I’ll be honest… when I woke up this morning my plan for the day was to save the world. It was my first day of my canvassing job for Penn Environment. When I 1st went to the interview for this job last week I was stoked, excited to get a job that wasn’t retail, I was ready for it. But then the interview started & I found out that it was a canvassing job, which was exciting and intimidating at the same time. Standing on a crowed city corner tryna convince people to give me money to save PA’s parks wasn’t something I was crazy about. But I was crazy about doing something positive.
I remember the day I was approached by a Greenpeace canvasser on 16th Street over a year ago. His name was Guillermo & I walked right past him at 1st. Then I looked back at him, he smiled at me and said, “You look like you wanna save a Polar Bear.” These were the magic words. Polar bears have been my favorite animal since I was a little girl and when I was 13 years old & learned that they were endangered, that’s when I became environmentally aware. That day I became a bit more vocal on environmental issues. And when I got this job I thought that I could be someone’s Guillermo.
When I got dressed this morning I was still a little iffy about the whole thing but I thought, maybe this is how saving the world starts. It was pouring outside so I put on my rain boots, grabbed my umbrella & headed out into the downpour. When I got to the office on Walnut Street I made my way up to the 6th floor. It was 8am. For the 1st hour they made me practice “the rap” which is the schpeel you’re supposed to say to people, and you’re supposed to know it word for word. They made me do it so many times I became irritated. Then my trainer, Mike & I headed out to our destination. Since I had no ‘Penn Environment’ shirt yet, I had to wear a ‘Penn Environment’ rain coat.
Mike is from Oakland, California. He came all the way out here to do this job. To canvass. That kind of passion and dedication for environmental work is very rare and I admire him for it. As we walked through the city to our designated corner some kid with long blonde hair started walking beside us. He explained that he had done numerous canvassing jobs in the past, the most recent for a children’s hospital. Mike asked him what their project was and the kid responded, “Uh, I don’t remember. Sorry, I smoke a lot of pot. But you guys keep up the good work!”
Our corner for the day was 12th & Filbert, right outside Redding Terminal. By late morning the rain had stopped & it hit 88 degrees. My feet were sweaty in my rain boots and I couldn’t take off the rain coat because I had to wear something with the logo on it. And not only was I hot & irritable but I got a pretty bad headache too.
But comfort wasn’t a part of the job, I knew this. So I kept my mind on the mission. I was out here to save the world after all. In a nut shell, a canvassers job is to make people care about issues they probably don’t even know about. But as you know, most people walk right pass you, not knowing that you get credit for people who just stop to listen. I prefer the people who walked right pass me over those who felt the need to insult me or shout negative remarks. There were quite a few of those.
There was a bald woman in cheetah print tights who kept us company. She stood on the corner with us with a Styrofoam cup & begged everyone who stopped for money. This made people stop even less.
But I stood, planted on that corner and as the hours passed I became more & more miserable. It’s hard to feel like you’re making a difference when the only people who will stop to listen to you are middle aged men who want your phone number in exchange for a contribution. Around mid-shift I strongly considered giving Mike my jacket & binder & walking down to Market Street to get the bus home. Especially when Betsy returned with her Styrofoam cup and started drooling like an infant, all down the front of her clothes, onto the sidewalk.
I had so many conversations with old people who probably just wanted someone to talk to. One guy told me about how the mayor owes him a million dollars. Another guy told me stories about how he used to feed deer when he was a child. Riveting stuff.
The best part of the day for me was when I saw Mike down the street reciting “the rap” to someone. But I knew her. I raced down the street. I definitely knew her. Not personally but we had taken a writing class together the summer before. Her name was Sarah & she was the best writer I had ever known personally. I was very excited to see her, I said, “You’re the one who wrote the story about the guy and the obituaries!” She took my hand & said, “Yeah!” Then she recognized me. “Do you still write?” she asked. And in that instant I just wanted to go home & write so bad. I had wanted to do this, but now that I was out there doing it I felt completely out of my element.
After 6 hours, I got 16 people to stop and talk to me and I raised $15. I don’t think a single person took me seriously all day long. My head was pounding, I was sweaty from head to toe and I would’ve been starving had Betsy not ruined my appetite & almost made me sick, eating unidentified items from a nearby trashcan.
I truly wish I possessed Mike’s endurance and dedication. I woke up this morning excited to make a difference. But canvassing isn’t for everyone. I think I’ll have to find a different way to save the world.
