Submitted by Yoshiko Hill
The San Francisco Bay Area has quite the reputation; one of flowering natural vistas, pronounced diversity, technology driven innovation and social activism, but advocating for hunger, poverty and social justice inequality is no easy task even within an activism incubator like the Bay Area. Bearing this in mind, how does one build relevance and elevate above the clutter of bustling lifestyles and boundless priorities to become a force for change in the local advocacy landscape of the Bay Area's 101 cities?
For
Oxfam America's California based grassroots arm, the Bay Area Oxfam Action
Corps (OAC), the answer lies in community building and a microscopic focus on
relationships to connect advocates, volunteers, local leaders and politicians
alike in an area with a population of 7.4 million.
As
an OAC Organizer, I worked to make community building center stage and created
relationships based on the shared vision of a world without hunger and poverty
by prioritizing one-on-one communication, managing diverse and engaging local
events and shaping a social atmosphere.
While
leading Oxfam America's local grassroots efforts, I helped foster an active
passion for social justice advocacy within members of the Bay Area Oxfam
community by establishing partnerships with leading nonprofits, opening
dialogue with local elected officials and of course encouraging fresh-faced
volunteers to step out of their comfort zones and flex their outreach muscles.
Of
my diverse functions as an Organizer, one of the most rewarding was my role as
a catalyst through which I was able to empower our more introverted volunteers
to lead and take ownership of local outreach efforts by directly engaging the
public and building confidence as a social activist.
Many
of our volunteers are new to advocacy and have never taken on such an active
outreach role in their professional or personal lives. For these folks, the OAC
offers a unique opportunity for self-discovery and genuine personal growth. One
such volunteer was a longtime Oxfam supporter, but new to active engagement
with the organization. He dived right in by volunteering with our rockstar team
at a local farmer’s market and was openly nervous about initiating one-on-one
conversations. After an hour with the team, he found his own communication
style and was engaging in thoughtful conversations around the importance of
local farmers, food justice and worker’s rights like a professional. Playing
off of the group’s fun, casual and welcoming dynamics, and after a bit of positive
encouragement, he discovered his inner activist.
Effecting
these tiny sparks helped create countless memories that I will not soon forget
and allowed me to master the dynamic relationship and community building skills
invaluable to any career path and essential to promoting social awareness
anyplace whether San Francisco or Indianapolis.
