Congratulations to the five Leagues awarded Daniel Scharfman Citizen Education Grants. The total amount dispersed in this cycle for the four grants was $1246.
For information on the grant program click here.
The grant program offers funds to help Leagues carry out events and projects in the areas of citizen education and voter service. Generous contributions to the Lotte E. Scharfman Education Fund have made this successful grant program possible. Please consider donating to the fund. Donations can be made through the website, lwvma.org, and a big thank you to those of you who have donated in the past, making this grant program possible.
LWV Arlington Candidates’ Night and Voters’ Guide
Candidates’ Night, held in Arlington Town Hall, covers local positions such as Selectmen, School Committee, Housing Authority, Town Clerk, etc. LWV Arlington (LWVA) prepares the Voters’ Guide for Candidates’ Night, a printed pamphlet that contains a picture, brief biography and response to questions posed by LWVA for each candidate. LWVA also mails a postcard to all Town Meeting candidates inviting them to Candidates’ Night.
LWV Plymouth Area Civics Bee
The Plymouth Area League is planning a Civics Bee in March 2015. As one of the League’s missions is to promote community involvement and understanding of local, state and national government, this event will enliven our communities’ interests in these areas.
The Plymouth Area League plans to invite ten local schools with students from Plymouth, Kingston, Carver, Marshfield, Duxbury and Pembroke. The League hopes to make this an annual event and move it around among the communities included in the Plymouth Area League.
LWV Sudbury Historic Scavenger Hunt
As part of Sudbury’s 375th Anniversary celebration, the LWV Historic Scavenger Hunt encouraged families to visit numerous historic locations to gather stamps on a game board and discover the answer to site related questions. The Scavenger Hunt promoted civic pride through knowledge of Sudbury’s rich history. The hunt was a cooperative endeavor in which the Sudbury Historical Society, the Wayside Inn Foundation, the Goodnow Library, and Town government participated. The Nixon Elementary School plans to use the Scavenger Hunt as a unit in their social studies curriculum in the spring.
LWV Westford Town Meeting Signs
To encourage greater participation at Westford’s Annual and Special Town Meetings, the Westford League will print a set of coroplast signs reminding voters of upcoming Town Meetings. We currently post “Vote!” signs prior to elections, and this would be a similar program. The signs would be posted 3-4 days prior to a town meeting and include the day, time, and location of the meeting. Signs will be designed so they can be used year after year. LWV Westford plans to print 30 signs and have them posted throughout town.
LWV Westwood-Walpole Representative Town Meeting Handbook
LWV Westwood-Walpole will develop and produce a handbook for use by Walpole Representative Town Meeting Members (150) and Town Boards actively involved in Town Meetings (25 copies) on the functioning and rules of Town Meetings (and Robert’s Rules of Order) to help members function more effectively.