We have a lot to be thankful for
It’s been a pretty good Year so far at CVSC.
We have contacted over 15,000 voters with direct mail and digital advertising in special elections. We have identified, trained and engaged over 1,300 new advocates in 13 cities. And we have mobilized over 7,500 action takers to sign petitions and support our campaigns.
All in all, we have a lot to be thankful for.
Particularly, though, we’re thankful that…
Two New Conservation Champions Were Elected To The S.C. House In November.
This month, two CVSC endorsed candidates were on the ballot for State House — and they both won!
In House District 28, Republican Ashley Trantham won a four-way Special Primary Election on November 14 with over 57 percent of the vote.
We backed Ashley because she will be a strong voice for our issues. She’s a dairy farmer who knows conservation is one of our best recruiting tools for promoting jobs and prosperity, and she takes environmental stewardship very seriously.
Ashley faces a General Election in January, but she will be the only name on the ballot.
In House District 113, Democrat Marvin Pendarvis won his party’s nomination in September and breezed through the Special General Election on November 7.
Marvin earned our support in the Primary Election because of his career spent fighting for the rights of his neighbors and serving as an advocate for his community, including helping to clean up Filbin Creek in North Charleston, supporting coastal wetland preservation, and pushing for smarter, clean energy policies.
We look forward to working with both of these new Conservation Champions when the General Assembly returns in January.
We Are Not Letting Bad Energy Decisions Keep Us From Building A Responsible Energy Future.
The V.C. Summer abandonment was heartbreaking. Thousands of good, hard-working folks lost their jobs. And our state’s energy future was placed in peril.
This horrible situation has made it abundantly clear that South Carolina needs a collaborative plan for our energy future that is rooted in clean and sustainable energy sources like wind and solar, reforms that create more accountability in energy planning and more efficiency in energy usage, and more.
Thankfully, many of our leaders in Columbia and across the state are embracing this inevitability and working to turn something bad into an opportunity that will benefit all South Carolinians.
Our legislators have largely risen to the occasion and been a force for good. And in true South Carolina fashion, we have rallied together and begun to work our way through this mess toward a brighter future.
We Have You On Our Team To Make 2018 Even Better.
Our end-of-Year fundraising campaign officially begins this Tuesday, when we have an amazing opportunity to raise a big chunk of our fundraising goal in a single day.
On #GivingTuesday, November 28, starting at 8am, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is matching funds raised on Facebook up to $50,000 per nonprofit, and Facebook is also waiving all fees for donations made on that day.
But they’ve only set aside a limited pool of matching funds, and there will be a lot of other groups vying for that money, so we have to act FAST… right at 8am.
If you use Facebook, you can help in a big way by following this link and creating a fundraiser. >>
Then, on November 28 at 8am sharp, share your fundraiser with as many friends as possible and urge them to chip in whatever they can.
Facebook will match every donation you raise through your fundraiser, up to $1,000.
Also, be sure to tune in for a very special “telethon” version of CVSC Live! beginning at 7:45am on the 28th, as we raise funds for our #GivingTuesday efforts. Here’s the link to watch. >>
If we take advantage of this opportunity to close 2017 with a bang, we’ll be ready for an even bigger Year in 2018. Together, we’ll be able ensure the protection of our air, land, and water remains a top priority for our state’s elected officials. We’ll be able to fight for clean energy. We’ll be able to make a bigger difference for conservation than ever before.
For all of that — and especially for you — we are incredibly thankful.
We hope you have a wonderful, safe and special Thanksgiving.
From myself and all of the CVSC team: thank you!