Stand Up North Dakota

March 14th: The North Dakota Women's Network Proudly Presents:

2011-03-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

WE Rise: Women Empowered

A Women’s Lobby Day

On March 14th, 2011, Men and Women from across the state are invited to participate in this exciting and FREE day to learn, lobby and link with the members of the North Dakota Legislature.

We want our voices to be heard on important women's issue such as:

Freedom from Violence

Economic Security

Reproductive Health

Education

The day will begin at 9:00 am on 3/14/2011 at the Capitol in Bismarck. Transportation for FREE from Fargo, Grand Forks or Minot! Each participant will be given a WE Rise: Women Empowered participant pack which includes talking points on the 4 issues and tips on how to speak with your legislator. We will show the North Dakota Legislature that we care about the laws they are passing, which affect our lives, our families, and our communities! This event will demystify the legislative process and give you the tools to improve the lives of those you care about most!

Please join us in Bismarck!

A free light lunch will be provided for those who are interested in joining us.

REGISTER HERE!

Are you interested in learning the process of grassroots organizing? Are you interested in meeting North Dakotans working toward change? Do you want to network and learn more about the political process?

Additionally, The North Dakota Women's Network is sponsoring an advocacy training and progressive women networking event on Sunday, March 13th. Details to come! Please email Tessa Sicble tsicble@ndcaws.org or Amy Jacobson ajacobson@ppmns.org if you're interested in attending or for more information.

REGISTER HERE!

March 14th: Lobby Day Agenda

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Early am Bus and vans load from Fargo and Grand Forks

8:30am Registration begins

9:00 am Welcome

9:15 am Team leaders take participants to committee hearings and capital tours

12:00pm Lunch with Leaders in the Great Hall

12:30pm Women Legislators address the group

1:00 pm Session begins Participants observe session

2:00 pm Convene in BH Room to discuss the day. Certificates awarded

3:00 pm Close of event and performance by the Group Who Opened the Box

3:30 pm Transportation departs

March 13th: Training Agenda

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Advocacy and Personal Lobbying
Bismarck, N.D.
March, 13 2011

12:30- 1:00 p.m. Registration and Welcome

1:00- 1:30 p.m. Leadership and building power as women
• The five kinds of Power

1:30- 2:30 p.m. Building Relationships, Reputation, and Influencing Decision Makers

• Hear from a Panel of female lobbyist

2:30- 2:45 p.m. Break

2:45- 3:30 p.m. Committees and the power of personal testimony
• Committee structure short overview and what to expect
• Elements of powerful testimony

3:30- 4:45 p.m. Creating a Message to WIN on Your Issue!

• Break out work groups for testimony preparation

4:45 p.m. Wrap up and Evaluations and Review Lobby day

2009 Retrospective on We Rise

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North Dakota's first Women's Lobby Day was a success! Despite a nasty storm, nearly 100 women from all over the state traveled to Bismarck to make their voices heard in the North Dakota Legislature.

Check out these fantastic posts to get a recap of the days events and some of the memorable moments from the day.

Amy's Recap

Kristin's Recap

Karen's Recap

Thanks to everyone for making WE RISE a huge success! We'll see you next year!!

Passing Laws in the North Dakota Legislature

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Curious? Check out this video!

2008-12-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Last year our neighbor to the south held an extremely successful women's lobby day. If you're curious about what a lobby day is like, check out their video below!

About WE Rise

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The North Dakota Women’s Network (NDWN) has the amazing opportunity to provide an incredible hand-on learning experience for women, right in our state’s capital. For one day, March 14th 2011, our members as well as women from across the state will be in the epicenter of our state’s legislative activity. WE Rise: Women Empowered will offer behind the scenes insight, meetings with our local lawmakers, and training on how to lobby. Women will have the experience of a lifetime.

The very core of the work we do at the NDWN is to empower women. Demystifying the legislative process is the first step to women’s political participation. WE Rise: Women Empowered is that step where women will learn, participate, carry their enthusiasm home to the other women in their lives and have the opportunity to say “represent me”. The four focus areas of freedom from violence, reproductive health, women’s economic security, and education allow and encourage women to advocate for strong public policy in the justice areas they care about most.

There is much work to do to improve the lives of women across the state. The last election cycle resulted in a drop in the number of women in the legislative body to a disappointing 14.9%. The time has come for the women of North Dakota to unite and have our voices heard. WE Rise: Women Empowered is this opportunity and will be a truly historic day for our state!

Make Health Care Fair!

2008-11-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for the "Make Health Care Fair" Petition, you can find it here.

More about the Sheila Wellstone Institute

2008-01-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

Camp Sheila begins 2009!

The Legacy of Sheila Wellstone
Sheila Wellstone was a national advocate, organizer, and champion in the effort to end domestic and sexual violence in the U.S. She was a fierce advocate for assault victims and their families, and played an instrumental role in the passage of major national legislation, including the Violence Against Women Act and federal funding for transitional housing and supervised visitation centers.

The Mission of the Sheila Wellstone Institute is to build broad community-based power, visibility, and leadership to ensure that ending violence against women and children is a national priority, and to guarantee that the voices of victims of violence are heard and reflected in public policy.

The cornerstone of Sheila Wellstone Institute’s work is Camp Sheila Wellstone (CSW), a training program for domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors, service providers, and anti-violence movement leaders that teaches skills in leadership, strategic planning, message development, coalition-building, talking with legislators, voter engagement, and other civic engagement skills that can be put to use immediately on participants’ issues of concern. CSW is an engaging program that combines solid strategies for success with inspiration, motivation, and a sense of hope and possibility.

