast via email. Artist
members sell handmade VOTE jewelry, plus a sparkly signature VOTE rhinestone
letter bracelet to both defray expenses and inject the word into a pop culture
setting.
With close to 50 percent of eligible Americans choosing not to
vote in 2000, turning VOTE into a more personal art form, like jewelry, can
help jumpstart participation-especially with younger voters. Megan says,
"VOTE is the most empowering, inclusive and undeniable message out there,
and it gives people courage to see it."
Stephanie Grossman, a top MMOB party Host in Palo Alto, California agrees. She got her daughter in Manhattan involved. And her 11 year-old
grand-daughter, who not only can now name all the swing states, but helped
spread the word. She made pink stationary for her activist granny with a
picture of a child and "KIDS CAN'T VOTE, SO MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!"
printed in colored crayons across the top.
About The MMOB:
http://www.themmob.com
Inspired by Howard Dean's campaign, Megan Matson, a California mother of three pre-schoolers, decided she had the power to reach out to the
millions of women that did not vote in the 2000 presidential election. She
founded The MMOB and created nationwide Adopt-A-Swing-State letter writing
parties being held every month until November. Concerned mothers, sons,
daughters and dads have joined The MMOB to send personal notes to single moms
in key states, reminding them how much their vote matters.
The MMOB is a Political Action Committee (section 527) and is
registered with the Federal Election Commission. The MMOB is not authorized by
any Candidate or Candidate's Committee.