Nurturing Community – League of Women Voters
JOIN THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
The League of Women Voters of St Croix Valley is our local chapter of the LWV-Wisconsin, and we cover Burnett, Polk, and St Croix counties. We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with national recognition of empowering voters for over 104 years. We do not support or oppose any candidates for office or political parties. We want everyone to vote so our elected leaders represent our entire community. We are a voice for all, working to connect people directly with government. 
Although we are part of a century old organization, we work hard to keep our energy bright and our outlook up to date while continuing to reflect the values that make democracy strong. In less than ten years (October 23, 2015), our League has grown from a handful of dedicated women gathered around a kitchen table to over 70 members, and still growing! But don’t let the name fool you – we welcome all genders who are interested in empowering voters and defending democracy.
As a grassroots organization, we are fully dependent on our members. Everyone is a volunteer and participation depends on each individual member’s interest and energy level. Some simply pay membership dues to show their support for what we do; others dedicate a tremendous amount of time and energy to further our target goals for each year. Our strategy is to encourage our members to engage in whatever level of commitment that they find comfortable – from mailing postcards to taking a lead on a focus project and anything in between. We had one member who made a story quilt that illustrated the history of the League, and we proudly display this beautiful artwork whenever we can!
We always try to meet both our members and the public wherever they are; for example, we’ve held values-focused coffee conversations with our members in their favorite local coffee shop to learn more about local interests and concerns. Our members are voices for their communities and the face of the League locally. We’ve looked for opportunities to educate ourselves by holding book study groups that expand our understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. We’ve pledged to use that lens to examine the work we do.
Our most recent outreach project is working to establish supportive relationships with high schools in the three-county area. Our goal is to encourage voter registration at 18 in order to foster lifetime citizenship. We work with the schools and offer whatever support that seems the best for each individual school district. Some are comfortable with passive outreach such as sharing voter information on bookmarks with the school logo, while others are more comfortable with active support such as holding voter registration events during lunch hour. Our goal is to ask what we can do to help, rather than dictate what they need.
LWV car Leader: We bring a little fun along with informing the public!
Candidate forums, factual information about school board candidates, fighting disinformation around voting – we do what we can to inform the public through social media pages, Instagram and Facebook, and in local newspapers through public service announcements. We provide and work from facts. We educate. We advocate for change. Please join us! Check out our website <https://lwvstcroixvalley.org/> to learn more about LWV!
