Hello Pledge Organizers:

 

As we move more closer to graduation season, here are resources and ideas that will strengthen your Pledge effort:

 

·          See http://www.graduationpledge.org/Basic%20Information/letter.html for a useful piece from the Pledge web site: a sample letter for seniors to introduce them to the project. Note the statement in the letter, "Please do not sign the pledge card or wear a green ribbon on graduation day unless you intend to fulfill the commitment." We hope that you can emphasize that to seniors in your outreach. The web site contains other materials that will help you (Pledge cards, certificates, posters, etc.).

 

 

•    Connect with Earth Day... to bring attention to the Pledge. Consider holding a public event on Earth Day, April 22, or whenever it's celebrated on campus (April 22 is a Saturday). In the past we had a "Graduation Pledge Alliance Day of Action and Awareness" in which a number of schools participated. While the Pledge deals as well with social responsibility, Earth Day can be a focal point for it and for more general concerns about the workplace.

            - a day for Pledge sign-ups

            - a relevant speech/workshop/discussion

            - getting faculty to discuss the Pledge in their classes

            - a display in a prominent place--perhaps where Earth Day activities are already going on

            - a reception or other event for Pledge signers

            - a day of service--or something else action-oriented

        Try to get good campus publicity or local media coverage. That should help raise consciousness on our issues and the Pledge, hopefully leading to more sign-ups and volunteers who might help with organizing. Let us know if you do anything that day.

 

·         Keep up with Pledge signers and help them keep their commitment once they are in the workforce; Remember, the real value of the Pledge is what happens after graduation:      

·           

       ---We have a new complementary Pledge web site-- E-xplore.com--specifically geared for those in the workforce. It is still under construction, but we now have the basic design and will fill in the gaps over time. As of this writing, the template for the site is at www.E-xplore.com/trial.html. Please make your Pledge signers aware of that site, as well as www.graduationpledge.org for the help it will bring them (we'll soon also list the new site on the downloadable Pledge cards (http://www.graduationpledge.org/cards.html). Importantly, the new web site deals not only with social/environmental responsibility on the job, but it's for those who also want to bring responsibility to their communities and the world. One highlight will be a social network/community where folks can interact with each other, even vocally! These are exciting possibilities. (Consider other ways to stay in contact with signers, like a listserv, newsletter, or survey to assess signers use of the Pledge after graduation (http://www.graduationpledge.org/Basic%20Information/survey.html ).

 

      --- Reach out to the Alumni and Career Service Offices to both institutionalize the Pledge on campus and to support Pledge signers (http://www.graduationpledge.org/Basic%20Information/involved.html).

 

·         We sometimes work with other national groups for mutual benefit, so see these opportunities:

            Campus Compact, a very well known national group interested in social concerns, is partnering with the Pledge in a month of civic actions. Get involved and tell others http://www.actionforchange.org/month/.

            And see the below message from Americans for Informed Democracy.

Bye for now,

Neil

Neil Wollman

National Coordinator

MC Box 135

Manchester College

North Manchester, IN  46962

260-982-5346

njwollman@manchester.edu

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Dear Organizer,

 

I am writing at the moment to let you know about an exciting event organizing opportunity that you may be interested in.  Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to raise global awareness among college students.  We are currently organizing panel discussions around the country as part of an initiative on socially responsible business for a “flat world” – and we think that this would be a perfect setting for you, as an organizer for the Graduation Pledge Campaign, to get students talking about American business’s role in the global economy.  Not only can more students learn how to sign the pledge at this event, but those who have already signed will be able to strengthen their commitment through education.

 

If you are interested in participating in this initiative, entitled “Entrepreneurship in a Globalized World,” AID would support you at every step of the event organizing process.  AID provides mini-grants of up to $150 for these panel discussions, help identifying speakers, hundreds of free posters that are sent to your doorstep, and major help reaching out to your campus and community using press releases.  You can read more about this initiative and learn how to get involved at http://www.aidemocracy.org/Initiative.cfm?initiative_id=entrepreneur .

 

AID also has a number of other event organizing opportunities that you may be interested in—including global videoconference dialogues with countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Brazil and China, a global film club, town hall initiatives on topics such as global HIV/AIDS and the changing global environment, and much more.  You can visit our website at http://www.aidemocracy.org and contact Sarah Bush at 203-789-0803 or sarah@aidemocracy.org if you have any questions.