California Calls just completed a civic engagement program, educating voters on the state budget, tax extensions and the need for long-term solutions. Below is a story from the field by Vince Chau, a grassroots leader with Equality Alliance in San Diego.

I’ll admit that in November 2010, I felt apathetic and didn’t vote. Working for Equality Alliance, an anchor organization of California Calls, has made me realize the importance of voting and of being educated about the serious issues that California faces.

During one day of knocking on doors, my partner Denise knocked on the door of an older Hispanic woman who lived in a modest apartment building on Home Ave. She spoke Spanish and said that she had worked hard all her life and that the people in power have all the advantages and that the poor are left behind. The tone of her voice and the sincerity of her words struck a chord in me. She reminded me of my own mother, who grew up poor, one of eleven children in Vietnam, and had only six months of schooling in her entire life. She works 68 hours a week in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant.

It made me realize the importance of the work that I was doing. It brought home the impact of the budget cuts on the people Equality Alliance and California Calls are contacting. By voting, people like my mother, and this humble woman who has worked hard all her life, can make their voices heard.

You can vote for dignity too and help get our state back on track. Help keep neighborhood leaders like Vince out on the doors. Click here to make a donation to California Calls.