Happy Friday Afternoon MEEOA! I wanted to bring to your attention a new initiative COE is beginning. As we are all aware, this November's election will be nothing short of historic. In an effort to bring greater attention to the issues at hand and how they impact our students, COE is rolling out a campaign to engage TRIO students in the voting process. They have presented it is a contest amongst the states. While, personally, I am a huge proponent of voting, we realize this contest may not be suited for every TRIO program in Maine. So, if you are interested in working to improve and aid in voter turnout amongst your students, please see the information below to contribute to Maine's standing in the challenge! If you have any questions or need any help, as the Government Relations Chair for Maine, I would be happy to work with you and assist your efforts if need be! I wish you the best of luck inspiring new voters to take on this responsibility of contributing to the voting process! Have a wonderful weekend, Eric Are you having trouble viewing this message? Click here <https://t.congressweb.com/w/?HCRLVUKGRZ> [image: Alternate text] Election season is an opportunity to strengthen nonpartisan TRIO student civic engagement and make sure that no matter who wins the congressional and presidential elections, our students have a seat at the table. To that end... *Welcome to the TRIO Votes Challenge!* TRIO institutions and state associations compete for bragging rights by getting the highest percentage of students registered and voting. Added points may be earned for congressional advocacy and hosting nonpartisan forums or meetings with candidates or members of Congress. Please log your progress and share highlights on social media at #TRIOVotes! Here are all the resources you need to win: - *Resource Guide: Rise Up--Student Voting, Congressional Advocacy, and Hosting Events* <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZVUQLV> (Includes Toolkit and TRIO Votes Competition Details) - *Student Voting Checklist: One-Pager* <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZQNBEL>* Share this with students and plan staff time for one-to-one conversations to walk through the checklist!* - Rise Up: Webinar Presentation slides from COE's Sept. 9 webinar Rise Up: Webinar Recording <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZCURMO> - TRIO Votes Competition Reporting sheet <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZLLNMB> - Conversation Log Template -- INTERNAL <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZGVHNT> - Take Action Now! COE Community Request for COVID-19 Funding <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZONEWM> - Congressional Email and Tweet Details Mark your calendar and sign up to join these national student voting events: - *Next week! Week of September 22: National Voter Registration Day* <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZFDQYW> (COE conference attendees: please plan around the conference schedule.) - Monday-Friday, October 5-9: National Voter Education Week <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZXPRRP> - Saturday, October 24: Vote Early Day <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZRPTJH> - Tuesday, November 3: Election Day <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZMUQUY> See you on the leaderboard! *COVID-19 emergency funding update* On September 10, the Senate voted but failed to advance the Delivering Immediate Relief to America's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act, a Republican bill to provide $500B in COVID-19 relieff. The bill would have included $105 billion for education, with most money tied to physical reopening. TRIO would not have been included in the bill. *The time to act is now to ensure that TRIO's COVID request is included in the final COVID-19 bill Congress passes this year!* Click here to contact your legislators in support of our request - learn how this funding would help TRIO students at the program, district, and state level <https://t.congressweb.com/l/?HCRLVUKGRZXELNK>. Contact the government relations team at COE if you have any questions*.* <[log in to unmask];[log in to unmask]> Do not reply to this email as this account is not checked on a regular basis; rather, please respond directly to [log in to unmask] for further assistance. Forward to a Friend <https://t.congressweb.com/f/?HCRLVUKGRZ> | Unsubscribe <https://t.congressweb.com/u/?HCRLVUKGRZ> -- *Eric Pratt* Pronouns: He|Him|His Academic Counselor MEEOA Government Relations Chair Upward Bound | University of Maine at Farmington 252 Main Street Farmington, ME 04938 C: 207.314.5499 | W: 207.778.7279 Toll Free: 1.888.237.1667 www.upwardbound.umf.maine.edu