Community Outreach

Community Outreach can be done through OCCUPY Presentations:

[this is a general training outline]

AIM:
-To enrich people’s understanding of what the OCCUPY movement is, how it functions and what sort of problems it is confronting in society.
-To enrich the OCCUPY movement with fresh insights and contributions by more people.

METHOD:
An interactive presentation about the movement that can be delivered by anyone with knowledge of OCCUPY. The presentation would be effective if given from - or accompanied by - a tent.

TOOLS:
A tent, an OCCUPIER and a *presentation pack.

*PRESENTATION PACK:
The Presentation Pack would be designed to show how Occupy functions ie: hand signals, workgroups, General Assemblies etc. and include time for questions and answers. The presentation would lead to a proposal that those participating would come up with by posing an appropriate question or topic that will get the participants working in groups, facilitating, presenting their conclusions, proposing and finding consensus.

PLANNING:
There could be two types of opportunity for OCCUPY Presentations – PLANNED OCCUPIES where we have scheduled in advance with the host (school, workplace, group etc) and FLASH OCCUPIES where we simply appear somewhere (shopping mall, street, park, civic building etc.) and get a crowd.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS

Planned/Staged Occupies:

OCCUPY ASSEMBLY - for schools/colleges etc. either in assemblies for the whole school or a select year, class etc.

OCCUPY GROUPS – for youth groups, drug user groups, volunteer groups etc.

OCCUPY STAFF MEETINGS – for nurses, hotel staff, shop workers etc. as part of their scheduled staff meetings

OCCUPY THE BOARDROOM - for corporations

Flash Occupies:

OCCUPY Shopping Malls

OCCUPY Town Hall entrances

OCCUPY the street (any street)

OCCUPY alongside an event like a fair, market etc.

It's necessary to keep focused on the goal you wish to achieve and not get bogged down in the weeds of who's right/wrong - Just realize some people will refuse to take you seriously and being pissed at closed-mindedness only hurts the cause. So when speaking to others try to keep the mindset of a fisherman; don't bait the hook with a jelly doughnut when the fish really responds to a worm.

The only way to know what to emphasize is by asking how the person feels about the issues you wish to change.
From there you can tailor your message. Think like the fish.

Examples:
Other person: "I'm a Republican and I don't like you hippies."
You : "Might I ask what you find offensive about us?" (not, "we don't like you either, douchebag!" or, "we aren't hippies!")
[someone want to run with this? It's just an old marketing technique]

Be the surfer - we all have a wealth of thoughts and feelings arising constantly, like the sea. You will be encountering situations where passions run high on both sides but don't get sucked under! Use your breath as the board! Practice taking a breath (or two, three...) before each response, to allow you to really hear what the other party says (and for them to feel heard and hear themselves too!) feel the upsurge of reactions in yourself, jump your attention onto the breath and flow through, feeling the breath lift you out of the swell, when steady on the 'breath board' you can respond (or sometimes more valid is non-response!) and flow. Whenever you notice tension bring your attention to your breath, often just one breath in....and out.....can transform a situation..and don't worry....it takes practice..... - x

NETWORKING & Faithcommunities

Don't overlook faith communities as an important ally. The traditional mainline churches often have values aligned with those of the Occupy Together movement. Some traditions are easier to organize than others. The two traditions that are highly connectional are Roman Catholic and United Methodist. If you make contact with a progressive congregation in one of these systems, you have connected with a whole network. To find a UM church go to http://archives.umc.org/Directory/ChurchDirectory.asp?ptid=1&mid=222. If that doesn't work go to www.umc.org and click on Find a Church in the upper blue banner. For RC parishes go to http://www.parishesonline.com/scripts/default.asp. United Church of Christ congregations tend to share the movement's views but as the system is less connected, it will be important to check with your local congregation. Many congregations in other traditions are also supportive, it just requires more research. The quickest way to screen churches is to look for web pages or facebook pages for local congregations. If your area has an Interfaith Council those faith communities are highly likely to be supportive. This will help connect with Jewish, Muslim and other traditions.

Also, look into Unitarian Universalist churches. They frequently take up causes and are interested in social justice. They are already actively against the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Go to http://www.uua.org/directory/congregations/

[I think a lot of people would rather keep religious affiliation out of the movement to be honest.]

[I think the Quakers would be a good source of organizing help, since they are the original American conscientious objecters to war; and they ran the underground railroad to help African-Americans escape slavery in the 19th century.]

Contact your old professors if you went to college, or your current profs. if you're in college now. Print flyers and canvas your campus. Find out if your school has a Justice and Peace Studies program and email or talk directly to the Chair of the department.

Print flyers and canvas public areas frequented by the 99% — like the subway!

Interfaith Committee for Workers Justice http://www.iwj.org/template/index.cfm

[do contribute]