Annie Arbuthnot '12 currently lives in Northampton but has spent this past week in Portland, ME, volunteering with Mainers United for Marriage, the "Yes on 1" campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples in Maine.  Already here working on the campaign are other alumnae--Amelia Nugent '11, Amy Gaidis '10, Nicole Gaidis '11, as well as many other volunteers with connections to Mount Holyoke.

With only two weeks left until Election Day, polls show that voting on this issue could really go either way, and Mainers United is in desperate need of volunteers.

Annie suggests it would be really great if MHC alumnae could come up here to Portland for the next couple of weekends before November 6th to volunteer. Maine came so close to allowing same-sex marriage in 2009. This issue affects so many of us connected to Mount Holyoke, not to mention the thousands of gay and lesbian families across Maine.  We have friends and family in Maine who will be directly affected by the outcome of this election, but this is more than just a personal issue. Maine has the opportunity to set an example for the whole country, and extending marriage rights to same-sex couples is the right thing to do.

Any groups or individuals who are interested in coming up to Portland, please contact Amelia at anugent@yeson1maine.org, or call her at (207)504-0204.