Don’t miss out! Register today:

“Getting Our Voices Heard: Building Leadership & Power”

When: February 10, 2009

Where: Best Western Doublewood Inn
1400 E. Interchange Avenue
Bismarck, North Dakota 58501
(701) 258-7000
www.bestwesternnorthdakota.com

Lobby Day Recap!

2007-02-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

by Amy

North Dakota Public Affairs Manager

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

Last week I had the honor of participating in North Dakota’s first ever Women’s Lobby Day at the Capital in Bismarck titled WE Rise: Women Empowered. The focus of the entire day was about women’s political participation. The North Dakota legislative body is only 15.6% women giving us ranking of 43rd nationally. Nearly 100 women traveled from every corner of the state- braving treacherous winter conditions- to learn about the legislative process, to tour the Capital, and to meet with legislators. The day was a remarkable success and one we hope to grow every Legislative session.

Highlight #1:

On the morning of Women’s Lobby Day the Senate Human Services Committee heard a bill which would protect mothers who breast-fed (SB 2344). Several women who were participating in the Women’s Lobby Day sat in on the hearing and one even testified about her breast-feeding experiences.

Highlight #2

One of the most inspiring aspects of the day was the warm welcome participants received from the female legislators. Seven of the 22 women who serve in the North Dakota legislature were able to break away from committee hearings for a few minutes to address our group. They talked about the need for more women in elected office as well as the unique challenges (both professionally and personally) women face as legislators. And every single women legislator made a point to encourage the participants to think about running for office themselves.

Highlight #3

Throughout the day words of praise about the event from both participants and from legislators continued to flow. The following is a testimonial we received from a women who attended the Women’s Lobby Day.

I attended the WE Rise event in Bismarck. As I sat listening to the welcome a flow of emotion overwhelmed me and I started to cry. I was crying because I could not believe a “woman like me” was actually there, at our state capitol along with some of the most respected women in our state.

You see, I am a survivor of domestic violence and if someone would have told me five years ago I would be here among these women I would have laughed. I have been out now for five years, but I was in it for 20. In those 20 years I was terrified of my abuser. Living in fear of your partner is a degrading feeling. I would hide in my closet when I heard the loud roar of his pickup coming in the driveway after a night of drinking. I would hide in that closet and pray the 23rd psalm over and over for strength to handle what was to happen when he walked through that door. Then I would sit outside the door of the bedroom listening to his snoring because when he was snoring I was able to breath. I would again pray the 23rd psalm to comfort me after the abuse.

I survived because of my faith in God and the will to give my children a better life. Slowly I got out and stayed out, but it is a long journey to where I am at today. It is a long journey to stability and it is a long journey to happiness. Just the day to day things that others may take for granted make me realize how happy I am now. Such as: sleeping in on Saturdays, buying something-anything, no matter how small- for myself, attending college, or simply reading a book are a few things I do now that I would never have done while with my abuser.

What WE Rise Lobby Day meant to me was “I truly am FREE! FREE to chose, FREE to live my life without abuse. FREE to be empowered and FREE to empower others.

When I graduate with my social work degree this May I will spend the rest of my life helping other survivors find their true beauty and worth. I will spend the rest of my life helping women to feel empowered just like I was at WE Rise Lobby Day. While I will never forget where I came from and my “closet of fear” I will also never forget where I am going.

Thank you so much for this opportunity and putting this event on. The magnitude of it was not lost on me. The women of the North Dakota Network have empowered me to realize we can make changes in our lives and in our laws.

More Stories from Lobby Day

2007-02-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

by Kristin

Web Correspondent

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

February 11th was the first Women’s Lobby Day in North Dakota history. It was an amazing experience not only as a participant, but also as an intern. The day included an introductory meeting which went over what this event means for the women of ND, a few bills that affect women everywhere, learning what a bill is, and even getting to meet seven of the female legislators. It was so inspirational to meet these women, I’m even thinking about running for office sometime in the future! Seeing the events in action made me realize how important it is to keep up the fight for women’s rights. The morning ended with a fantastic rendition of “Sisters doing it for Themselves,” by the Eurythmics and sung by Kris Kitko. This really got everyone pumped up!

Once the morning meeting was finished we had a quick lunch, where we met new people and wrote notes to the legislators, some even came out to eat and chat with us. Even though some of them did not give us the time we had hoped for, the legislators that did made the day that much more special. It was apparent that these men and women are no different than any of us. They are ordinary people, with a little more power over our rights – which can be changed once more pro-choice women get into office.

The day ended with everyone splitting up, and going into either the House of Representatives or the Senate sessions. This was an interesting part of the day. Just seeing how these sessions play out gives a lot of perspective on the process. It would have been better if they were actually voting on the issues that we went there for, but, unfortunately, that was out of our control!

BEST PART: I have to say the bus ride was my favorite part of the day! I have always loved taking busses, but this time it was so much more special. This is where I was able to meet new people and see their energy. The bus took off at 6 am, and yet it seemed that most people were wide awake, getting ready to make a difference at the capital. The positive feedback on the way to Bismarck and on the way home to Fargo was uplifting and empowering!

WORST PART: It was so disappointing for some of the women who were not able to meet their representative. It really annoyed me when one woman’s Senator wouldn’t give her the time of day. Senator Flakoll refused a request by a participant –from his own district- to meet with him to discuss why she was there. After this woman was told that he could not come and talk she just looked defeated. Nobody should feel that way about their representative.

On a positive note, it was so great to see so many people from such diversity show up for this event, especially since the weather was not kind to us. There were even a couple of kids there. The number one thing that I took from the day is that there will always be opposing women’s rights, especially when it comes to reproductive rights, so every woman needs to remember that the fight never ends. Just remember that it is completely worth it!