Dunk
the Vote
Dunk The Vote
Dunk The Vote 4 Ever (DTV) Civic Engagement Leadership Lab (CELL) is a non-partisan initiative, focused on increasing participation and turnout considering voting as a public health emergency, using social media to strengthen ground game.
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Guides to Local Government
Residents must be engaged to address issues that affect them – many are literally life or death, such as the extreme wealth gap, violence, gentrification and displacement, declining rates of home ownership in the Black community, and many others.
Click below for our Guides to Local Government publications.
Baystate Banner News: With election season approaching, Dunk the Vote pushes for increased voter registration
By Avery Bleichfeld
August 15, 2024
Ron Bell may not be a pastor, but ahead of the service at the Greater Love Tabernacle Church Aug. 11, he delivered his own sermon to the congregation with a call to action: Register to vote.
It’s a message he’s used to delivering. Bell’s organization, Dunk the Vote, has been leading voter registration efforts in Boston since the group’s founding in 1992.
Now, with a state preliminary election approaching Sept. 3 and the presidential election in November, Bell is sharing his message again — in crunch time as the registration deadline for the preliminary election is approaching on Aug. 24.
Much of the work Dunk the Vote does has a local bent to it. Bell pointed to the ability of local officials to have a role in fixing things like potholes and quality of life issues or moderating things like local law enforcement.
“It’s the small things that we realized we needed to bring into the community,” Bell said.
City and state elections are the ones that, broadly, tend to have a greater day-to-day role in the life of voters, said Dawn Duncan, who is a senior advisor for the group and whose organization Circle of Nations, Inc. serves as the fiscal sponsor of Dunk the Vote.
“You voting actually can make an impact on the things that happen downtown,” Duncan said. “The people who you elect are responsible for those kinds of day-to-day services that impact your life.”
But that work faces additional challenges — it’s often harder to get voters to the polls for state and municipal elections.
Murder in Boston review: Exploring the legacy of a racist rush to judgment
HBO’s true-crime docuseries chronicles the case of Charles Stuart, who killed his wife and blamed it on a Black man.
By Kristen Baldwin
Published on November 27, 2023 11:27AM EST
September 24th, 2024
Dear Friends,
Less than a month from today, on Saturday, October 19th, early voting opens for the 2024 Presidential Election.
On Saturday, October 19th, we launch our 2024 Get Out The Vote Campaign. Needless to say, it is one of the most important days of the year for Dunk the Vote and our mission.
Our teams of young people, returning citizens, and campaign veterans will be on the ground and on the phone, helping people get their ballots in.
We have to train our canvassers on actually getting people to the polls, including helping voters find their polling locations and often physically escorting those who need help to get to where they need to go.
For this to be effective, we have to compensate our people fairly. Your donation of:
- $30 supports our team by providing outreach materials.
- $300 puts boots on the ground by paying for worker stipends.
- $3,000 will make a major impact as we enter the last month before the Presidential Election in November.
Can you make a contribution right now?
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SZKEJM4HVKSUQ
Right now, we are in the middle of our final voter registration push, door-knocking, phone-banking, doing intake, and helping get people registered so they can and will vote in this extraordinarily important election.
It truly is crunch-time now. The final day to register to vote in the November 5th Presidential Election is Saturday, October 26th.
We have been very busy over the past weeks and months, training organizations, helping people get the most out of their elected officials, and raising the call about how important it is, especially right now, to be an active participant in democracy.
Just recently, we shared our story and our message with The Bay State Banner’s audience of over 200,000 people in a story which you can read here: https://tinyurl.com/bannerdtv. Soon after, we were featured on WCVB Channel 5’s weekly Sunday TV program, CityLine, which you can watch here: https://tinyurl.com/citylinedtv.
After all of the effort leading up to today, can you make a contribution and make sure we cross the finish line with a strong voter turnout campaign?
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SZKEJM4HVKSUQ
We sincerely appreciate your consideration of our request.
If you prefer to write a check, please make payable to our fiscal sponsor, Circle of Nations, and send it to Ron Bell/Dunk the Vote, PO Box 990525, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02199. And, as ever, thanks for your support! We also accept donations by PayPal and credit card by clicking on the link or scanning the QR code below.
