A Bloomington chapter of a national organization aims to bring more young women into politics. Local and national organizers held the kick-off of the city's Rise To Run program on Sunday.
Rise To Run is a national organization that developed after the Women's March on Washington in January. Its organizers aim to encourage and train young women to run for office. Bloomington is one of four pilot hubs for the organization.
Eileen Soffer is one of Rise To Run's national organizers who came to town for the kick-off. She says her team chose Bloomington because the city already had a strong foundation to support more women in office.
"Bloomington is a progressive city that celebrates, honors, and cultivates diversity where lots of women have had leadership roles," she says. "It seemed like the perfect place to get this going."
The kick-off included a panel discussion with Hoosier women in public office.
Shay Brewer is a young woman serving on the Bloomington hub's advisory council. She plans to run for office in the future and hopes that Rise To Run can help her get there.
"I'm looking forward to all the knowledge that I'm about to gain," she says. "Just from this very first kick-off, I feel like I learned so much from all the powerful women on the panel giving their experiences and advice."
Rise To Run also has pilot hubs located in Durham, North Carolina, Madison, Wisconsin, and San Francisco, California.
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