Sam Rasoul is expanding his Democratic Promise program connecting Virginians in need of help with government services statewide.
Rasoul, a Roanoke Democrat in the House of Delegates, who is running for the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor, launched Democratic Promise in 2017 with a focus on Roanoke and several nearby counties.
The purpose and process will remain the same: volunteers make phone calls to check in on their fellow Virginians and connect those in need of help with legislative staff members who can refer them to the appropriate government agencies.
“It’s proactive constituent services,” Rasoul said. “Typically elected officials wait for a phone call or an email from someone who needs help. The problem is a lot of people don’t know what services are even available, or don’t know who to call. Democratic Promise goes above and beyond simply waiting for a phone call.”
The campaign is looking for volunteers who are able to phone bank safely from home and want to reach out to neighbors in their area who may be in need of assistance.
The goal of expanding the initiative statewide is to operationalize new ways of reaching out to voters by building trust.
“We need to change the way we campaign as Democrats,” said Samantha Litchford, director of Democratic Promise. “If every time you hear from your elected official, they just want your vote, that’s extractive. Democratic Promise is one way we can transform the way we campaign by checking in and offering to help.”
“After a year of dealing with COVID-19 and the economic impacts of the pandemic, a lot of folks are in a really tough spot,” said Rasoul. “People who may never have needed certain government services before might not know where to turn for help. Virginians deserve all the assistance we can give them right now. Democratic Promise will help make that happen.”
People who would like to volunteer with Democratic Promise can sign up online.
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