JRC: Grassroots Organizing Academy

GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZING ACADEMY

In keeping with the goals of the JRC, to empower the community with the knowledge and resource to create and maintain accountability of the system to the people, over-seeing the system, and the creation and training of new community leaders especially amongst the young, the JRC is initiating and organizing the Grass Roots Organizing Academy or GROA. GROA is a collaboration of classes, lectures, workshops, and hands on experience taught and provided by activists, teachers, artists and others skilled in the various aspects of working in the community and organizing people to help make our lives better.

These courses are presented by the Justice Reform Coalition as an educational tool to help those who are now or wish to become active in the struggle for "Equal Rights and Justice for All". These courses will show how to begin to organize in a community. They will give strategies for developing organizations and groups to tackle problems. They will give strategies for working with law enforcement, government officials and other community organizations to increase your effectiveness. They will give strategies for working with the media, creating effective pr that helps your cause, and creates the image you want.

GROA is divided into sections or schools. They are the In Pro Per school, the Communication school, the organizing school, the leadership school, and the fundraising school.

The In Pro Per school is our grassroots legal school. Its purpose is to teach people about their rights when dealing with the system, and how and what paper work to file when a person’s rights are violated. Learn how to file cases, and appeals. Learn how to get public documents and info from government and other agencies.

The communication school deals with working with the media. Preparing press releases, arranging press conferences, promoting an organization or an issue, creating effective promo, and forming relationships with media people are some of the things to be taught through the communications school. In addition the communications school will sponsor JRCTV which is a project to bring issues of concern, and the parties involved to the television, as well as teach people how to cover events and people for documentary presentation.

The organizing school deals with the nuts and bolts of putting temporary or long term organizations and coalitions together, strategies for motivating and bringing people together around issues, and the practical day to day needs for the operations of organizing.

The leadership school is designed to offer skill training for the people who run or will run organizations or work in the community. Group building skills, management and supervisory skills, public speaking skills, and writing skills are some of the things covered in this part of the Academy.

Fundraising is such a crucial part of any sustained activism that we are giving it its own school. We will bring in grant writers, and professional fundraisers to educate you own the ins and outs of pulling together money for your cause, as well as invite granting and funding sources to come and present their programs.

The Life Skills school is our way of bridging the gap between school and life. Here we will offer basic skills neccessary to having a decent life in this crazy systemm. Things like etiquette, hygiene, food preparation, meal planing, grooming, conflict resolution, shopping, consumerism, budgeting, parenting and self help tools like relaxing, speed reading, meditation, analytical thinking and others. This school is designed for young people, but it will serve the older crowd too. Our after school program is part of the Life Skills school program.

Finally, the Political Action school is where we will help demystify the political process and bring political leaders and activists to the community to talk about the nuts and bolts of politics in this country. This progressive school will help show the importance of voting, and how to register people, with students actually participating in voter registration drives, political and legislative campaigns and groups.

Our experience is, people are more respectful and conscientious of things they have some financial investment in no matter how small. Most classes, workshops, and lectures will be free. Bartering will also be a part of our program, as it is another way to get people to work together. So, GROA will have a sliding scale school registration fee of $0 - $100 a year depending on ability to pay and size of group. Most individuals will pay $10 - $20 a year. This will in title the person to attend all free classes, lectures, and workshops. Out of necessity some special events, lectures and classes may have a small fee, but our goal will be to find the funds to offset the costs, so that all our events are free to members.

GROA administrative staff consists of a Director, two Assistant Directors, two Secretaries, seven “Deans” (one over each school), and two aides. The GROA Board will consist of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and one member from each participating organization.

This is the beginning prospectus of GROA. There will be additions and changes as needed, but this should give anyone interested a view of what the GROA project is about.