When my friend, Khaetlyn, came to me a little over a year ago and asked if I wanted to start a College Democrats chapter on campus, I was thrilled to say yes. She did all of the leg work to make us an official chapter by the end of the semester, and then I went away for the summer to work on an island. When my island adventure was cut short by improper employment practices, I came back to Warren Wilson. Khaetlyn had learned that there would be a College Democrats of America (CDA) conference in D.C. about three weeks later. We fundraised, we went and we gained momentum to grow a group that would later that same year be named the College Democrats of North Carolina (CDNC) Chapter of the Year.
Khaetlyn graduated, and I was elected to be the next President of the Warren Wilson College Democrats. The new executive board of WWCD had a meeting and decided that we should attend CDA 2016 to continue building the strong foundation of our chapter. One by one, the executive board members learned they were unable to attend CDA 2016, and suddenly there were two weeks until the conference and only $25 in our GoFundMe page account. Surely, we wouldn't be able to attend.
That's when I tapped into my network. In two weeks, I raised nearly $1500 and was able to take two other WWC Democrats with me.
We heard many speakers, all of whom were great. My personal favorites were Brian Sims, the first openly gay member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay United States Senator. I cannot describe to you the feeling of seeing, with my very own eyes, the first gay US Senator! I am forever inspired.
And that is what College Democrats of America does--inspire. CDA inspires college students to work within the system to change the system.
We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend if weren’t for the generosity of others--but especially if I hadn’t made the initial ask.
Most college students were never taught how to fund raise. We create GoFundMe's, post it on our Facebook and cross our fingers that it will go viral. But that's not realistic. Everyone has a network to draw from and learning how to ask for money--online, in an email, or by phone--is an invaluable tool to have. Just don't forget to write your thank you cards.
