From December 1-7, we’re asking thousands of people across the country to pledge to prevent genocide. But after the Pledge2Protect conference in early November, dozens of participants hit the streets to start collecting pledges. Vinay Nayak, a high school student in Illinois and the Great Lakes Regional Outreach Coordinator, blogged about his experience:
It was a typical Sunday afternoon in Washington DC: a little chilly and very busy. But when most high school and college kids were busy catching up on a week’s worth of homework, dozens of students and adults alike hit the streets to collect pledges in support of genocide prevention. And it really was an inspiring experience.
We all gathered by Union Station, and after a training session, a few quick cheers and one or two pump-up speeches it was time to go. Young activists split up into groups and started talking to ordinary people about genocide prevention, in hopes of collecting pledges and fostering conversation on the issue.
Just an hour before, we were all nervously huddled up in a room waiting for pledges to be passed out, some expecting to be dismissed by the people they talked to. But we weren’t. We were instead embraced by the over four-hundred and fifty people who enthusiastically signed on to a nation-wide movement to prevent genocide.
When we got back to the hotel and the Pledge2Protect conference, attended by over 850 student and adult activists, a mother whispered to me that the “canvassing experience” changed her kid’s life. That in combination with the conference, the experience led her child to a desire to dedicate her life to the issue of genocide prevention and continuing to educate people across the world about the issue. I couldn’t help but think there is something profoundly fulfilling about talking to people about an issue they may not even be aware of. I couldn’t help but think there are thousands more kids who can benefit from the “canvassing experience.” And I couldn’t help but think it all can just start with a single pledge card.
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