COLORADO’S WOMEN TAKE THE POLITICAL LEAD
Innovative Political Leadership Training Returns to Colorado for Fourth Year
Denver, CO– On Friday, March 28th, The White House Project, with the support of the Lifetime Network’s Every Woman Counts campaign, will bring its ground-breaking Go Run political training program to the state of Colorado for the fourth consecutive year. This innovative three-day event, which runs through Sunday, March 30th, aims to create a permanent, nonpartisan pipeline to women’s political leadership across the country, having trained more than 1,400 women to run for office since its creation in 2005.
“Women remain our country’s greatest untapped natural resource,” said Marie C. Wilson, President of The White House Project. “Go Run inspires, informs, and equips women with the tools to lead. When women sit fully at the tables of power, we create stronger governments—from the school board to the city council to the senate—and compelling solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.”
With 35% of the seats in the state legislature held by women, it is clear that Colorado’s women are hungering to take part in the political process firsthand. Already, 95 women have committed to attending the weekend training, which will provide them with the nuts and bolts of running for political office. From the fundamentals of campaign strategy to fundraising and communications, Go Run works to prepare and propel a critical mass of diverse women into positions of leadership.
It is this hands-on, practical approach that has driven the program’s popularity, by demystifying the political process for women who are not traditionally tapped for positions of political leadership. Through programs in Minnesota, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, and New York, Go Run has trained some of the most underrepresented women in our political system: 35% are women of color; 30% earn less than $35,000 a year; and 45% are under the age of 30.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Go Run to help develop women leaders, which is vital to our mission of our Every Woman Counts campaign,” said Meredith Wagner, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Lifetime Networks. “A recent Lifetime/Zogby poll showed that 82% of women have never considered running for elected office at any level. We want to change that statistic and these trainings are a great opportunity to inspire and empower women across the country to know, and know how, they can run and lead.”
The Go Run program utilizes both local and national speakers to train its participants. This weekend’s Go Run will feature Marie C. Wilson, President and Founder of The White House Project; Cary Kennedy, State Treasurer; Polly Baca the first Latina elected to the state senate; ail Schoettler former Lt. Governor;Pam Bennet, the first transgendered woman to run for office in Colorado; State Representative Stella Garza-Hicks; and Faith Winter, the youngest woman city councilor in the front range.
In Colorado, Lifetime Networks, including Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network -- the #1 and #2 channels for women - is teaming up with The White House Project to encourage women to run for office, including sponsoring the "Why Women Matter" Saturday night dinner which will spotlight local leaders in each state.
Colorado’s Go Run will take place from March 28th - 30th, 2008 at The Inverness Hotel and Conference Center, 200 Inverness Drive West, Englewood, CO 80112.
The White House Project, a national, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization, works to advance a richly diverse, critical mass of women into leadership positions, up to and including the U.S. Presidency. For more information, please visit: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org.
First launched in 1992 and now in its fifth presidential election cycle, Every Woman Counts is the only public service campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care about most, vote and run for office, including extensive on-air programming, digital content and grassroots efforts. To expand the effort and reach women everywhere they live, work and play, Lifetime launched the first-ever Every Woman Counts media and advocacy coalition in partnership with REDBOOK, CosmoGIRL!, Marie Claire, celebrities, experts and hundreds of women's nonprofit organizations representing more than 15 million women from all sides of the political spectrum, including The White House Project and many others.
LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.
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