Help Della create positive change
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Hi everyone!
My name is Della Kurzer-Zlotnick, and I'm 18. My biggest passion is social justice and community organizing. My social justice journey started with the youth group at my synagogue, Shir Tikvah. I had the social action position on the board when I was 15, and I didn't really know what that meant-- I just knew I cared about social change and progress. Through my synagogue, I spent time working with other high schoolers to raise awareness about homelessness and economic injustice.
When the anti-marriage amendment was put on the ballot in Minnesota in 2011, my focus shifted towards preventing the bill, which would have banned same-sex marriage, from passing. I worked with Minnesotans United, Jewish Community Action, OutFront Minnesota, and other organizations, mostly phone banking and door knocking. I knew that I was making some kind of a difference, but I felt really powerless because I wasn't eligible to vote on the 2012 election. I didn't feel like my voice and the voices of others under 18 were being heard.
A couple of months before the election, I made a series of videos interviewing high schoolers about why they cared about marriage equality and why it was important to them for adults to vote against the amendment, even though they couldn't. The reaction was incredible. I posted the videos on Facebook and within a few days, people who I didn't know-- teens and adults-- had shared the videos, commented on them, and spoken about how they were positively impacted by seeing our activism.
This past year, I worked on the Safe Schools campaign to pass a strong anti-bullying law in Minnesota. I worked with a small group of high schoolers and OutFront MN to organiz a youth summit at the state capitol. The goal was to raise awareness about issues which affect school climate, including bullying, racism, sexism, and homophobia. We brought over 450 high schoolers together to have conversations about improving school climate and to rally at the capitol in support of the Safe Schools bill. I was so proud to be a part of a group which put on such a wonderful and powerful day. This experience, as well as the previous one, taught me how to use parts of my identity which seemed like disadvantages, like my age, to my advantage.
National People's Action is an organization made up of grassroots organizations from across the nation, including TakeAction MN. I have the opportunity to go to their weeklong training in July. The training will teach me skills to become a better leader and community organizer. For those who know me well, you know that going to this training-- as intensive as it is-- is exactly how I want to be spending my time, and I am so looking forward to the training and what it teaches me.
The training is $600, and I need your help to get there. Sponsoring me with any amount of money will not only allow me to have an incredible week, but is an investment in both my future and the future of our community. All donations are greatly, greatly appreciated! Please invest in me to allow me to become a better organizer and create positive change in my community and our world.
My name is Della Kurzer-Zlotnick, and I'm 18. My biggest passion is social justice and community organizing. My social justice journey started with the youth group at my synagogue, Shir Tikvah. I had the social action position on the board when I was 15, and I didn't really know what that meant-- I just knew I cared about social change and progress. Through my synagogue, I spent time working with other high schoolers to raise awareness about homelessness and economic injustice.
When the anti-marriage amendment was put on the ballot in Minnesota in 2011, my focus shifted towards preventing the bill, which would have banned same-sex marriage, from passing. I worked with Minnesotans United, Jewish Community Action, OutFront Minnesota, and other organizations, mostly phone banking and door knocking. I knew that I was making some kind of a difference, but I felt really powerless because I wasn't eligible to vote on the 2012 election. I didn't feel like my voice and the voices of others under 18 were being heard.
A couple of months before the election, I made a series of videos interviewing high schoolers about why they cared about marriage equality and why it was important to them for adults to vote against the amendment, even though they couldn't. The reaction was incredible. I posted the videos on Facebook and within a few days, people who I didn't know-- teens and adults-- had shared the videos, commented on them, and spoken about how they were positively impacted by seeing our activism.
This past year, I worked on the Safe Schools campaign to pass a strong anti-bullying law in Minnesota. I worked with a small group of high schoolers and OutFront MN to organiz a youth summit at the state capitol. The goal was to raise awareness about issues which affect school climate, including bullying, racism, sexism, and homophobia. We brought over 450 high schoolers together to have conversations about improving school climate and to rally at the capitol in support of the Safe Schools bill. I was so proud to be a part of a group which put on such a wonderful and powerful day. This experience, as well as the previous one, taught me how to use parts of my identity which seemed like disadvantages, like my age, to my advantage.
National People's Action is an organization made up of grassroots organizations from across the nation, including TakeAction MN. I have the opportunity to go to their weeklong training in July. The training will teach me skills to become a better leader and community organizer. For those who know me well, you know that going to this training-- as intensive as it is-- is exactly how I want to be spending my time, and I am so looking forward to the training and what it teaches me.
The training is $600, and I need your help to get there. Sponsoring me with any amount of money will not only allow me to have an incredible week, but is an investment in both my future and the future of our community. All donations are greatly, greatly appreciated! Please invest in me to allow me to become a better organizer and create positive change in my community and our world.
Organizer
Della Kurzer-Zlotnick
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
