Just a few weeks ago, I started an internship with a congressional campaign in my home state of New Jersey. The stakes for this election are so high, which makes me extremely excited to be involved in an impactful way!

This year is critical because we have a chance to flip districts all over the country to take back the power in Congress! It’s going to be extremely close, and in many districts every vote is going to count, which makes everything I’m doing very important. I have a lot of hope because we’ve been seeing people getting engaged in politics at every level.  We have a really incredible slate of candidates, and there’s amazing energy around this election right now!

When I first began, I was incredibly nervous.

I started out by making phone calls and I would rush over my words, trip up when saying the platform positions, and freeze up occasionally.

After a few days, I finally felt myself starting to get comfortable, and after a week or two, I was actually confident when I initiated conversations. It’s really a learning curve, and anyone who has worked on a campaign has probably gone through it. Some of the conversations I’ve had with voters have turned out to be really uplifting! What helped me continue on was the urgency of the election and the supportive encouragement I would get from other volunteers and staff!

One of the best experiences I ever had was this past weekend. I was out canvassing, and we went to the house of an older woman in a nearby town. She was delighted to see a young person out talking about politics! I heard her calling to her husband, “I know it’s hard for you to get up, but you just HAVE to meet this adorable young girl! She’s fifteen and she’s a Democrat!” After meeting her husband and our conversation about the candidate, she told me that their day hadn’t started off that great, that is, until my visit.

Hearing her reflection brightened my day as well! I find it rewarding to be able to positively impact people, introduce them to a great candidate, and spread hope in these times. People are often impressed to see youth so aware and passionate. One of my favorite responses is to share with them how many other young people, like me, are working on this campaign and campaigns all over!

When I’m asked what brings me to politics, I always refer back to my time at YEA Camp. It ignited a passion within me for making the world a better place! After I got home, I researched and learned as much as I could about climate change. The connections between the issues closest to my heart and the political system became clear to me. I’ve never looked back since, and here I am 3 years later, interning for an amazing candidate, speaking at rallies and meetings, and training other people with the skills to get involved!

Not being able to vote will never stop me from making an impact! This is a historical moment, so get engaged!

The entire U.S. House of Representatives is up for re-election, so find out what’s going on in your district! If it is a swing district (meaning if the election will be close), get plugged in locally! If you are not in a swing district or are not sure if you are, check out Sister District or Swing Left to find a district near you that you can get involved with! If you’re able to vote, make sure you are registered, and help get others registered here.

If you’re new to politics, so was I! YEA Camp has a whole guide of 10 ways for young people to get involved in politics here to help you figure out what to do.

If you’re not happy with those in power, now is your chance to do something about it! When you look back at this election, what kind of difference do you want to have made?

Ananya Singh is a high school junior from New Jersey with a passion for climate justice, political engagement, and the arts. She has attended YEA Camp twice as a camper, and this summer was her first as a Counselor In Training.

To find out more about what you can do to make a difference in politics, go to our blog post on that topic. And if you’d like to spend your summer learning more about how you can make a bigger difference on a cause you care about, check out YEA Camp.

The post Too Young To Vote But Not Too Young For Politics appeared first on YEA Camp.

From big things like interning on a campaign to small things like talking to your family, here are 10 ideas to do just that. We are proud to include several that teens from YEA Camp, our summer camp for social change, have been doing around the country.

1. Educate yourself on the candidates and the issues. 

A lot of the mainstream media discussion is more like describing a horse race — trying to predict who will win — versus a real discussion on what the candidates truly believe and what will be best for the voters. If you’re not already sure who you support, do your research. Go to the candidates’ web sites to research their platforms and listen to the debates.

What issues are important to you? Some of the topics candidates disagree on include what our taxes should pay for, the cost of education, the environment, minimum wage, gun control, abortion rights, racism – including police brutality and mass incarceration –  and more. Most candidates either strongly support or oppose the president.

Once you are well-informed and know who you support and why, you will boost your confidence and credibility. This will help make you a great advocate for the candidates and the issues that matter to you.

Fewer people pay attention to — and vote in — the midterm (non-presidential elections), so your efforts to get more people voting can make an even bigger impact.

A great resource for learning more about the political process in general and to connect with local groups is Indivisible.org.

Here’s 17-year-old YEA Camper Claire with her mom Lisa at a rally in Michigan

2. Talk to the 18-and-over folks in your life (family members, friends, neighbors) about the election.

Tell them why you support the candidate you do. If they are not politically active, you could ask them to vote for a certain candidate on your behalf. Or, if they support a different candidate, you could ask them why and see if you can change their mind by encouraging them to visit your candidate’s website or see them in person if they are speaking in your area.

