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Stephanie Rugoff |
World Can’t Wait has volunteer-run national office in New York City. We will be spotlighting some of our wonderful volunteers and our sustainers over the next several weeks. We are thankful to have them. You can sustain our work by making a monthly recurring donation at worldcantwait.net.
How long you have been a national office staff volunteer?
I started working at World Can’t Wait about six months after World Can’t Wait began (World Can’t Wait began in July 2005).
Why do you volunteer at World Can’t Wait’s national office?
The situation on our planet is so disastrous in so many ways that I feel I have to do something to try to change the direction in which we’re going. A good place to start is to build a stronger and more visible political movement to end the ever-expanding wars of occupation, which began, this latest round, in Iraq and Afghanistan. I enjoy working with people who feel the same dedication I do.
What do you do as a national office staff volunteer?
I have two main areas of responsibility. One is to maintain our donor database. Without the support of our donors we would not be able to accomplish very much. The other is coordinating our War Criminals Watch project. I also do other things such as supervise our high school and college interns and help plan events.
As a national office staff volunteer, what difference does having sustainers make?
Sustainers give us security in that we know our rent and basic expenses, such as telephone and internet connections, will be covered. Without the sustainers, we would have constant anxiety. By knowing we have enough to cover those expenses, we don’t have to worry that money would need to be taken from our only “paid” staff member – the one who is totally crucial to maintaining the direction and clarity of World Can’t Wait – Debra Sweet. It would be a tremendous blow to us and to the movement as a whole if Debra had to work outside part-time in order to supplement her stipend.
Any wish-list items for the office?
It would be great to have additional heads for the track lights in our new office. It gets difficult to see in the late afternoon and evenings. Of course, it would be nice to have a little cushion when we plan events, such as rent when we can’t find a free location or travel expenses for speakers.