We held our Annual Membership Signing Day 2024 at Juan Pablo Duarte Park in Allapattah. This ceremony was an essential marker in the membership journey this year on their way to building sustainable communities and power through social justice. At this event, parents, community supporters, and Power U Alumni came out to speak and show support for the work.

In March, our organization began preparing to build connections with the community. Our organizing team began training new and returning members on canvassing tactics, such as using a script to guide conversations, following up, and the importance of amplifying voices in the community. After weeks of training, we set out door-knocking in several neighborhoods across Miami, speaking to residents about what they saw and what changes they would welcome. We initially canvassed 200+ doors, gaining responses from over 100 residents from March to April; residents shared thoughts on housing, safety, and education. We will use the data and responses gathered from this canvas to develop our committee campaigns.

In March, Power U Members elected another layer of leadership for the organization: committee co-chairs and the documentarian. Committee co-chairs will serve as liaisons for each of our committee campaigns, helping to create agendas and frequent roles and collaborating with the organizing staff on campaign actions. The documentarian works alongside our Communications Director and the Communications Team to lead the narrative of the work members engage in over the year. This role involves conducting interviews, photo/video capture, producing content to contribute to Power U’s legacy, and more. Check out the leadership roles here.

After 5+ weeks of canvassing, we invited folks we connected with to a Community Town Hall Event. At the event, attendees could share their experiences and issues that they are facing in their neighborhoods and unpack how they relate to our current committee campaigns. We did a test to invite folks directly from the doors to a meeting in their area therefore we had two simultaneous meetings at YMCA Allapattah and Miami Central High School. During this meeting, we also shared the data we collected from surveying residents. The top concerns of community members were health and infrastructure, both of which are touchpoints of ASPP and Environmental Justice.