Outreach

General information

Outreach engages with local community organizations, labor unions, faith leaders, immigration groups and health justice workers, and others to address broader needs in the Boston area. What does that mean in practice? It means we spend a lot of time going to meetings, meeting new people, starting conversations, organizing actions, and engaging with the wide and diverse landscape of social justice organizing in Boston. If you work with an organization or group and are trying to figure out how OB might fit in -- or if you're new to Occupy Boston and want help connecting with the right working group -- we're probably a good place to start!

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Meeting times and locations

OUTREACH COMMITTEE is the general meeting. What we do varies week by week -- it's a place to catch up, plan actions, follow up on community meetings that have happened over the course of the week, and welcome new individuals and groups into the movement. This group meets Mondays at 6 p.m. at SEIU 615 (23 West Street, 2nd floor) and Fridays at 6 p.m. at E5 (33 Harrison Ave)

LABOR OUTREACH COMMITTEE focuses specifically on labor outreach and community-building in the Boston area. This group meets Mondays at 4:30pm at SEIU 615 (23 West Street, 2nd floor)

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS / MOVEMENT BUILDING is a coalition of individuals from Occupy and various community organizations that has been meeting since the beginning of OB to organize movement-building, actions, and initiatives in the greater Boston area. This meets Mondays at 6 p.m. at SEIU 615 (23 West Street, 2nd floor)

STREET TEAMS is the action wing of outreach, and plans on-the-street actions, canvassing, community rallies, street theater and other projects (frequently in conjunction with outreach and other working groups). Currently this group meetings Thursday at E5 - join the mailing list for updated information.

Announcements

December 24, 2011: Christmas Eve Vigil for Brian Arredondo

What: Candle vigil and short march in memory of Brian Arredondo, and for awareness about the Cost of War
When: 6pm on Christmas Eve
Where: Unitarian Church in JP (at the monument, where South Street meets Centre Street)
Why: Many people at OB were familiar with "Camp Alex," the memorial set up by Carlos Arredondo for his son, Alex, who was killed in the Iraq war. Their other son, Brian, took his own life on December 19th, the same day the Iraq War came to a sort of an end, with the troops coming home for Christmas. Please join us to commemorate Brian and support his family during this difficult time.

Donations to help defray funeral costs may be mailed to
Brian Arredondo Memorial Fund, at The Cooperative Bank, 40 Belgrade Avenue, Roslindale, MA 02131

If you would like to send a card directly to the Arredondos, mail to:
11 Seymour Street Roslindale, MA 02131

Outreach Archives and Minutes from the Outreach Teach-in With Cynthia Peters

Passed Proposals

Boston City Council Resolution

Get Involved!

There are lots of ways to participate. Every conversation you have about Occupy is Outreach! Here are some suggestions; please add your own.

Print off some flyers and paper the world: train cars, community bulletin boards, friendly businesses, etc. (The Neighborhoods working group can help!)
Make your 99% status visible: carry a sign, make yourself a tee shirt or pin.
Look for opportunities to bring up Occupy. Don't be afraid to tell people what you really did over the weekend!

When someone asks you about Occupy, here are some phrases that we've had success with in conversations:

I can't speak for the movement as a whole, but here's why I am involved...
If you've ever worried about money or politics, you're one of us.
Come by and visit us. We're a lot of fun! (Mention something that's gotten you excited, like a marching band or the library tent or a recent General Assembly or...)
It's true that we don't have a set list of goals. We do know that the system is broken, and we want as many voices as we can to contribute so we can fix it together. What do you think will help?

On-Site Volunteering

The best way to help with on-site volunteering is to just SHOW UP. People AT the camp ARE the occupation. Look for people who are working and ask how to help. Ask a camper if you can help with anything. Camping is the hardest part of this occupation. For campers to stay, they need to be comfortable. Check in at the WELCOME CENTER. There is a list of volunteer needs. Remember to dress for the weather. Being outside generally requires warm clothes and comfortable shoes, because of the gravel path.

1. Help staff the info tent

We need people to sit at INFO TENT and answer questions, help direct people, and provide a friendly face to new visitors. We need at least one person at all hours. So please sign up, if you can come onsite for a couple hours at a time. [to sign up, email infotent@occupyboston.org)

Volunteer Near Home

1. Spread a friendly word

Learn about Occupy through this wiki and www.occupy.org. Basic information that might be helpful in understanding and explaining Occupy Boston is available at Occupy 101.

2. Poster Your Town

Print out 50 flyers from the website. Find them at: http://occupyboston.com/flyers-print-and-post/

Hand them out downtown, at the grocery store, at the big discount store. Post them at coffee shops, bus stations, anywhere that seems appropriate. Be considerate of local cultural preferences relative to posting on telephone poles. While there are laws allowing and preventing, there’s often a local preference that may be worth respecting.

3. Set Up and/or Staff a Table in Your Town

Get a card table and set it up downtown somewhere. Or at a busy bus or train station. Wherever there’s a lot of foot traffic. Print out a bunch of flyers from http://occupyboston.com/flyers-print-and-post/ And just go sit at the table and answer questions. The first time will be hard because you’ll be learning at the same time you’re answering questions. But it’ll get easier. Print out the FAQ from the website and bring them with you. Make sure to check the FAQ sometimes, because there are updates as we figure out other stuff people want to know.

Remote Volunteering

1. Work on Policy Development

If you're a constitutional lawyer, citizen activist, fiscal policy analyst, or an interested citizen, and you want to join in the "online discussion" about our demands as "the 99%", please go here! There are many interesting things going on. The Strategies, Policies, and Proposals group is focusing on "fiscal" and "social policies", as well as "demands" that we want from our government. The Facilitation working group is focusing on practices to make a better democracy. If you'd like "virtual training" for how to post and join in the discussion, please let us know. Write to occupybostonvol@gmail.com

2. Blogging

Search for blogs and newspaper/media that have articles. Or go to themain website and OB facebook page and look for posts of media. Go to those sites, read the article and the comments. Post replies “in support”. Use the “messages” at the main website to help you write things in support of the movement. Here’s a good place to find those messages:http://occupyboston.com/faq/general-faq/

3. Tweeting

Follow the Occupy Boston Twitter (@Occupy_Boston) stream and the news about Occupy Boston. Then tell the world about it! The more people who know about us the better.