Volunteer Voices: Julie & Kurt Billett

Julie and Kurt traveled with Team North Carolina on their primary trip in March 2024

As with all service trips, we receive more than we give. It was true of the recent Common Power fieldwork trip to Raleigh, North Carolina. My introduction to Common Power came by way of David Domke. I had attended some of David’s lectures years before and through newsletters had learned of his organization to promote democracy, Common Purpose (now Common Power). An opportunity had come up for a fundraising event and my husband and I decided to attend. We met exuberant young people who were volunteers and staff. We also had the privilege of listening to an interesting panel, which included a woman who had been present at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. Some attendees we spoke with had been on fieldwork trips and thus the seed was planted. 

The time was right to step out, and my husband Kurt and I chose Raleigh, NC. NC Black Alliance (Advance Carolina) was the partner organization and 3 eager CP team leaders came prepared to lead us. Several CP staff members were also working alongside. NC had instituted new voter restriction laws and our task was to remind and encourage voting in the primary which now required the appropriate forms of ID. 

We learned that we needed to embrace the mantra, 100% comfortable with 70% certainty. We would lean on the partner to direct us. Schedules could change and we would be flexible. As Super Tuesday primary loomed, our task was to encourage people to vote. With multiple cars of canvassing teams over 4 days we were able to reach 2300 households. In addition to canvassing we benefited from other experiences. The Poor People’s Campaign rally downtown Raleigh kicked us off and a presentation from the president of Advance Carolina gave us a solid understanding of the state’s political systems. One of the most rewarding outcomes was the relationships formed with other team members. We spanned the years from Gen Z to boomers and some in between. We had fun and meaningful conversations, ate meals together and shared our lives and dreams. Purpose, adventure and impact begin with a small step, we were thankful we said yes.