By Valarie Schwartz
In less than a month, a local grassroots effort has brought Chapel Hill among 18 other towns across the country that will hold Moms for Obama rallies at the same time on the Saturday before Election Day.
Here, we call it “Mamas for Obama,†but everyone is invited to the rally from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1 on the Southern Village green.
The roots started entwining in late September when Christine Ellestad received an email about the national rally day. It lit a fire, especially when she saw that no rally was planned for anywhere in the Southeast Atlantic region (two in Florida have since been added).
“I sent out an email letter to those who might be interested,†inviting them to her house for an organizing meeting. Her letter was sent to others’ list serves and, “It’s come forward ever since with a small core group really working hard on the day-to-day,†said Ellestad, formerly a Republican. “It’s really the networking that made it happen. There’s a web of women who get things done in this town.â€
Among them was Jennifer Schmidt, who had recently created a grassroots movement of her own.
“Back in September, a friend — Claudia Martinez-Wayman — and I were so disgusted with the Sarah Palin-speaks-for-women line that we organized a Mamas for Obama bake sale for the Carrboro Music Festival,†Schmidt said. “Sarah Palin certainly doesn’t speak for me or represent me in any shape or form.â€
In less than two weeks, they had 40 volunteers lined up to bake and sell items. In order to help people recognize the cause, she ironed the Mamas for Obama logo on 10 Carolina blue t-shirts for the volunteers to wear. They raised almost $1,900 (including selling 40 more t-shirts), which was sent to the Obama campaign.
Schmidt went to Ellestad’s meeting and when the subject of fundraising was discussed, Schmidt knew how to do it — by selling Mama for Obama T-shirts and My Mama’s for Obama T-shirts.
“That was about 250 shirts ago,†Schmidt said Tuesday. She has turned the Chapel Hill home she shares with her husband, Kurt, and their 2-year-old daughter, Anneke, into a t-shirt factory. They have been sold to people around the country, some of which were sent to Japan and England. She provides her labor for free and negotiated a great price with a local supplier so that the profit is $7.50 for shirts that sell for $10.
A neighbor of Ellestad’s sent the email to Desiree Goldman, who has become logistical coordinator.
“She is the one who got many of the other women on board to help,†Ellestad said. “She got us a connection with Julia Mack, whose staff translated our flyer into Spanish and did all our graphic design work; she connected me with Delores Bailey at Empowerment, who got the word out to the African American community; she helped us get in touch with Pat Neagle, who got us two local bands, Velvet and Jule Brown, for free; she got the site in Southern Village and event insurance to cover it.â€
Goldman has been motivated since the primaries when Obama caught the attention of her 13-year-old son, Steele.
“He got an Obama bumper sticker for his bicycle and said, ‘Mom, Barack’s got to win.’ I promised him he would and now I have to make it happen. It’s much easier not to talk politics with people, but this time I’m taking a stand and enrolling other people to see that this is the guy and this is the time.â€
Alethea Gerding, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served as an officer in the Navy for seven years, will be among several speakers at the rally. Her husband, Glenn, and their neighbor Dan Hunt built a USS Obama float for the Fourth of July parade, which will provide some fun for children at the rally.
“The first politician I ever gave money to was John McCain, in 2000,†Gerding said. “It was an honor — he graduated from the same place I did. That was back when he really was a maverick. He was reasonable and honorable and it felt OK to support the man and disagree on the issues. I’ve changed my mind about that. The issues are incredibly important.â€
“I’ve never done anything like this before,†Schmidt said. “I’ve never felt such a need to be involved and do something.. . . I’m doing it for my daughter — and all daughters and sons.â€
Learn more at obama-mamas.com/rally, then click on the Chapel Hill link to register (not required for attendance).
Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays AT mac DOT com