Question about volunteering for a campaign.

[IrishEyes]

I have never volunteered for a political campaign before. Is it possible to volunteer without calling people on the phone or going door to door? I'm shy and would feel extremely uncomfortable doing that. I'm happy to stuff envelopes, make copies, etc. I would like to help. I'm comfortable working with people in an office. I'm just anxious about approaching strangers.

If this post belong in a different place, please let me know. Thank you.

[mercuryblues]

1. Yes

You can write postcards. Usually you are paired up when you go door to door. If you let the person who does the pairing know you are terribly shy, you can get paired with someone who has experience with going door to door. They do all the talking.

[IrishEyes]

17. Thank you.

It looks like there are other ways that I can be more helpful to a campaign. I'm going to look into it.

[brooklynite]

2. Answer: yes

There are plenty of jobs, including stuffing envelopes, organizing events, driving supplies around, etc. There are also outreach jobs that don't require face to face engagement (texting is a growing strategy). Think about 1) what you want to do, and 2) what you're good at doing, and then discuss with the volunteer coordinator.

[theboss]

4. Beto's texting team was amazing

I was texted weekly, it seemed, and actually ended up having fun conversations with some of them.

That's a good job.

[IrishEyes]

11. I will make a list of what I can do. Thank you.

[theboss]

3. ABSOLUTELY

I would advise finding your local Democratic club and going to one of their monthly meetings to start. Mine meets monthly at a Mexican restaurant. Candidates usually come to this and you can meet them in an informal setting.

While boots on the ground is always important, there is a ton of stuff that needs to happen from a purely technical/organizational standpoint. And few people actually want to go through Excel spreadsheets and such all day.

If nothing else, just going to rallies and meetings and sharing this on social media is helfpful.

Is it too much to ask what state you are in?

[IrishEyes]

9. Thank you. I'm in New York.

I'm very organized with great computer, research and writing skills. I'm also experienced in event and travel planning. I'm even good at public speaking in front of large groups of people. However, the idea of calling strangers on the phone or going to their house gives me a lot of anxiety.

I'm still undecided about which candidate I support for president. I really like some of the candidates but I'm waiting to hear if a few people are running. I really want to get involved.

[brooklynite]

13. To that point, computer data management may be another category to think about

As for the face to face work, consider two points:

1. If the canvassing lists are good, the people you'll encounter are Democrats (or Democratic-leaning) like you are.

2. You can also took for opportunities to table at street-fairs, rallies etc, where interested people will come to you.

[IrishEyes]

15. I would be fine at working at a table.

[femmedem]

5. There are usually ways to volunteer on a campaign without canvassing or phone banking.

Local campaigns probably need help with data entry, tabling at events where all you have to do is pass out and collect donation forms, and some envelope-stuffing. Some campaigns have people texting, too, which might be easier since you wouldn't have to directly interact. There isn't as much envelope-stuffing as you would think because most mailings are postcards--which may or may not need to be labelled by volunteers, depending on whether the printing service labelled them.

Good luck finding the right fit, and thanks for stretching out of your comfort zone to elect a good candidate! I've always enjoyed volunteering for campaigns.

[IrishEyes]

14. Thank you. I will look into it.

Tabling at event would be good. Texting might be possible.

[theboss]

6. There's also need to help coordinate the phone banks, canvassing, etc

Someone needs to get to the meeting point early, set up the table, go through the list, bring the donuts, check everyone in, and then be there when people come back, etc.

Don't sleep on the donuts. Honestly, the most important person in any campaign is the person who handles the donuts.

[IrishEyes]

10. That sounds good. I can do that.

I'm very organized. I have been to enough meetings at work to know that donuts and coffee are important.

[Tink41]

7. Craigslist

Campaigns often offer paid gigs on Craigslist. Look under non-profit. I can't answer your question as I have enjoyed meeting people for brief snippets of time. Had some CRAZY experiences.

[IrishEyes]

12. My mother is the same way.

She has campaigned many times. She likes to meet people.

[femmedem]

18. Welcome to DU!

I've had some crazy experiences canvassing, too.

[Tink41]

19. Thanks.

I've actually been here since the Bush yrs. Stopped posting around 2008, and I never redid my name password whenever that whole fiasco happened. IIRC we had to change our log in stuff???

[Demsrule86]

8. Yes...you can do office work. I like to go out and knock on doors but I have also worked on spread

sheets. When you call or go out, you have a script and at least in the states I have lived on you only call on or call Democrats. You don't just wing it.

[IrishEyes]

16. I know that there is a script.

Unfortunately, even with a script I feel very anxious talking to strangers. I think I would be more helpful doing spreadsheets.