While November seems ages away we are launching this year’s campaign TODAY. Why so early?? This year's November is a critical turning point for the future of our planet. In the United States, we are responsible for electing our President on November 3, 2020.
For our fourth No Straw November awareness campaign, Jr Ocean Guardians has chosen to highlight the importance of voting. We are not here to tell you who to vote for- that's up to you. We are here to ENCOURAGE you and or your family members to vote with the ocean and future of our planet in mind.
We are huge fans of this year's patch beneficiary and we are beyond excited to announce this year's No Straw November beneficiary is Bow Seat! Bow Seat provides an innovative space for teens to connect, create, and communicate for our ocean. Working at the intersection of ocean science and arts education, their award-winning programming emphasizes creative thinking and making in exploring the natural world. We are beyond elated to support Bow Seat's Voteless Not Voiceless - "Our collective future depends on electing leaders up and down the ballot who are committed to taking bold action on climate change that is informed by science and centered on justice. Extreme weather events, melting polar regions, sea level rise, drowning coasts, biodiversity loss… Our blue planet is in crisis, and 2020 is a critical election year for the U.S. to turn the tide on the climate emergency."
Just because our youth is too young to vote, that doesn't mean that their voices can't be heard. Bow Seat's Voteless Not Voiceless is a youth led program that provides teens a platform to share their stories through short videos and written statements about environmental issues that impact them. Click here to listen to stories shared.
If you could vote, what future would you vote for? For each youth story Bow Seat receives, they will donate $10 to Our Climate (up to $2,020), to support their voter mobilization campaign and ongoing mission to empower young people to advocate for science-based and equitable policy through creative civic engagement. Together, we are stronger and more effective.
With the help of some of my best friends who are leading the change for our planet's future, we've put together a video to encourage you, friends, and family members the importance of voting. Thanks for watching and get out there and VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE!
How to register to vote: Vote.gov
Rock the Vote - A nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building the political power of young people: RocktheVote.org
Featured in the video (in order):
Our founder, Shelby O’Neil@_onei
Baylee Ritter,@bayleeritter
Hannah Testa,@hannah4change
Laura Johnson,@luraajay