For the most recent Project as Action in Policy, our assignment was to choose an organization that advocated for a policy that you believe in. I chose to volunteer for The Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). CAF financially aids women who can not afford to pay for their own abortions. I have a connection to this topic because I believe in women’s reproductive rights, and it’s something that I wish to advocate for– even after GCE. My contact at CAF is one of my best friends, who started interning for the organization about a year ago.
My volunteer experience profoundly different from what I had expected. My task was working with other women from the organization, doing community outreach, and spreading the word about House Bill 2675. This bill pushes for an updated, more comprehensive and informative sex education curriculum in Illinois. We went to the 17th Ward (around 75th and Ashland) to pass out flyers and spread information about this bill because the representative of the ward, Jackie Collins, was still undecided on the bill.
The women I volunteered with had so many interesting things to say– not only about women’s reproductive rights, but also the issue of sex education in Chicago. All of the women were in agreement on this much: the area we were lobbying for House Bill 2675 in was in dire need of a reform in the sex education curriculum.
An hour ago, my friend Olivia called me to inform me that Jackie Collins voted yes on House Bill 2675. The feeling of accomplishment and pride almost brought me to tears. I was overwhelmed with joy, and felt so fortunate to be apart of the effort. After doing this community outreach with CAF I can say that I will definitely be volunteering again in the future.
