I just sent the email below to the “Friends of Obama Works” list. If you’re not on it - or if you are! - I’d love to hear your responses and discussion here as well:

There’s a question that’s been nagging at me.

What’s the opposite of right-wing conservatives loudly disrupting town hall meetings?

How about this: a National Day of Service for Healthcare, when Democrats, Republicans and Independents rally to support sensible healthcare reform - not by shouting and yelling, but by doing something constructive for their communities? Wouldn’t that send a powerful message about what we stand for - and how we stand for it?

You haven’t heard from us at Obama Works for a while. But while the healthcare debates have raged these past few weeks, we’ve become increasingly frustrated to watch them devolve into a shouting match. I suspect many of you feel the same way. So what I’m wondering is this:

If we worked like crazy for one month to reactivate our volunteers, recruit new ones, and plan a nationwide Day of Service for Healthcare, would you join us?

I’m not asking for your opinion just to get your attention. Obama Works was never a hierarchical, top-down organization. If we’re going to try this, we need to know that you’re on board. Otherwise, we just can’t do it.

Before you answer - and we do need your answer, whether it’s yes or no - let me tell you a bit more about what we’re thinking. We’d announce the Day of Service as soon as possible and try to get the word out online and in our communities. We’d frame it as an antidote to the nastiness of the healthcare reform debate, and a chance to make our commitment to fair healthcare reform real. We’d encourage service events related to healthcare: raising funds for a local free clinic, volunteering at a hospital. But as always, we’d give you the choice of what you want to do - and, as best we can, give you the tools to help you do it. We’d also do a full-court-press on the media to try and get the message out.

Are you in? Please, reply to this message with your answer - and your ideas.

Paul Selker & David Manners-Weber
Obama Works

Thought I’d put up a few photos of some of the great work the Oklahoma City Women for Obama are doing for the OKC regional food bank. Courtesy of our friends Gail and Roxanne:

See more photos of their work here!

Marlene Caroselli, of Rochester, NY writes in to say that Obama Works inspired a great event:

Ten artists will each donate a small painting. The artists will come, with two friends each, to a gathering at my home. These thirty people will each purchase one $10-painting. The $300 raised will be used for a ScholARTship–an award that will be made to a local, city school (not rich, suburban school) student to use in pursuit of his or her career. We hope this will be just the first of many ScholARTship fundraisers.

As do we — here’s to creative solutions in action!

Hey folks! The NYC Chapter of Obama Works held its first Sweep this weekend. Here’s the report from Maywa, who Justin and I had the good fortune of meeting when we were up campaigning for Barack in New Hamphire:

Today Obama Works officially launched its first NYC chapter with an Earth Day-inspired clean -up in Harlem. Six of us gathered on 125th Street armed with trash bags, gloves, and plenty of elbow grease. In two-and-a-half hours we managed to fill about 25 bags worth of trash (and one bag with recyclabes!). Along the way we aroused plenty of curiosity from passersby: “So, you guys are out here just picking up the garbage because you like Obama?” “Are you giving out T-shirts?”"That’s cool — no one ever sweeps this street” And then the best kind “When will you be back? ‘Cause I want to help!” We were so encouraged by the community support that we’d like to make Harlem Sweeps a regular event in the run-up to November.

If you’re in the NYC area, join the NYC Obama Works group at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ObamaWorksNYC