Our Mission
Community Voice Mail (CVM) helps people living in poverty, transition and homelessness rebuild their lives by connecting them to jobs, housing, information and hope. We do this by customizing and distributing communications technology via a national network of community-based services.
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Community Voice Mail – More than just Voice Mail
November, 2008
Welcome to the eNewsletter of Community Voice Mail
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Dear
Friends,
It’s been a while since you’ve heard from us at Community Voice Mail. Sometimes keeping in touch—even with good news—takes a back seat to the work itself. But given CVM’s core mission, connecting people, and our belief in the power of small gestures to create lasting change, we realize we’ve been amiss. We want to change that. Starting now, we will be sending briefer e-newsletters but more regularly, and sharing our participants’ voices whenever possible. We look forward to your comments.
In the midst of dire economic predictions, we and our community partners are poised for the probable increase in demand for our services. With unemployment and underemployment figures the highest they’ve been in fourteen years, people across the country will be forced to make hard choices about family budget priorities. Given that, it’s interesting to note that this month alone we have welcomed three new cities to the CVM map.
We have also witnessed the power of our broadcast messaging tool as it delivered information about Hurricane Ike, job fairs, and voter registration to thousands of our users. Our voicemail is unique: it is far more than a virtual phone number. CVM comes bundled with services administered by providers who truly care about what happens to the people they serve. The election story below, from our Tulsa Oklahoma partner, is certainly evidence of that.
We aim to be a practical, forward-thinking organization that leverages the resources in our communities and points people in need to greater opportunities. We appreciate the support and interest of people like you, and we welcome your thoughts about our work.
Cheers,
Jenn
This story comes to us by way of our Tulsa Oklahoma partner, Lori Morton and the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless.
“Miss Betty was one of our first CVM enrollees at the Tulsa Day Center. She is a 57 year old black woman who, since enrolling on CVM in March, has become housed. And last week for the first time in 10 years, she cast her vote and proudly re-joined the Democratic process.
Miss Betty learned about voter registration from her voicemail. One day in late July, she called her number and listened to her Broadcast Messages. She learned that she would be able to register to vote, even with a prior conviction. Later that day, Miss Betty stopped by my office. I gave her a registration form, which she completed and mailed the next day.
Several weeks later I asked her if she had received her registration card in the mail yet. She had not. I mentioned that it would have arrived via a postcard. Miss Betty thought she had inadvertently thrown it away. She was clearly disappointed, so I called the election board for her. They confirmed that she was indeed registered, and they gave us her polling site. She left feeling better, but not yet confident.
When I saw her a few weeks later, she proudly announced that she really believed she was indeed a registered voter. It turns out she had received a letter from the Mayor, congratulating her on her registration. That letter had finally convinced her. She was very excited to be able to vote for the next president.
On November 5th, Ms. Betty came by. I wish everyone could have seen the pride that was reflected on her face! She clearly was happy to have been an active participant in this most historical election. And trust me, coming from a city marred from the “Black Wall Street” racial riots of 1921, having a “voice” can be a very powerful thing.
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On average, Community
Voice Mail provides a free voice mail box to 40,000 people
a year through 2,100 agencies in nearly 400
cities and towns nationwide.
Community Voice Mail is the only
nonprofit organization in the U.S. that has created, replicated, and sustained
a nationwide voice mail program dedicated to assisting people in crisis
and transition in their efforts to become self-sufficient.
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Community
Voice Mail National
2901 Third Avenue, Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98121
www.cvm.org | 206.441.7872 | Fax 206.443.3755 |info@cvm.org
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