(Food banks all over the state are feeling the pinch. If you can, please consider helping out online or off. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change.”
President-elect Barack Obama

Across the country, food banks are struggling to keep up with increased demand.  And with the holidays approaching, Democrats Work is doing something about it.  We need your help.

Today, we are launching the Yes We Cans Virtual Food Drive to help you donate to the food bank in your community.

In California we are helping the FoodLink for Tulare County, Food Share, Inc., Butte County Gleaners, Inc., Community Resources Council, Inc., FIND, Inc., Second Harvest Food Bank serving Santa Cruz & San Benito Cos., Food Bank for Monterey County, Community Food Bank, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, San Francisco Food Bank, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank serving Santa Clara & San Mateo Cos., Second Harvest Food Bank serving Riverside & San Bernardino Cos., Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, Alameda County Community Food Bank, San Diego Food Bank, San Joaquin Food Bank, and Senior Gleaners, Inc.!

Here’s how it works:

1.    Click here to go to our Yes We Cans Virtual Food Drive website. 

2.    Put food or cash contributions in your shopping cart.

3.    When you check out, you will be able to designate one of over 200 food banks that will receive your donation.

No matter where you live, you can give to a food bank in your area.  Put turkey on the table in Colorado or fill a child’s bowl with mac and cheese in Atlanta.  Together, by making donations through Yes We Cans, we are giving food banks the power to buy in bulk and provide more food than each of us could donate individually. 

This election was about bringing positive change to our country.  We don’t have to wait for others to act: we can make a difference in our communities year-round.  Thanks to you, we are putting our values into action when they are needed the most. 

Yes We Cans!

Also! — If you want to volunteer or deliver goods directly to your local food bank, you can find the location of one near you by visiting Feeding America.  And please send an email to [email protected] so we can keep track of what the Democrats Work community is contributing this holiday season. 

Today about 20 volunteers congregated at the White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro to give back to the community as part of Democrats Work and their national day of service.  I know community organizing and community service is teh suck, but that didn’t stop us, for some reason.  Democrats Work is a really great organization that brands service and volunteerism as a Democratic value, part of protecting the commons and creating a more livable world.

We arrived around 9am and immediately set to work clearing tumbleweed from a large area of the preserve, which formerly housed a naval missile silo.  For 2 1/2 hours we picked, pulled and chopped away at the weeds.  And joining us was Congressional candidate in CA-46 Debbie Cook (San Pedro is in her district).  Now, most candidates would spend about 10 minutes there, get their photo-op, shake a few hands and go home.  Cook drove up in her car and spent the entire volunteer session with us.  Pretty interesting.

I talked to Cook a bit about her race against Crazy Dana Rohrabacher.  Obviously, the big hurdle right now is financial.  While Cook has outraised Dana Rohrabacher since she entered the race, she still is at a disadvantage of 3:1 in cash on hand, and until she shows more fundraising strength, outside groups like the DCCC won’t jump in.  It’s kind of a vicious cycle – you can’t get money until you raise money.  Cook has released a TV ad that’s running in the district on local cable, and she has an ActBlue site up for supporters to adopt an ad.  She also raised close to $10,000 in Blue America’s recent contest, and while she didn’t win to receive the extra $10,000, it was still a success.  Cook has challenged Rohrabacher to debates but he’s been cool to the idea.  Local PBS station KOCE has committed to running the debate with or without Crazy Dana, so she may be debating an empty chair.  Cook discussed her plan for Iraq (if the oil companies require security to do their business in the country, they can pay for the private security contractors like Blackwater and let us leave), her energy ideas (the drillusion is backwards thinking that will never move us forward), and Sarah Palin (as the mayor of Huntington Beach, she said that she never received such federal largesse from earmarks that Palin did as mayor of Wasilla, despite having 20 times as many constituents), among other things, while helping clear the tumbleweed.  Cook is an impressive and dedicated citizen legislator who would truly be a breath of fresh air in Washington.

Overall, not a bad morning.  Pics on the flip:

It was a wide expanse.





This one’s me.



Debbie Cook and a volunteer.





The whole gang and the fruits of our labor

(I’ll be at the Debbie Cook event in San Pedro – should be a lot of fun and a great way to brand Democrats as the party of service. – promoted by David Dayen)

Across the country — and in both northern and southern California — hundreds of Democratic volunteers will put their values into action during our day of service on Saturday, September 6th — cleaning up neighborhoods and parks, supporting public schools, feeding the hungry.  Will you join us?

