Featured Advocates

Why I Vote: Women and People of Color Fought for Our Rights

Imelda votes to set a good example for her kids, and to honor the women and people of color who fought for her right to vote. Photo by Denise Miller.

Join the National Registration Day movement;register to vote, or update your registered address now. Then watch our latest video, in which Imelda, an immigrant from Mexico, shares why she votes.

Why I (Will) Vote: To Make A Difference

It's fun to intern with the Y-W-C-A! GirlsFirst summer intern Leyi Lei (front) strikes a pose with members of YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish's Community Engagement team. As part of her internship, Leyi wrote today's blog post about the importance of voting. Photo credit: Katie Barnett.

Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day! Need a little nudge to register or update your address? Read this second part of our "Why I Vote" series, in which high school student Leyi Lei shares why she can't wait to vote.

Why I Vote: Nothing Will Change If We Don’t

Lakesha has helped more than 50 people register to vote this month. Image credit: Denise Miller.

Registering to vote is the first step in creating change. To inspire you to register (or to update your address if you’ve moved), we invited a variety of people to tell us their thoughts on the importance of voting. First up is YWCA resident Lakesha.

Homeless Speakers Bureau Advocates Tell a Story That Needs to Be Heard

Susan Russell is a Real Change vendor and member of the Homeless Speakers Bureau. Image credit: Still capture from <a title="A Storytelling Project: Susan Russell on Vimeo" href="http://vimeo.com/92685423">video by Anissa Amalia</a>. — Susan Russell is a Real Change vendor and member of the Homeless Speakers Bureau. Image credit: Still capture from video by Anissa Amalia.

Have you heard about Real Change’s Homeless Speakers Bureau? It’s a group of homeless and formerly homeless people who speak about their personal experiences with homelessness. Speakers help educate the public, facilitate conversation, and inspire social action. Susan Russell, a Speakers Bureau member and passionate advocate, wrote this excellent post about why she speaks up about homelessness.

Hacking to End Homelessness

Seattle’s first-ever Hack to End Homelessness brought housing advocates and service providers together with members of the tech community to design and build solutions to homelessness. The weekend of May 2-4, more than 100 people collaborated on a dozen projects, including informative infographics, data analyses and visualizations, websites, and mobile apps. Read on for our take on the event, as well our videos featuring activist Mark Horvath.

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