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Their App Sends Free Mail to Incarcerated People. Now They're Helping Prisoners Register to Vote

Emily Nonko

October 20, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Ameelio is a technology startup launched by Yale students to facilitate free communication between people who are incarcerated and loved ones. In their first six months, the group went from sending 300 to over 4,000 letters a week to facilities in the United States. Their initial goal was to provide a not-for-profit alternative to the oftentimes predatory prison telecommunications industry. Recently they began a voter registration initiative where they send registration instructions, a blank voter registration application, and ballot request form to people who are incarcerated and eligible to vote.

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Musical Empowerment bridges technological divide to teach local students

Ben Greer

October 20, 2020 |

The Daily Tar Heel |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Musical Empowerment provides mentors for children who do not have access to music education in their community. About 160 student-teachers mentor children in instruments like guitar, piano, violin, brass, saxophone, and even voice. The group uses grants and donations to help with technological and internet disparities, as well as provide instruments if needed. Learning music helps young people in many areas of their lives, including self-confidence and self-discipline. Mentors are paired with a mentee based on instrument interest and compatibility, and also experience personal growth from the relationship.

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Billions in COVID Relief Has Gone to Farmers. Just Not Black or Family-Owned Farms in Appalachia.

Beth Ward

October 19, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

Several organizations — including the Kentucky Black Farmer Fund, Community Farm Alliance, and Black Soil: Our Better Nature — are working together to provide disaster relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic to Black farmers. They’ve been able to award 43 small farms with a one-time payment of up to $750, which was used to purchase equipment or personal protective equipment. That amount can only help them so much, but it’s a step in helping Black farmers receive federal aid, which they historically have been left out of.

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Trying to prevent evictions one door knock at a time

Conor Morris

October 19, 2020 |

The Land |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Renters facing eviction in Cleveland, Ohio are receiving home visits from members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They hand out pamphlets informing the residents of their options, their rights, and the repercussions of having an eviction notice on their file. Some tenants weren't even informed of the eviction until DSA members showed up at their doorstep. DSA also connected people with resources that could help keep them in their homes such as rental-assistance programs and Cleveland's Right to Counsel program offering free legal aid.

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San Juan County expands in-person voting on the Navajo Nation during the pandemic

Zak Podmore

October 18, 2020 |

The Salt Lake Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Navajo Nation, United States, Utah

A legal settlement in Utah expanded access to voting on Navajo Nations and influenced similar settlements in Arizona. All registered voters receive a mail-in ballot, but counties also offer early voting and election-day polling locations, where Navajo translators are available. Counties run bilingual radio, print, and social media ads to inform residents about their voting options. The hybrid in-person and mail-in system boosted turnout of active voters in San Juan County’s 2018 election by 10 percentage points from 2014, when the lawsuit was filed because the county closed in-person polling places.

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In Rural Virginia, Remote Schoolwork Is Powered by the Sun

Meg McIntyre

October 15, 2020 |

The Daily Yonder |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Virginia

Louisa County schools in Virginia are delivering internet to students living in rural areas through solar-powered hot spots, built by the school's own students. The hotspot is powered by solar panels and receives internet connectivity through cellular or satellite means. Over 22 units have been placed in accessible places like church parking lots and the school district is sharing its blueprints and instructions with other schools across the state.

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Doctor Offices In Wisconsin Step In To Help Register Voters

Maayan Silver

October 14, 2020 |

NPR |

Podcast |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

VotERdoctors partners with doctors, clinics, community centers, and hospitals to register voters. Staff can wear badges with a QR code that patients can scan with their cellphone, which takes them to a webpage that offers information about how to register to vote, including a live help line if the patient gets stuck. Some facilities, such as Progressive Community Health Centers in Milwaukee, send monthly text messages to their patients to remind them to register. VotER is being used by more than 300 U.S. hospitals and about 40,000 patients have gotten help registering or requesting ballots.

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In San Diego, Black Muslims are working to expand voting access in jails

Aysha Khan

October 14, 2020 |

The GroundTruth Project |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Pillars of the Community hires people incarcerated in local California jails to register new incarcerated voters and conduct civic engagement education behind bars. Pillars, a faith-based criminal justice advocacy group led by Black Muslims, registers hundreds every year, many of whom did not know they were eligible to vote and did not know how to register on their own. Those voting in 2020 will be able to vote on state referenda concerning expanding voting rights for people with felony convictions and on ending cash bail.

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Equality of Opportunity

Sarah Aronson

October 13, 2020 |

Montana Free Press |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Crow Indian Reservation, United States, Montana

Legal challenges have protected Native voting rights since the 1980s, when districts diluting native votes were ruled unconstitutional and redrawn. In 2012, three tribes sued to increase access to registration and polling sites. The county settled, agreeing to open offices on two reservations two days a week. In 2018, tribal leaders challenged a law limiting the number of ballots someone could collect on behalf of others. A judge agreed that, by disproportionately suppressing Native votes, it was unconstitutional. The legal challenges increased voter turnout and helped elect more Native representatives.

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Only 1 of 3 Black boys is ready for kindergarten. How one organization is trying to improve that

Arezow Doost

October 12, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

The African American Youth Harvest Foundation in Austin, Texas, is aiming to close the gap for young Black boys who are not ready for kindergarten. The nonprofit works closely with families, and helps provide for immediate needs, like food, childcare, and utility bills. In the future, it hopes to employ social workers to address a wider swath of critical concerns and address learning issues among both Black and Hispanic boys, from birth to age 5.

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