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"People think they can't make a difference because they're just one person. Too many people forget that the power is with the people." -Truman Hurt, activist training workshop attendee.

Kentuckians For the Commonwealth (KFTC) has participated in several training workshops across the state which teach voter empowerment skills to activists. The informed activists are then charged with mobilizing and educating citizens who are often faced with discrimination and ignored by traditional political strategies such as low-income communities, former felons and persons with disabilities.

Begun in 2004, the training workshops teach activists a variety of skills, including neighborhood canvassing, voter registration and encouraging disenfranchised voters to have their voices heard by casting their ballot. The focus is on developing relationships with voters by educating them about their voting rights and establishing a connection that is not limited to Election Day.

The training sessions have taken place across the entire state, including Louisville, Berea and Bowling Green. Reaching out to community members and college students and faculty, the training sessions have encouraged dissemination of useful information and discussion about the issues facing Kentuckians. According to Janet Tucker, a former Chairperson of KFTC, "the [training sessions] were lively and helpful to many. Folks walked away with new tools."

The nonpartisan, grassroots campaign uses the training workshops as a springboard to develop Community Captains. Community Captains are charged with contacting 10 to 30 voters three times prior to the upcoming election. Each communication is an effort to increase voter participation by encouraging registration, informing voters of the ballet initiatives and increasing turnout on Election Day. KFTC's goal is to reach 15,000 voters before the November election.

The training sessions have been well attended by members of several Kentucky organizations, including KFTC, Kentucky Jobs with Justice and the Kentucky Pushback Alliance. 70 activists attended the August 1-2 meeting in Louisville. An agenda from the meeting highlights mobilization strategies, focus workshops and an evaluation of the training event.

Participants leave the training workshops enthusiastic and prepared to connect with voters. A member of the Bowling Green chapter, George Eklund, said that after the training he received, "I feel equipped and really motivated to hit the ground running and talk to members of my community."

KFTC has created a Voter Empowerment blog that is regularly updated. The blog contains articles describing voter empowerment community events, the number of newly registered voters and news articles about related political issues.

Other voter empowerment training campaigns have worked in other regions of the country. For example, Western State Center's VOTE Project, has held three successful training workshops in February, June and July of this year. The VOTE Project has registered over 10,000 new voters, mobilized hundreds of volunteers and is hoping to make 143,000 voter contacts before the election.