There is inequity in the political arena that leaves all of America at a loss. Women’s voices are under represented. Only 17 percent of the elected office holders in Congress are women. Worse, 12 percent of sitting state governors are women.
Running Start is a non-profit organization that promotes and encourages women to run for office.
“We wanted to give girls a running start in politics.” Susannah Shakow, President of Running Start, stated. “They were already behind in the game of politics, because men do start so early. Even in student government, there it’s predominated by men.”
“Twelve of the last 19 presidents started their political career before the age of 35,” Jessica Grounds, Running Start’s Executive Director, added.
Founded in 2007, Running Start grew out of Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC). WUFPAC raises funds for women candidates campaigning for Congress on both sides of the aisle. The money levels the playing field and enables women to better compete with male candidates.
“[Running Start] really grew into something where we realized we needed to give them support in a whole lot of other ways and make it a good experience to run,” Shakow commented on the organization’s roots.
With their headquarters in Washington, D.C., Running Start’s location enables the program to offer their program participants the crim de la crim of successful political women as resources and mentors. Women, ages high school and up, are able to participate in seminars, luncheons, retreats and internship programs designed to teach them how to run for office.
“It wasn’t just about us giving money to candidates once they decided to run, but there was a pipeline issue where we needed to actually build a lot larger base of young women even thinking about running for office,” Grounds said.
The Young Women Political Leadership Program (YWPL) is a program Running Start began is 2006. Fifty high school age women are invited for an all expenses paid week in Washington, D.C. to learn from other women political leaders, participate in workshops on public speaking and message building, media training as well as giving them a chance to network with other like minded high school age girls.
“They were just the most incredibly talented amazing girls you’ve ever heard of.” Shakow said. “They had started non-profits, they had found a cause they believed in and raised huge amounts of money, like $20,000.”
In 2009, the program received 30,000 applications from girls around the country who wanted to participate. The deadline for the summer of 2010 applicants is Tuesday, February 16.
In the fall of 2009, Running Start, with the financial backing of Walmart, launched their Star Fellowship Program. Seven college aged women from around the country were chosen to live in Washington, D.C. and intern for a female member of Congress.
Monday through Thursday, participants worked on Capital Hill. Friday, they participated in seminars where speakers discussed with them the elected side of politics. They also blogged about their experiences and interviewed their boss, the congresswoman, and presented their findings to the other participants.
College women who are juniors, seniors or recent graduates can submit applications to particiapate in the fall semester of 2010 by Thursday, April 1. The spring 2010 session starts Monday, January 25.
Running Start’s Path to Politics Luncheons began January 2008. Like Running Start, these seminars grew out panel discussions sponsored by WUFPAC.
“These were ways in which we could keep connected with the D.C. community propper since a lot of our programs are geared towards girls from around the country,” Grounds said. “To reach out to the D.C. group of women and talk about challenges these women are facing.”
Six seminars held throughout 2010 will cover issues on how to build coalitions, what are committees, how to reach out to PACs.
Fifty women from the DC metro area receive a free lunch and a chance to learn and network with other women who have similar ambitions. Women don’t need to apply, simply RSVP for the event. The first luncheon for 2010 will be held in February.
Shakow stated that the next step for the Path to Politics Luncheons is to incorporate Path to Politics Chats. This will enable women from across the country to participate in these discussions through webchats.
All of the programs Running Start offers are free to the participants.
“So few programs are affordable,” Shakow said. “But if [Running Start participants] can’t pay for the plane ticket to get [to D.C.] we buy them a plane ticket. And we take care of every meal. We house them the whole time. We take them to the airport and back.”
Running Start is looking for additional corporate sponsorship to expand on the programs the organization offers. Currently, Walmart, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin, King and Spalding, Glover Park Group, Calvert Group and State Farm are corporate sponsors. E-mail Jessica Grounds at jessica@runningstartonline.org for more information on becoming a corporate sponsor.
Another way to donate to Runnng Start is to purchase a ticket for the Women to Watch Awards scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, 2010. This is an annual event held at the National Press Club in downtown D.C. Attendees have the opportunity to rub elbows with D.C. most influential women and to learn what makes them exceptional.
Running Start is a new non-profit to the Washington, D.C. political scene that has set the standard for other organizations with similar missions. Their efforts will further propel women into the political arena.
Comments
Great article to help people know what is available. I bet we all know someone who can take advantage of this program.
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