Just your showing how important you see the election is likely to make them see it that way as well and to make time to vote. You can always offer them a deal, too, like you cook dinner that night so they have time to go vote! Key first is to make sure they are registered to vote.

Here’s 17-year-old YEA Camper Danielle with two friends at a rally in North Carolina.

3. Get your opinions out there for others to see. Beyond your close family members, you can influence hundreds or thousands of people by posting your opinions or persuasive articles you read on your social media. Even just posting a picture of yourself and your friends at a rally on your social media encourages those in your network to be aware of the election and to consider supporting your candidate. You could also write an article for your school newspaper or a blog, or make a video about why you support the candidate you do.

Photo of youth phone-banking courtesy of High School Democrats of America

4. Phone-bank, write, or text. This is one of the key things that all campaigns need help with: calling, writing, or texting potential voters to identify supporters and encourage them to actually go vote. This GOTV (“get out the vote”) effort is critical to the success of any campaign.

Check out this inspiring story of an 11-year-old phone-banking! He actually uses his age to his advantage — who’s going to be rude to an 11-year-old?

You can do this at a phone-banking party (making friends and making calls with other people who feel as strongly as you do), which you may be able to find out about on your candidate’s website, or you can even just make them from home on your own. This is huge, because you don’t need to get a ride anywhere or rely on someone else’s schedule.

Phone-banking is easy because you get a script of what to say, and you just follow that and be sure to mark the responses of the caller you speak to – if they are supporting your candidate, if they’ve already voted, or even if it’s a  wrong number. That information is critical to the campaign being able to follow up and ensure their supporters vote on Election Day, which makes the difference in a close race.

To get connected to a close race across the country and to help elect progressive candidates, go to Sister District or to MoveOn to find election events in your area. You can also write letters or postcards or send texts from home.

And of course, even when it is not election season, you can always contact your elected officials to urge them to vote a certain way. Sign up for 5 Calls for notifications, scripts, and numbers so you can easily make 5 calls a day on causes that have a huge impact on our country.

Signs from voter registration drive at YEA Camper Ana’s school

5. Help get people registered to vote and help get them to the polls.

Just as important as persuading people to support one candidate or another is getting people to register to vote and making sure that they actually vote, either on Election Day or by mailing in an absentee ballot.

There are lots of ways to do this, from informally by talking to people in your community to volunteering at campaign events.

Most seniors at your high school will be old enough to vote in November’s election, but many are not registered to vote and don’t know how to vote (where to go, what to do).

Sixteen-year-old Ana Little-Sana, former YEA Camper and the former president of the California High School Democrats of America, held a successful voter registration drive at her high school in San Diego along with a photo booth where people could pose with signs to show their political passions. Over 10% of the student body registered to vote that day!

In fact, there are also efforts in different states to lower the voting age to 16 in California and to enable 17-year-olds turning 18 by November to vote in Ohio. Research if this is happening in your state and how you can support these efforts.

The more people vote and get engaged in the political process, the stronger democracy we have. You can get involvd with Rock The Vote here.

From our mock presidential debate we had at YEA Camp in 2016.

6. Ask your teachers to make class time for discussion about the candidates and what students can do. Some schools even have mock elections where students get to vote. Not only does this help students get thinking about this election cycle to potentially influence their families, it also starts them off young in getting politically engaged, which can lead to a lifetime of active participation.

7. Swag. Wear a t-shirt for your preferred candidate, put a bumper sticker on your notebook or the family car (they can take it off in November), and put a sign in your front yard or apartment window. When people see that others are supporting a certain candidate, it reminds them that an election is coming up and the importance of voting.

8. Intern or volunteer for a campaign.

If you’re really dedicated, this is an incredible way to devote yourself to getting a candidate elected. (It’s also great for your college applications.)

There are hundreds of Congressional and local races coming up in November that pose a fantastic opportunity to learn about the political process and have an even bigger impact on a race.

Fifteen-year-old YEA Camper Ananya Singh has been unhappy with her Congressional representative and so started interning on the campaign for his opponent to get him out of office. Ananya’s enthusiasm is inspiring. “Not being able to vote will never stop me from making an impact! This is a historical moment, so get engaged,” she wrote. Read about her experience here.

Another high-schooler, 15-year-old YEA Camper Jake Johnson interned for a Congressional race in ihs home state of Arizona. “On the campaign I reached out to and helped register voters to get as much turnout as possible and educate voters on what they were voting for,” Jake explained. “Working on a campaign was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had and it taught me so much about what’s going on in the world, and what I can do to change the world.”

9. Fund-raise for a campaign or organization. Whether it’s a bake sale, a car wash, a yard sale, a lemonade stand, or any other creative idea you have, you can donate the money you raise to the campaign. Even easier than that: sign up for the email list of your favorite candidate and forward campaign emails on to adults who might donate.

