2022 Rural Fellows—Empowering Families

Alexandra Salinas, Arden Tyree Author

08/08/2022 Added

14 Plays

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Student and Community Fellows talk about the community development projects they worked on Empowering Families in Scottsbluff, Nebraska during Summer 2022.

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[00:00:00.000](gentle music)
[00:00:12.330]My name is Valeria Rodriguez
[00:00:13.860]and I am the co-founder
[00:00:15.630]and part-time Executive Director for Empowering Families.
[00:00:18.990]This year,
[00:00:19.823]Empowering Families has the honor
[00:00:21.150]in receiving two amazing rural fellows.
[00:00:24.030]We were able to accomplish many things.
[00:00:26.250]To name a few,
[00:00:27.220]and the main project
[00:00:29.070]that our rural fellows were focused on,
[00:00:31.200]was creating a candidate brochure.
[00:00:32.970]Since Empowering Families founding in 2018,
[00:00:35.340]we've been focusing on
[00:00:36.870]increasing civic participation in our county.
[00:00:39.840]And as we've canvased our community,
[00:00:41.520]went door knocking,
[00:00:42.647]many of our community members expressed the need
[00:00:47.700]of needing an educational material to educate them
[00:00:51.000]on who would be on the ballot.
[00:00:52.740]Who are they going to be voting for?
[00:00:54.810]And so, thankfully this year,
[00:00:56.610]with these amazing fellows,
[00:00:57.960]we were able to create that brochure,
[00:01:01.680]create that resource our community members were requesting.
[00:01:06.900]And so,
[00:01:07.733]they've been able to help us in creating that material.
[00:01:10.950]And, with that creation,
[00:01:13.650]we will then be able to distribute it
[00:01:15.990]to every voter in our county,
[00:01:18.240]and we hope that this will be able
[00:01:20.910]to drive and motivate our voters
[00:01:23.400]to turn out and vote in this midterm election.
[00:01:26.310]In addition to this candidate brochure,
[00:01:28.320]our fellows were able to help us in storytelling.
[00:01:31.480]They interviewed new American voters,
[00:01:34.590]individuals that recently became US citizens,
[00:01:38.937]and allowed them to share their stories
[00:01:41.040]regarding why now, as new American citizens,
[00:01:44.557]they are excited,
[00:01:47.765]and how important voting will be
[00:01:50.280]in their lives moving forward.
[00:01:52.470]And so, these are just a few things
[00:01:54.060]that they helped us achieve,
[00:01:55.860]and it will,
[00:01:58.935]and has created an immense impact.
[00:02:01.609]With the candidate brochure,
[00:02:03.030]we do hope that it will increase
[00:02:06.030]voter participation in our county
[00:02:07.770]because it's the third-worst county
[00:02:08.930]in the state of Nebraska.
[00:02:10.860]We've already experienced and learned
[00:02:13.923]how many individuals in our community
[00:02:16.620]are excited to receive this brochure.
[00:02:19.350]As we continue to do community outreach
[00:02:21.870]and speak to community members,
[00:02:23.850]many of them have expressed excitement
[00:02:25.890]for this new resource in our community.
[00:02:28.248]And regarding our storytelling,
[00:02:29.924]many individuals,
[00:02:31.359]as they learn about these individual stories,
[00:02:35.130]they have expressed motivation
[00:02:38.490]and drive to turn out and vote,
[00:02:40.800]because of the stories of their peers
[00:02:43.410]that they are learning about,
[00:02:44.914]thanks to the work that our fellows have done this year.
[00:02:48.496]Thank you.
[00:03:06.233]Hi. I'm Arden Tyree.
[00:03:08.010]I'm a masters student with UNNC,
[00:03:09.750]studying public health.
[00:03:11.250]I have the opportunity
[00:03:12.120]to come out to Scottsbluff, Nebraska for the summer
[00:03:14.070]to intern with Empowering Families,
[00:03:15.660]a nonpartisan, nonprofit
[00:03:16.950]that does a lot of voter registration,
[00:03:19.530]voter education and other civic engagement work.
[00:03:21.930]Working on this project helps me use a lot of the skills
[00:03:24.690]that I've been learning at UNMC,
[00:03:26.430]identifying and addressing barriers
[00:03:28.620]to healthcare and health disparities
[00:03:30.090]is a big part of what I've been learning how to do
[00:03:32.550]and I'm glad to finally be able
[00:03:33.810]to put those skills into some hands-on use.
[00:03:35.900](gentle hopeful music)
[00:03:41.501]This work is important to the future
[00:03:42.990]of the Scottsbluff community
[00:03:44.580]because through education around the voting process,
[00:03:46.988]access to voter registration,
[00:03:48.909]and to information about candidates,
[00:03:51.900]they ensure their voices were represented
[00:03:54.480]in the policy issues that affect their lives.
[00:03:56.580]This experience helped me become
[00:03:57.990]a more inclusive community leader,
[00:04:00.390]by giving me the opportunity to learn from two rural fellows
[00:04:03.635]from different backgrounds.
[00:04:05.741]And learning more through the academy about my own strengths
[00:04:09.570]and how to be better in tune
[00:04:11.070]with my own hot buttons and biases.
[00:04:25.290]Hi, my name is Alexa Salinas.
[00:04:27.030]I'm currently a senior agricultural leadership student
[00:04:29.634]from Texas Tech University.
[00:04:31.890]And this summer I've had the opportunity
[00:04:33.360]to intern with Empowering Families,
[00:04:35.430]a local nonprofit here in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
[00:04:38.040]I think one of the coolest things
[00:04:39.150]about this entire experience has been building community
[00:04:41.970]and learning what that looks like.
[00:04:43.680]And learning that it's not just
[00:04:45.240]whether that's in your hometown or your college town,
[00:04:48.510]it's about being surrounded by people
[00:04:50.460]who are continuously trying to uplift and empower you.
[00:04:53.517]And that's exactly what Empowering Families strives to be.
[00:04:56.550]And I think that in my time here,
[00:04:58.140]something that I'll be able to take back with me
[00:04:59.820]is truly learning how to work with all kinds of people
[00:05:02.640]and implementing that
[00:05:03.930]as I become an inclusive leader in my future career.
[00:05:07.847](gentle music continues)

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2022 Rural Fellows—Empowering Families

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