Lorraine Parish and Michelle Ortlip are working hard to raise money and spread the word on a resistance movement they call the “Grayroots Movement.”
For the past three weeks, Parish and Ortlip have been standing outside Cronig’s Market in Vineyard Haven trying to to tap into this older demographic, specifically those who are retired, to motivate them to become politically active.
“The older generation is the perfect demographic to be doing this … they are retired and have the time to give, unlike the younger generations,” Parish said.
The Grayroots Movement aims to not only encourage people of all ages to become involved in politics and vote, but also focuses on involving people in the campaign process.
With the midterm elections coming up this November, Parish plans on renting an RV for the month of October through the midterm elections, traveling up and down the East Coast campaigning and giving rides to older volunteers who cannot drive.
In the meantime, Parish and Ortlip are focusing on raising money for the RV through the sale of various Grayroots Movement merchandise. The merchandise can be found on a table set up outside Cronig’s Market three to four times a week, leading up to October.
Hope it doesn’t come as a surprise, but the older generation has higher voting percentage record than the younger ones.
This movement is about older citizens getting involved with the campaign process; canvassing, phone banking, post carding, all of which is time consuming. This is about volunteering, not just voting.
Why would anyone ASSUME that my 67-year-old wife and a 68-year-old Vietnam Era Veteran supported “the resistance”?
I love this. Vive la resistance!