On December 18, I went to Richmond with Virginia Organizing to attend Governor Terry McAuliffe’s media conference on restoration of civil rights. This is an important issue for me because I am a formerly incarcerated individual and have been working hard to get my rights restored for years. Right before the media conference, Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney’s office staff handed me an envelope with a certificate that my civil rights had been restored!

This was an epic moment for me and I’m proud to have shared that with Virginia Organizing.

I’m telling you this story today to ask you to consider a tax-deductible donation to Virginia Organizing before the end of the year so others may experience the kind of joy I felt when I saw that certificate.

A while ago, a volunteer from Virginia Organizing asked me if I wanted to register to vote. Since I could not register, I got active by learning how I could help my community. Now that I have my rights back, I hope I can keep working to help others and show other returning citizens that we are more than how society has labeled us—we’re worthy of our rights!

Virginia Organizing is about empowering every person to realize his or her own potential. We work hard to embrace everyone’s humanity and be productive by organizing directly affected people to work together to create change. Please consider partnering with us to create change through a monetary donation.

Thank you for your support of me and others like me who are working hard to contribute to our communities. I’m so excited not just to have my rights back, but also to have registered to vote! I’m excited for others to have this opportunity too.

We have a lot of work to do in Virginia for social justice and Virginia Organizing is here to make that happen!

-Davon Miller