It's easy to ask "what if" but that's not going to accomplish much.
The reason the Ice Palace was able to raise money and volunteers is because the organizers of the Winter Carnival were able to develop an appeal that resonated with their audience enough to garner those dollars and workers. That's what advocates for any issue need to do. And as someone who has spent a lot of time trying to organize volunteers for various kinds of events and projects, I've generally found that guilt is not a good motivator. >From what I've seen people tend to respond better to positive appeals than to guilt trips. They want to feel like they're a part of something worthwhile and meaningful, not that they've had their arms twisted. Granted, that's easier for some campaigns than others. It's much easier to create warm fuzzies for the Winter Carnival than for an issue like homelessness. But here's an approach that might be worth trying. Instead of asking "what if" how about going around to some of the folks who do volunteer for the homeless or give money to the cause and ask them why do they do it? What's their motivation? That might give you a basis for creating an appeal that will connect better with your audience and build the support you seek. Mark Snyder Windom Park On 1/23/04 7:16 AM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I believe this is a Minneapolis issue as, when I worked at Dorothy Day > Center, homeless persons were forced by their situation to shuttle between > Mpls > and St. Paul in search of shelter. > Margaret Hastings-Mpls > See below: > A Palace for the Homeless? > > The 2004 StPaul Winter Carnival Ice Palace is being built in downtown St. > Paul near the Dorothy Day Center, a provider of meals, food shelf, medical > care, and other services for Twin Cities area homeless people. 700 union > workers have volunteered more than 55,000 hours to build the 2004 Ice > Palace, 3,000 volunteers will staff the exhibit and its events, and many > millions of private and public dollars will be spent on its design, > construction, and demolition. > > What if these kinds of financial donations could be raised to fight > homelessness? What if people were encouraged to volunteer thousands of > hours to help those in need? What if every Ice Palace visitor would donate > $5 to the Dorothy Day Center in addition to his/her $5 Ice Palace > admission fee? > > Join Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace in raising homelessness awareness! > > Saturday, January 24 > 11am-1pm > Between Dorothy Day Center and Ice Palace > West 7th Street and Old 6th Street, St. Paul > > Detailed map and parking/shuttle information available at: > http://www.winter-carnival.com/2004PDFs/FinalShuttleMap.pdf REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
