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Call to Service Summit

The Citizens Campaign, together with Governor Jim Florio, Mayor Dana Redd, and Cooper Hospital executive John Sheridan, are leading a call to service in South Jersey, which will be highlighted with a summit on April 1st at Rutgers Camden with over 200 people expected to be in attendance. 

The Citizens Campaign has built a winning strategy to engage citizens in cutting the waste out of local government in order to relieve upward pressure on property taxes and to preserve essential services. For example, Cherry Hill citizens recently helped push through a proposal to save Cherry Hill School District $6 million dollars for the next 2 years, a Vineland resident was able to save his town $90,000 by removing health benefits for elected officials.  More than 1,000 citizens have stepped up their community involvement. 

Residents from Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties are invited to attend the Call to Service Summit on April 1st at 6pm featuring Governor Jim Florio, Camden Mayor Dana Redd, and Cooper Health Systems CEO John Sheridan. Free parking is available directly at the Campus Center and free food and refreshments will be provided.

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The Summit, led by the statewide group The Citizens Campaign and made possible by the support of the Community Foundation of South Jersey, will showcase how citizens can address important community issues like reducing property taxes, increasing public safety, and improving the environment.

The Summit will include four breakout sessions featuring a number of insider experts to offer their insight and advice for citizens to get real results in their community.
 
Session A: Insider tips and tools for citizens to implement government waste-cutting. Featuring the head of the Cherry Hill Reform Committee (and Citizens’ Campaign Camden County Chair) Bob Shinn, who’s group successfully worked with  School District officials to eliminate $6 million over the next two years in health insurance costs.

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Session B:  Participating in the local and county political parties. Citizens interested in participating in the candidate selection or endorsement process need to attend this session. Applications for the county political party committees are due April 11th, don’t miss out on this session taught by current Democratic Party committeewoman and Citizens’ Campaign Chair, Joyce Alexander Walker.

Session C: Serving on a local board or commission. Municipal board and commission members are often the unsung heroes in a community, volunteering a few evenings a month to promote environmentally-friendly policies, recreation opportunities for children and seniors, and increasing housing and public safety. The Citizens Campaign State Director Lauren Skowronski will teach attendees about the opportunities that exist at every level of government to serve, how to apply, getting appointed, and serving the community.

Session D: From city hall to the state house, how to report important news for your community. NewsWorks and The Citizens Campaign are teaming up to show citizens how they can observe and report what is happening in their community, and where to get published. This session will review the tips and tools for the modern citizen journalist.

The Call to Service Summit will be on Friday, April 1st, 6:00 pm – 8:30pm, at Rutgers-Camden, Campus Center Multipurpose Room on 326 Penn Street.   Citizens interested in attending are asked to please reserve a seat by visiting www.Jointhecampaign.com.

The Camden Call to Service Summit is co-sponsored by the Community Foundation of South Jersey, Rutgers-Camden Office of Civic Engagement, CamConnect, Boys & Girls Club of Camden County, the Center for Family Services, Concerned Citizens of North Camden, National Association of Social Workers – NJ Chapter, South Jersey NOW, The Nehemiah Group, Young Urban Leaders.

This Summit is free and open to the public. RSVP here.

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