Congratulations to the three Leagues to be awarded citizen education grants under the fourth funding cycle of the new program of the education fund. These three Leagues submitted grant applications, and were recommended for funding by the grant review committee. The deadline for the next funding cycle is October 3, 2013. The total amount dispersed in this cycle for the three grants was $671.
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.
The June grant recipients are:
LWV Andover/North Andover: Promoting Town Meeting ($250)
LWV Andover/North Andover plans to promote Town Meeting among Andover and North Andover residents by
1)Â Â Â Â Â Printing reusable yard signs promoting Town Meeting. The signs will be distributed to League members for display
2)Â Â Â Â Â Producing two pamphlets (one for each town) that includes
- History of Andover/North Andover Town Meetings
- Process and procedures
- Terminology related to Town Meeting
- Where to go for more information
Pamphlets will be available to distribute to new residents via realtors, library, town offices, autumn civic events, etc. for citizen education well in advance of spring Town Meeting.
This request will fund a portion of the total project cost.
LWV Waltham: Display for Waltham Visions ($250)
One of the tasks in the Waltham Visions project is to find out what the people of Waltham want their City to look like in the future. LWV Waltham has a table that they take to local events which provides League membership and Voter Registration information, but to increase visibility, they have built a display.
The display has three sections. The central section is a large aerial photo of Waltham. People are invited to mark their homes on the photo. The right-hand section has pictures of Waltham old and new, to show people how the city has evolved. The left-hand section is for people to place cards on which they have written what they like and what they would like to see improved about Waltham. LWV Waltham offers to send the cards to their city councilors.
The grants funds would be used to pay for materials to build the display, a banner to identify the League of Women Voters to go with the display, and a foam board mounted aerial photo of Waltham.
This request will fund a portion of the total project cost.
LWV Acton Area: Town Meeting How To ($171)
“Town Meeting How To” will be distributed at the upcoming special town meeting on June 3, 2013. It is a vertical half sheet card that tells town meeting participants the steps to speak, move the previous question, make an amendment, make a point of order, and the commonly used motions. League members will distribute the cards to town meeting participants after they have checked in but before entering the auditorium.
The goal is to familiarize more people with the mechanics of town meeting so they will be more likely to participate with confidence at the meeting. The grant would fund the printing of 1,000 cards. The card may be viewed here.
This request will fund the entire cost of the project.