Go Ahead -- Be a Hero!

MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BLOOM
The historic downtown center on the west side of Olathe, KS, was falling under the shadow of a construction and population boom on the east side. That irked many residents, including Lila Courtney. "A lot of east siders didn't even know we were there," she says, but west side businesses needed foot traffic, and the residents needed to feel proud of their area.
So when she read in the newspaper that the city council was forming neighborhood committees to target specific areas for growth, she joined immediately. City planner Sara Copeland helped Courtney's group get permission to create a community garden in a lot where a church once stood. The city provided some funding (the rest has come from grants and a small fee charged to gardeners), plus free water sources and lines. Olathe's parks department plowed and tilled the lot to prepare it for crops. "We've completed our third summer now," Courtney, 62, says proudly.
The garden plots are so popular that Courtney's group is planning to expand the garden into the former church's parking lot. "We're so pleased about the community garden because we just wanted a voice," says Courtney. "Now we're speaking for this area of downtown--and we're being heard."
How you can get started
■ Keep your eyes peeled for an area in which to propose your public space, and have a specific action in mind when you ask for assistance.
■ Prepare to make your pitch at the next city council meeting. Check your city or town council's or community board's website for times and places of meetings and the proposed agenda, or for a number to call to find out this information. (To find a council or board in your area, do an Internet search for your town's name, or look in the phone book.) There's usually time at the end of a meeting for general comments, but if you'd like to get on the agenda beforehand, your community's website may tell you how.
■ Do your homework. Prepare three or four talking points stating why you want to make a change. Anticipate possible objections, and have your responses ready.
KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE
Sarah Ringler, a teacher at Pajaro Middle School in Watsonville, CA, had always worried about her students' safety. The busy street in front of the school had crossing guards--but no stoplight. Then, one day, before the guards arrived, two 13-year-olds were struck by a car. They were fine, but an indignant Ringler spoke with the school principal about installing a traffic light and learned that others had tried-- and failed--to make it happen.
Based on her experience in her teachers' union, she had a hunch that county supervisor Lou Calcagno could get results. So she had her English Language Development students start a letterwriting campaign to Calcagno. This summer, the light was put into operation. "I'm proud of all of us who participated," says Ringler, 57, "because we made our school and the community safer."
How you can get started
■ Show a need for action. Document any history of safety concerns. Call the city desk at your local newspaper; a reporter might know of, for instance, past traffic incidents, and she could also raise awareness of your cause.
■ Start a petition to prove how many people are affected--and outraged.
■ Take that evidence to the right authorities. For school-related safety issues, approach your parent-teacher association to drum up support. If your issue is, say, replacing a rusty swing set in a park, identify the legislator who can help--it might be your city's recreation manager, county commissioner, local alderman, or city council member (see "Call on Your Government" on page 5). Then, request a meeting. Many officials are happy to meet with constituents.
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES
Alzada Knickerbocker found her way into politics after opening her bookstore, The Avid Reader, in Davis, CA, two decades ago. To promote her business and industry, she joined the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association and became president of her chapter. "Public policy and the vote can affect a small business's success," says the 62-yearold. "City councils can approve zoning to let huge chains open nearby, and states can make workers' compensation expensive for small businesses."
Knickerbocker also participated in city council meetings about forming a downtown business association--which she then helped to launch. And she spoke to the California state legislature in support of a bill to lower the cost of health insurance for employers. Knickerbocker knows that a business owner speaking from experience is more effective than any lobbyist, so she's optimistic about the bill's future. "Small businesses embody the entrepreneurial spirit and the creativity of the individual," she says. "They're a cause that's worth the fight."
How you can get started
■ Join the National Federation of Independent Business. "Their members write to and meet with government representatives and have influenced public policy on issues like minimizing unnecessary regulations, fees, and tax burdens," says Knickerbocker.
■ Find out if your city council has a small-business committee by looking at the council's website or asking business owners. If your city doesn't have one, rally business owners to advocate for one.
MAKE YOUR VOICE REALLY COUNT
Know, too, that you can make yourself heard well beyond your zip code, as Debbie Smith of Williamsburg, VA, found out. In 1989, at age 34, she was raped near her home. Police suspected a particular man of the crime, but didn't have ample evidence to prove his guilt or to allow them to obtain a DNA sample from him. For six years, Smith lived in terror that he'd come back and kill her. When the same man, Norman Jimmerman, was convicted of another crime, his DNA was added to a then new "offender database," so it could be cross-checked with DNA collected at other crime scenes. Sure enough, police could finally prove that Jimmerman was Smith's attacker, thanks to DNA evidence collected in the hospital after her assault.
At the end of Jimmerman's trial, in 1998, then Attorney General Janet Reno invited Smith to talk about her experience for a national committee convened to discuss the future of DNA testing. Smith almost said no. "I have an extreme fear of public speaking," says the 51-year-old. "But I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste." Another important opportunity arose when Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) asked Smith to testify at a congressional hearing in June 2001 about how DNA technology had identified her rapist. Maloney was proposing a bill that would provide funding for processing DNA evidence, training Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, training prosecutors and law enforcement officers in the collection and use of DNA evidence, and establishing a national standard for its collection. She was so moved by Smith's speech that she named her bill the Debbie Smith Act.
"The passage of the act in 2004 was a great day for all the victims and survivors of sexual assault," Maloney says. "Law enforcement can now get many more rapists off the streets and throw them behind bars, where they belong."
How you can get started
■ Figure out if your issue should be dealt with on a national level. If it affects all Americans, the answer is yes. For instance, concerns about the environment or federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare should be taken to your U.S. senators and representatives.
■ Call your senator's or representative's district office. You can find out what district you live in and the contact information for your official's local office through Vote Smart (see "Call on Your Government" on the next page). You'll be directed to a real person whose job is to respond to voters' concerns. Note: Don't just send your legislator an e-mail; most members of Congress get thousands a day, and phone calls are much more likely to actually get results.
■ Remember, you can make a real difference. Recognize the power you already have as a citizen--and put it to work for what matters to you.