Helene’s Thank You Note

Hi Friends,

I wanted to post this sooner, but you have to love technology issues. Right? =) If you have followed my blog or other socials for a while then you know I was a volunteer on the Vincent for Boston campaign. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been part of such a great campaign. I enjoyed door knocking and talking with people face-to-face about Helene’s campaign and the causes she stands for. Phone banking had its challenges because I found the website was not easily accessible with Jaws, a popular screen reading program that many blind people use. I was happy to reach folks though to discuss the campaign. What a race it was. Helene put in so much hard work and I’m so grateful for the experiences I took away from everything during this year and a half. Helene did not win, but she wrote a really sweet thank you note that you can find below. How sweet to mention me. I hope and pray our friendship inspires people. I always do what I can to talk about my lifelong friendship with Helene in hopes that it will encourage people to become friends with someone different. Take that scary chance and become friends with that different person the way Helene took a chance on me years ago. Come on. Yes, you. Try it! You might make a lifelong friend out of it. =)

Helene’s note:
Thank you so much for the last incredible 18 months. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have your support.

As you may have heard, we came in 3rd place in a 5-way race. It’s not the result we hoped for, but we are incredibly proud to have come this far as a first-time campaign.

I’d like to take a moment to thank each of you who helped along the way. 

Each of you has shared your world, your wisdom, and your generosity in different ways.

Thank you to each neighborhood: Mission Hill, Audubon Circle, Fenway, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and the West End for revealing your unique identities and beauty.

Thank you to our financial donors who believed in our shared values enough to invest in this project.

Thank you to my kitchen cabinet (strategy team) who met every three weeks to strategize over pizza and beer.

Thank you to our volunteers who made calls, knocked doors, worked events, provided words of encouragement, and threw yourselves wholeheartedly into this project.

Thank you to my wife Alice, who supported me every step of the way and put herself outside her comfort zone daily by making calls and knocking doors.

Thank you to my parents, my extraordinary mother-in-law Wen, and all my sisters for traveling to Boston for every major event and pitching in to help out at a moment’s notice whenever I was in a pinch.

Thank you to our incredible campaign team: Krista (the best campaign manager anyone could ever dream of), Jordan (our operations director for whom no job was too big or too small), Matt (a fearless field director who showed up for work even while battling the flu), David (our communications director extraordinaire who designed our print materials and prepped me for every single debate, appearance, or op-ed), Spencer (the finance director who taught me that fundraising could be fun!) and Kalen (my field consultant who designed our field strategy and provided endless pep talks).

Thank you to my lifelong friend Miranda, who is blind and who kicked off my activism journey in the 5th grade as we dreamed up a public school for the blind where students would actually get the resources they need for a full education. She shows me every day what it means to show up and not let anyone tell you something is impossible.

And, most importantly, thank you to every single person I met on the 13,758 doors I knocked this year who took the time to share their hopes, dreams, fears, and suggestions with me.

I’m honored to have earned your trust and I will work hard every day to create a more inclusive, affordable, and accessible Boston for all.

In gratitude,
Hélène