63 Magazine - Issue 1

My name is:
Anatole Jenkins
and this is how I:
TRAIN!
Training is important because:
It doesn’t get done without volunteers. You can train an organizer to be the best
organizer ever, but unless their training gets passed to their volunteers, it means
nothing. An organizer’s goals continue to rise and if you’re not replicating your work
in volunteer leaders, you will fail.
But training is also important because it leaves the community better than when you
started. Organizers need to create a new crop of leaders who will continue their
work.
Training others helps you see the real results of organizing on an everyday basis.
You’re developing volunteers and giving them opportunities they couldn’t get without
you.
I approach training by:
Meeting people where they are. Everyone you meet on a campaign starts at a
different level of engagement. Some may barely know who’s running; others may
know exactly how many caucus goers they need in their home precinct.
The fi rst step is to determine the level of engagement of the person you’re training.
If you’re training people who have never been involved before, don’t use insider
political lingo. We just held a mock caucus at our caucus convention and we had
attendees caucus for J-Lo or Selena, and not for political candidates from previous
elections they might not know.