Yours Truly,
Ron Bell,
Dunk the Vote Founding Director
Social Media
Partnerships
Education
“Ron Bell and Dunk the Vote, Inc. are at the forefront of a dynamic civic movement… Ron Bell is a vsionary leader who continually takes initiative to create new vehicles to enhance the development of young people… He is building a civic engagement and voter program that could be a model for the nation.”
Hubie E. Jones
Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Social Work
“As a young African American man, I did not understand that opting out of the system meant opting out of the the power to change the system”
DTV Leadership Intitute Gradutate
Zachary Roscoe
“I choose to give my flowers today to honor a man who never seeks to be seen or heard but is one powerful shaker and baker in our community Mr. Ron Bell!! I have known Ron for many years. I first met him in the capacity of being his employee at the Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill. He gave opportunities for growth to so many many youth through his position there and helped to change the course of so many individuals and families. If that was not enough he never said no to opportunities for his employees to reach out to families in Mission Hill and surrounding areas. Always encouraging, always supportive and most of all always leading by example. He taught us how important the power of voting is and began to reach out to others in the community, the city and the state through his Dunk the Vote Initiative. I could never figure out how he found the time and energy to make a difference e in so many areas. And still today he has not slowed down one bit. Minister, radio and t.v. personality, voter registration and education and helping folks any chance he gets. The most impressive thing to me is that Ron never rings his own bell. He just shows up and gets it done. He is an amazing human being and a more amazing friend!”
Denise Williams
After National Efforts, Ron Bell Plans to Return to Mission Hill
Some two decades ago, in the hot, late summer afternoons that are typical of Boston, one could routinely find Mission Hill native and Dunk the Vote founder Ron Bell canvassing the ins and outs of Mission Park – knocking on doors in the Alice Taylor Development – and handing out voter registration cards on Tremont Street.
Dunk the Vote featured in Commonwealth Magazine
Dunk the Vote and Rob Bell were featured in Commonwealth Magazine. “Turnout numbers highlight wealth, racial disparities”
Black Boston News Broadcasting Live from Dudley Cafe
November 27 & 28 10AM & 4PM
Boston Black News will cover this story live.
CityLine: Sunday, Nov.1, 2020: Amplify Latinx & Dunk the Vote
Ron Bell and Dunk the VOTE on CityLine
Voting initiatives focus on Black voters: ‘We know more than anyone that voting has consequences’
Boston Globe article Dunk the Vote 2020
DTV 3 Point Shooting Contest at Malcolm X Park
DTV 3 Point Shooting Contest at Malcolm X Park
Dunk the Vote 2020 with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Conan Harris
Dunk the Vote 2020 with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Conan Harris at Early Voting site at Shelbourne Community Center in Roxbury
Get Out The Vote 2020 – Images
Check out the images from Dunk the Vote's "GET OUT THE VOTE!" initiative.
Dunk the Vote 2020 Hits Home Runs
Civic Engagement Actions!
2020 Census – www.my2020census.gov or 1-844-330-2020
Voter Registration – www.registertovotema.com
General Election – Early voting Oct. 17-30 & Election Day is Nov 3.
Dunk the Vote Partnering with SoulTouchin’ Experiences
Civic Engagement Actions!
2020 Census – www.my2020census.gov or 1-844-330-2020
Voter Registration – www.registertovotema.com
General Election – Early voting Oct. 17-30 & Election Day is Nov 3.
DTV Listen!
Help with Registration
Find PPE
Help with Mail-in Voting
Mission
Voting is a public health emergency. COVID has both made it more difficult and more important than ever to vote. The proposed intensive, aggressive strategy is based on the Civic Engagement Leadership Lab (Cell) model that utilizes grassroots organizing concepts and leadership development combined with well-established voter engagement strategy.
It is important to understand the long history of racism and voter suppression that continues to plague Black and Latinx communities in Massachusetts, which contributes to low voter turnout. Add COVID, as people of color are three times more likely to die from COVID, and we truly have a public health emergency.
The need we are addressing is one of ensuring that people are able to exercise their vote safely, in local, state, and national elections by promoting voter participation and protecting the public health of communities.
