amanda - meet the indigo girls...

"check, check, check..."

it's a sound you'll get well before the concert if you go early enough and it's something that amnesty international volunteers get to hear plenty of...thanks to angie hougas and nancy lutz who run the rhythm n' rights program for amnesty international...

and tabling at a concert is a great way to get new volunteers involved in your local chapter ... enter amanda van doorn...amanda recently moved to nashville after having worked with amnesty in college - she hooked up with us through the state chapter list on the amnesty website and volunteered right away to help us out with the october 3rd indigo girls concert at the ryman auditorium ... "the girls" - touring to support their 10th studio album release, despite our differences and celebrating their 20th anniversary of making music together - have been longtime supporters of the work of amnesty international and even played an anti-death penalty concert at the same venue in 1999 organized by the legendary steve earle...

here's amanda's account of the evening...peace out <3

The Indigo Girls were kind enough to allow Amnesty International to table at their concert they held in Nashville on Tuesday night. I had the pleasure of tabling with Lynne and we tabled beside volunteers from the Vote No on 1 campaign. We had several petitions at our table which were about: the situation in Darfur/Sudan, the disappearance of children in Sri Lanka, and the discrimination and violence women currently face in Guatemala. We also handed out flyers with information about our local group and encouraged people to sign up to be on the email listserve.

We had a great response and it was awesome to have the opportunity to talk to people about these various issues and the mission of Amnesty International. Everyone we talked to seemed receptive to our message and many concertgoers were excited to see that Amnesty was at the event. Being at this event allowed us to educate people on the issues mentioned above, while also giving us the chance to promote our group and establish new contacts.

In the end, it is all about getting out there and educating people, promoting awareness; tabling is an excellent opportunity to accomplish these tasks. You should never under estimate the power of action and your ability to help make a difference.

Thank you to the Indigo Girls for allowing us to be at their concert and thank you to all the people from Rhythm n' Rights who provided the Nashville chapter with this excellent opportunity.