Volunteer Voices: Taryn Coe

I was inspired to get involved with Common Power during the run-up to the 2020 election. I am a career public school educator and I was very concerned about the state of democracy in our country, especially with all of the problems my generation was leaving for the next generation. I wanted to work with an organization that was smart, well-organized, and diverse to help preserve our democracy. I did phone-banking for CP that fall, and it was a positive experience. Then in February of this year I joined CP for an Educator Learning Experience, where I traveled with a group of 30 educators to the deep South to learn about the Civil Rights movement. I came away with a wealth of knowledge to take back to my students, and I also came away inspired to take a more active role as an anti-racist educator. During the Learning Experience, Charles Douglas came to talk to us about knocking on doors for CP. He explained that CP would sponsor educators to help out in these efforts. I really wanted to give back to this organization that had given me such an incredible experience so, even though the idea of knocking on strangers’ doors is way outside of my comfort zone, I decided to join CP for their canvassing trip for the Nevada primary.

I was motivated to specifically choose door-knocking to engage with voters because that is what Common Power (and Charles Douglass, specifically) asked the educators on our Learning Tour to do.

It was clear to me that CP believes this is where we could be most effective in our efforts. I was also motivated by a desire to challenge myself to step outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to push myself to help out in a way that made me nervous and uncomfortable. What interested me most about traveling with CP was becoming part of a group of diverse, motivated individuals who were coming together to work toward a common goal. Because of my past experiences with CP, I knew that participating in this experience would be immensely rewarding and I really wanted to give back to this organization that had given me so much to me via the Educator Learning Experience.

What scared me about traveling with CP was all of the uncertainty and the unknowns. I was concerned I wouldn’t understand how to use the technology for canvassing, I was concerned that I wouldn’t know enough about the candidates we were canvassing for to provide helpful information at people’s doors, and I was concerned about negative interactions with the people whose doors we were knocking on. I was also concerned about canvassing in 100+ degrees heat. I overcame all of this by reminding myself that I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone and by embracing CP’s philosophy of being okay with a large percentage of uncertainty.

My experience knocking on doors turned out to be really positive. It was less scary than I thought, especially after I realized that most people don’t answer their doors. It was also really helpful meeting with the candidates beforehand because I felt much better prepared to talk about why these extraordinary individuals should be elected. And the technology (minivan app) turned out to be easier to use than I thought it would be. My most memorable conversation came on my final door of the first day. An elderly woman answered the door in a wheelchair and spoke with me through the screen. She told me she had already voted and that she was a strong Democrat and supported the candidates I was canvassing for. She thanked me for coming to her door. Then her husband came to the door and told me he also wanted to support the candidates but hadn’t voted yet and wasn’t sure where to take his ballot. I was able to look up his nearest ballot drop location and let him know where to go. They were both so kind and appreciative. It was a great way to end my first day! ‘

I built connections with fellow volunteers by connecting with them during morning breakfasts, with my team during the canvassing, and with the debriefs we did at the end of the day. Because everyone there was motivated to help and wanted to be part of the group, it was easy to get to know and support each other. The training that Devon and Mary led where we connected in small groups also helped me to bond with other CP volunteers. For other volunteers considering fieldwork travel, I would encourage you to set aside your concerns and give it a go. Common Power is an AWESOME organization and they will make sure you are set up for success. It will be a powerful experience for you to realize that you CAN make a difference in our democracy. It will be inspiring to meet and work with other people who are fighting to save our country.

If you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone, you won’t regret it.

I wish I had known a little more about Minivan (the tech we use to do turfs) and the candidates before traveling. This would have helped me to feel more prepared for the experience. But Minivan turned out to be easy to use and meeting the candidates on the ground gave me a solid understanding of who they were and why they were running.