About the PICO National Network
__________
RECENTLY IN THE NEWS:
Television:
ACT-endorsed 1/4 cent sales tax measure
Radio:
ACT on Cap Public Radio's Insight
Johnson and Fargo respond directly to ACT on Insight
Sac Bee:
ACT/Dickinson youth measure faces challenges (Front page, 7-15-08)
Marcus Breton reacts to ACT youth
ACT's Get Out the Vote Effort
|
Who We Are
Sacramento Area Congregations Together (ACT) draws average, ordinary people into meaningful community leadership. Working with religious congregations, schools, and neighborhood institutions in the Sacramento area, ACT brings people together to strengthen the quality of life for families and to improve communities. We are comprised of over 40 member institutions and over 20,000 families.
ACT is not a direct social service provider. Rather, it serves as a catalyst and an agent of social change that is fueled, in part, by the belief that people of faith have a unique "prophetic voice" in bringing out the best from their neighborhoods, community institutions, and governments. ACT works closely with faith-based institutions to provide them with organizing tools that deepen their neighborhood outreach and social justice ministries. ACT does not exclusively work with congregations, however; many public schools and other community groups engage in social change in partnership with ACT.
**Sacramento Area Congregations Together is an affiliate of the PICO National Network and PICO California, the largest grassroots community organizing effort in California.**
JULY 2008 Important Events
Dear ACT leaders and friends,
As you may recall, the ACT Executive Board decided over a year ago to pursue a new dedicated revenue source to support youth development. We reached this decision based our our findings that the resources currently dedicated to youth (youth jobs, mentoring etc...) were insufficient and our belief that, unless we invest more in young people, our community will experience growing rates of violence and gang activity. Following this decision, we began to explore ways to create a targeted, reasonable tax increase that would be dedicated to youth.
A few months ago, we were approached by Supervisor Roger Dickinson, who, like us, had come to the conclusion that we need to invest more in young people in order to break the cycle of gang recruitment, incarceration and violence. The County currently spends about $170,000 per year for every incarcerated youth and the numbers are growing each year. We worked with Supervisor Dickinson to fashion a proposal that would raise the county sales tax by a 1/4 cent and would generate $50 million for prevention and intervention programs. Our shared goal with Sup. Dickinson is to place this measure on the November ballot, where 2/3 of voters will have to vote yes for the measure to pass.
Tuesday, July 1 at 2 PM Sup. Dickinson will present his proposal at City Hall (915 I St) to the Sacramento City Council for their endorsement. Please join ACT representatives there to show your support for this much needed investment in our youth.
On July 22nd at 3 PM, the Board of Supervisors will vote on whether or not to place this on the ballot. We are going to ask ACT members to come out in force on that date to show our political leaders that it is time to change the equation, to invest in at risk youth early rather than spend huge amounts of $ later on in the juvenile justice system.
JUNE 2008 Updates
YOUTH SPEAK OUT! : Mayoral Candidates Forum Update
(Sponsored by ACT and The Meadowview Partnership)
On Monday, May 19, over 1,100 ACT leaders filled Luther Burbank auditorium to standing room only for the mayoral election's only forum dedicated entirely to youth issues. Take a moment to check out the inspiring slideshow of the event (above).
Thank you for the role you played in one of Sacramento's largest local election events ever. We have sent a clear message to City Hall that they are to invest more in our youth. The clock is ticking and they feel the pressure. It was not only the mayoral candidates who were impressed by the forum. City Council Members and County Supervisors and School Board
members and other city staff were there. Your dedication to our youth has left an indelible impression on all of their minds.
This is, of course, only another step in the journey. We look forward to pushing on with the STAND TOGETHER Campaign for Youth Success, and we look forward to your continued leadership. We also look forward to strengthening our relationship with the many new ACT faces and voices who shined on May 19.
The Mayor's race will continue into November. We will have many opportunities to further engage the run off candidates with our platform as their campaigns progress. Stay tuned for details on next steps. Meanwhile, for your convenience, the links on the sidebar will take you to some of the media coverage ACT received recently. Also, click on the "Issues" tab to see the YOUTH SPEAK OUT video that was presented to the candidates at the forum.
Sacramento VOTES! Updates
UPDATE: The effort ahead of the February primary election increased voter turnout in our treatment precints by a whopping 14.5%!!!
UPDATE: ACT repeated Sacramento VOTES! on the weekend before the June 3 mayoral election. About 75 youth and 25 adults canvassed an expanded array of precincts in addition to adding frequent voters to each walking list. Results of this effort will be announced soon.
Privacy Statement Accessibility Statement Contact Webmaster Web Mail