Grassroots Activists Target Florida's Young Adults - Unemployment Remains Top Concern

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Jan 30, 2012, 02:43 ET

Generation Opportunity Expands Network Across Florida, Issues Online Training Guides in English and Spanish to Organize Young Voters

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Generation Opportunity, a rapidly growing organization with over two million Facebook fans that is mobilizing young adults across the nation through a strategy based on social media and ground operations, has conducted its latest grassroots tour through Florida to help mobilize the Sunshine State's young adults. This marks Generation Opportunity's fourth trip to Florida in less than a year. Previous trips included visits to areas around Tampa, Coral Gables, and Miami to listen to and sign-up young people concerned about how the poor economy and lack of jobs are limiting their ability to find work, gain critical skills, and pursue their dreams.

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"Young adults in Florida are very open with their views about how the country is headed in the wrong direction and how the poor economy and lack of jobs have already had a negative impact on their dreams, plans, and careers. In Florida, young adults are tired of having their lives put on hold because of the bad policies coming out of Washington and the lack of economic opportunity – they are eager for a change in the status quo in order to improve their daily lives," said Paul T. Conway, President of Generation Opportunity and a former Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Labor. "Young Floridians think elected officials in Washington are completely out of touch with the financial realities they deal with everyday. They know that having a rewarding job, a paycheck, and more economic opportunities give people a better chance to gain critical skills, pay off debts, and realize dreams than any election-year promise or federal program ever will."

Field staff from Generation Opportunity conducted a tour of college campuses in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas, which included stops at Broward College, the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Nova Southeastern University. In addition, the grassroots team engaged young people at a variety of public events including a Miami Heat game held at American Airlines Arena, the ING Miami Marathon, the Homestead Championship Rodeo, and a parade in Homestead, Florida.

Based on conversations with young professionals, college students and other young adults they listened to and spoke with, the Generation Opportunity team found that young adults in Florida are most concerned with the poor economy and lack of jobs, the increasing level of federal spending, national debt, and issues that impact American competitiveness.

In 2011, Generation Opportunity joined nearly 1,500 Hispanic business leaders in Miami, Florida, as a participant in the 32nd Annual U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) National Convention and Business Expo, where young people also cited the lack of jobs and the mounting national debt as top concerns.

Generation Opportunity recently announced that it has added to its popular online "Grassroots Training Guide Series" with the release of three brand new editions, and has also expanded the accessibility of its online training by making the entire training series available in Spanish.

The complete series of guides is available at http://generationopportunity.org/take-action/ and in Spanish at http://generationopportunity.org/espanol/.

The guides are designed to assist young Americans in telling their stories of how the poor economy has impacted them to the media and to elected officials. The grassroots team found a strong level of interest in these and other Generation Opportunity online resources while on the ground in Florida – resources that also allow the state's young adults to learn more about voter registration, obtain information on voting deadlines, learn questions to ask elected officials, join Generation Opportunity's rapidly expanding Facebook community of over two million fans, share their stories, organize a local event, research policy issues, and get details about potential solutions.

Generation Opportunity commissioned a poll with the polling company, inc./WomanTrend (April 16 – 22, 2011, +/- 4% margin of error) and select highlighted results for all young Americans ages 18-29 appear below:

Millennials: Dreams Delayed by the Poor Economy

77% of respondents (18-29) are delaying major life changes due to economic restraints.
- 44% delay buying a home;
- 28% delay saving for retirement;
- 27% delay paying off student loans or other debt;
- 27% delay going back to school/getting more education or training;
- 26% delay changing jobs/cities;
- 23% delay starting a family;
- 18% delay getting married.

Millennials: Washington is Out of Touch

Only 31% of those 18-29 approve of Obama's handling of youth unemployment.
69% say political leaders do NOT reflect the interests of young Americans.
56% believe the wrong leadership is in Washington and 61% will vote on a candidate's record, not charisma.
57% said they will learn more about the policy positions of Presidential candidates in the 2012 election than they did in 2008.

ABOUT GENERATION OPPORTUNITY
Generation Opportunity is a non-profit, non-partisan 501 (c)(4) organization that seeks to engage everyone from young adults, to early career professionals, college students, young mothers and fathers, construction workers, current service men and women, veterans, entrepreneurs, and all Americans who find themselves dissatisfied with the status quo and willing to create a better tomorrow.

Generation Opportunity operates on a strategy that combines advanced social media tactics with proven field tactics to reach Americans 18-29. The organization's social media platforms – "Being American" on Facebook and "The Constitution" on Facebook – have amassed a total fan base of more than two million. Both pages post links to relevant articles and reports from sources ranging from the federal General Accountability Office (GAO), to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Brookings Institution, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, and The Heritage Foundation.

Read about Generation Opportunity here; visit "Being American" on Facebook here and "The Constitution" on Facebook here.

For our Spanish-language page – Generacion Oportunidad – click here.

CONTACT:
Matthew Faraci
202-997-1636
EMAIL

SOURCE Generation Opportunity