Just click on the links to see all of the details and sign up for an event in California this Saturday:

• San Francisco: Paint and garden at El Dorado Elementary School with Dean Corps and Democrats Work volunteers 
• Sunnyvale: Make classroom kits for teachers with Hope in Action and Obama Works volunteers 
• San Pedro: Land conservation project with Congressional candidate Debbie Cook

RSVP on our website or send email to [email protected] to get involved.   

If you RSVP by midnight tonight, we will make sure you get a free Democrats Work button or t-shirt to wear while you volunteer!   

This is a great time to be a Democrat in California.  Let’s show our friends and neighbors how Democrats get things done!

Well, this isn’t going to push Brian’s announcement off the front page, but we are pretty excited about what the California delegation is going to be doing in Denver next Wednesday, and hope he plans to be a part of it.

Democrats Work, Volunteers for America, and the DNCC are hosting “Delegate Service Day”. Over 1,000 of the great convention delegates including Michelle Obama and President Jimmy Carter will be fanning out across Denver to give back to the city that is inviting them in.

The California delegation will be assisting in four different projects; building a playground, restoring a park, and two projects directed at improving the lives of young people.

A full list of events follows.

The first round votes have been counted and we are down to the final five!  

Thousands and thousands of people cast first round votes in “Serve with the General” – the contest that will send General Wes Clark to one lucky Congressional District to participate in a community service project.  The race to get into the final round was extremely close!

Now it is time to pick from the final five districts: Washington’s 8th (Darcy Burner), California’s 4th (Charlie Brown), North Carolina’s 10th (Daniel Johnson), Colorado’s 4th (Betsy Markey), or Minnesota’s 3rd (Ashwin Madia).

Click here to cast your final round vote!

(Every district starts back at zero votes for the final round, so make sure you cast a final round vote.)

You get to decide where Democrats will roll up their sleeves at a community service event with General Clark this summer.  

So cast your vote today!  The final round of voting ends this Friday, June 6th, at 12:00 midnight eastern time.  

Thank you for your participation and for putting your Democratic values into action.  Spread the word!

Wes Clark will be joining a Democrats Work community service project this summer, and Democrats Work and WesPAC are running a contest to decide who will Serve with the General.

Thousands of people have already voted, but voting is so close that as of this morning California’s 4th district has 70 votes separating it from first place ~ and only 17 votes before it drops out of the top 5!

On Friday, the top 5 vote getting districts will move on to the final round. A handful of votes will decide if California’s 4th is pushed out or wins it all.

If you would like to meet Gen. Clark, or to help bring him to California to serve on a community project, cast your vote here.

A lot of great stuff has been posted on Calitics about the fires in Southern California.  I wanted to share the “official” Democratic response and invite folks to join in these efforts.  Thanks for all that you are doing. 

The California Democratic Party, the San Diego Democratic Party and Democrats Work are working together to help Californians devastated by the fires, and we ask you to join us. After the jump there are some ways you can make a difference today and in the hard weeks and months to come.

I want to point out one great fact regarding the third item listed below.  In just over an hour, nearly 100 people from across the state (and even Nevada) signed up with Democrats Work to engage in on-the-ground rebuilding efforts when the time is right. 

Give Food and Household Goods

The San Diego Democratic Party is collecting food and household goods for families in San Diego. They need regular-size items in demand, including canned meat, fruits, vegetables, and juices as well as cleaning supplies, diapers, detergent, and personal hygiene products.  You can also send a gift card for a local food chain (Ralphs, Vons or Albertsons).

Items can be delivered or mailed to:

San Diego Democrats
8304 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite 108
San Diego, California 92111

To make arrangements after-hours or in other locations around the county, email [email protected] or call (858) 277-3367.

Give through the “Virtual Food Bank” – Donate Other Goods or Money to the San Diego Food Bank

The San Diego Democratic Party has partnered with the San Diego Food Bank, which works with a network of more than 260 agencies throughout the San Diego area, to get food to those who need it. The Food Bank has a virtual market where you can shop for goods needed in the area or make a make a direct money contribution. Click here to make a contribution of food or money.

Roll Up Your Sleeves and Help to Rebuild

While there are many things we can do right now to help, there will also be a need in the coming weeks and months for assistance with the rebuilding efforts in the affected communities. Sign-up now to be a volunteer on the ground. We will keep you posted on opportunities to help the rebuilding efforts.  We must help these communities not only while the fires are burning, but, more importantly, with the rebuilding that will go on for many months and even years.