By: Zach Ranen
Gilman School, Grade 10
STAC Fellow 2011-2012
On February 7, 2012, Jewish Volunteer Connection’s STAC (Students Taking Action for Change) fellows traveled to Annapolis to participate in Advocacy Day. In advance of speaking to the legislators, we were eager to use the skills learned from earlier program meetings.
We were fortunate to have a one-on-one session with Delegate Eric Bromwell. In this session, each group was able to lobby the Delegate with the hopes of convincing him to support the bills they have been working on since the fall. It was truly a great experience to make our opinions heard by an influential leader. Delegate Bromwell listened intently to our views on each bill, enabling us to feel we were making a difference and putting our knowledge of these bills to good use.
After our session with Delegate Bromwell, we went to the Legislative Reception where we met the Lieutenant Governor and listened to speeches from members of the Jewish community as well as members of the legislative community. One STAC fellow was even able to give his “elevator pitch” to Delegate Dana Stein.
Finally, we were able to spend valuable time with the Elijah Cummings Youth Project teens to debate prominent controversial issues being addressed in the upcoming legislative session.
Overall, Advocacy Day was an extremely valuable and rewarding experience where we were able to put the skills we’ve learned in STAC to good use and make our voices heard.
Students Taking Action for Change (STAC) is a 10-month teen leadership program of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and Jewish Volunteer Connection, in partnership with the Baltimore Jewish Council. To learn more about STAC and THE ASSOCIATED’s Teen Leadership programs, please contact Renée Goldfarb at 410-369-9338 or rgoldfarb@associated.org.