All fundraising is also awareness-raising, so be prepared to explain why you support the candidate or cause you do.

Ask for campaign birthday and holiday presents — no matter the time of year! Ask the people in your life who normally give you presents for your birthday or the holidays to donate that money to the candidate of your choice instead.

To build long-lasting support, Movement Strategy Center supports grassroots organizations around the country, rather than donating to any individual candidate directly.

10. Use your personal skills and passions to help your candidate.

Maybe you’re great at graphic design or art and can create and share a fun image that will make people think. Maybe you love to make music and you want to write a song that will inspire people. Maybe you have a following on social media that you can influence, you can put your writing abilities to use in the school newspaper, or you can apply your cookie-making abilities at your bake sale. Or just be on the lookout for ways to get involved. We can each contribute in our own ways.

There is so much that all of us can do to make a difference in the world, no matter what our age. Voting is absolutely important if you are old enough, but that is just one vote. Doing any of the actions above means impacting a lot more people, and those votes all add up. These races are close, and we all have an opportunity to make an impact. So get to it! And let us know how it goes.

And if you or someone you know is 12-17 and passionate about social justice and making a difference in the world, join us at YEA Camp this summer! YEA Camp is a summer camp for social change, where each camper chooses their issue of importance (IOI) that they want to focus on and develop the knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to take their passions to the next level in bringing about the change we so badly need. And you’ll make incredible friends and have so much fun. See the details at YEACamp.org. We even have a camp for adults too!

The post 10 Ways Kids Too Young to Vote Can Get Involved in Politics appeared first on YEA Camp.

Ofzerna has been vegetarian since she was 4 years old (even though her parents aren’t) and is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and gay rights, among other causes she cares a lot about. She’s not old enough to vote, but that doesn’t mean she can’t get involved in the election!

Ofzerna attended our California camp in 2013, and we interviewed her this week to find out more about how young people can be involved in the political process, and hopefully inspire you to get more active too! You can get involved with a local candidate your support, or make calls from home to influence important races around the country.

YEA: You’re not yet old enough to vote, yet you’ve been very active in trying to make a difference in this election. What inspired you to get involved in this type of activism? Why are you supporting the candidate(s) you’re volunteering or interning for?

Ofzerna: What inspired me to get involved in this election is my belief that working within the government through the political process we can effect positive change. I am volunteering for Tim Sbranti for State Assembly because the race is very close, Tim is a great guy who supports the same positions as me, and his opponent is a very anti-union Republican. In addition, I am volunteering for NARAL Pro-Choice California because I think it is vital that we preserve women’s access to safe abortions and support candidates who share that belief.

YEA: What are some of the things you are doing in your role on the campaign?

Ofzerna: Some things that I do as a campaign volunteer are walk precincts, going door to door talking to voters, as well as phone banking and making sure people remember to vote.

YEA: Youth under 18 don’t get to vote and so don’t have a direct say to influence our leaders. Yet, what responsibility do you think our government has to young people?

Ofzerna: I think that the government has a responsibility to young people to ensure that they get quality educations, are in safe environments, and are adequately provided for. Beyond this, everything the government and our leaders do has a direct effect on the future we young people will inherit and they have to make sure they don’t mess things up too badly for us.

YEA: What have you learned about our political process or activism in general from your experience on this campaign?

Ofzerna: I have learned a lot about which politicians are genuine and care about the people they serve and those who only care about the advancement of their career. Volunteering for campaigns has also shown me just how much work goes into small, grassroots campaigns and confirmed for me that I want to major in political science and continue to be involved in politics.

YEA: What other types of activism have you done or do you do?

Ofzerna: Other than volunteering for campaigns, I have interned for a LGBTQ youth non-profit called LYRIC, started an LGBTQ support group in my school, created a successful petition to a large company, and organized a protest at a Hobby Lobby store opening.

YEA: What would you say to other people considering getting involved in activism?

Ofzerna: I would say that getting involved is incredibly rewarding and worth doing.

YEA: Between school, homework, and everything else on your plate, how do you make time to volunteer?

Ofzerna: It can be challenging to fit volunteering in since I have high school classes and take community colleges classes in addition, but I fit volunteering in by making it a priority and planning ahead about when I want to do it so that I can get my work done in advance and not have to stress.

YEA:  How has YEA Camp helped you in your activism?

Ofzerna: YEA Camp has helped me in my activism by giving me the confidence that I can create change and teaching me how to go about doing it.

We are so proud of Ofzerna and all of our other campers for the amazing ways they are making a difference in their community and our world! Let’s all step up our game and make an even bigger difference!

To see more inspiring things our campers are doing, follow us on Facebook.

The post Camper Profile: 15-year-old Ofzerna : Too Young to Vote But Not to Make a Difference appeared first on YEA Camp.