[liberationtech] Change.org has one thing no petition site does

[David Majlak]

I've been signing petitions on this site for perhaps a week or two now.
It's so utterly easy, and they provide them in such a convenient manner.
I've also been to demandprogress.org and other petition sites, but this,
which i've forwarded/attached as text, is invigorating, inspiring, and
energizing. I've never received an email back about the reality my
decisions have created. This is amazing. I signed each of these petitions,
and now they're real. Below is a brief summary of each, and the outcome. If
any of you would like to facilitate social change, urge other petition
sites to do the same, or simply combine their resources with change.org. I
would also urge the philanthropists to spread the use of this site. I get
an email about one petition, I sign it, and another one slides in to
replace it. I sign it and repeat until finished, which takes me literally
less than a minute, and I've signed a half dozen petitions for a whole week
or so. Finally, getting something like this just makes it so much more
worth not deleting those emails, and not ignoring them.

Regards,
David.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Whitney, Change.org <mail at change.org>
Date: Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 11:56 AM
Subject: Obama signed your bill into law
To: davidmajlak at gmail.com


       [image: Change.org]      [image: Change.org]

* “I have been waiting for this moment for fifteen years. I can’t bring my
daughter back, but I am so proud that Janey’s name is on this bill to
inspire others to work for justice.”
-- Retired U.S. Marine Sergeant Jerry Ensminger (second from right)*
    [image: Start a
Petition]<http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vrup&utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9656&alert_id=KLCknmvMjT_NLvkyBdeUC>

 Is there something you want to change? It takes about 3 minutes to create
your own petition on
Change.org.<http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vrup&utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9656&alert_id=KLCknmvMjT_NLvkyBdeUC>
*
Click here to get
started.<http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vrup&utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9656&alert_id=KLCknmvMjT_NLvkyBdeUC>
*

*David -*

Last week, President Obama signed into law a new bill that will provide
health care to thousands of veterans and their families who were made
seriously ill by contaminated water at the Camp Lejeune military base in
North Carolina.

*Retired U.S. Marine Sergeant Jerry Ensminger -- who started the petition
on Change.org that called for the new bill -- was right there.*

Jerry agonized for decades over why his daughter Janey died of Leukemia at
age 9. He discovered that Janey was only one of many to get sick and even
die because of what is called the largest water contamination incident in
American history.

After *more than 135,000 people* signed Jerry's petition, *Congress passed
"The Janey Ensminger Law," named after Jerry's daughter* -- now as many as
one million people can get help paying for medical coverage from the
contamination at the military base.

Jerry's not alone. Change.org members are winning campaigns that don't just
change the world, but that actually save lives -- *see the inspiring list
of other recent victories below.* We can't wait to see what Change.org
members like you will do next.

Thanks for making all this happen,
- Michael and the Change.org team

*Louisiana charter school ends unlawful discrimination against pregnant
students.*

The Delhi Charter School in Louisiana ended its official policies of
suspending pregnant students and mandating pregnancy tests for students
"suspected" of being pregnant. The move to eliminate the policies (which
violated three federal laws) came after *more than 126,000 people* signed a
petition started by Teen Parent Ambassador for Brigham Women's Hospital,
Natasha Vianna -- herself a former teen mom.

*Special needs won't prevent 4-year-old Amelia Rivera from getting the
kidney transplant she needs.*

*More than 50,000 people* signed Sunday Stilwell's petition asking the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to allow a life-saving transplant for
4-year-old Amelia Rivera. The hospital just reversed its earlier decision
not to allow the procedure because she is cognitively impaired. Now, Amelia
will get the care she needs.

*Milton Hershey School accepts 13-year-old student initially rejected
because of his HIV+ status.*

Lawrence Stallworth knows what it's like to be HIV-positive as a young man.
When he heard that the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania had
*publicly*rejected a 13-year-old just for being HIV-positive, Lawrence
started a
petition to get the school to reverse its position. *More than 29,000 people
* signed Lawrence's petition, and the school will allow the boy to attend
in the fall.

*United Airlines issues a refund to man with a heart transplant.*

United Airlines refused to let Greg Boros purchase insurance for his
airline ticket because he had a pre-existing condition -- a heart
transplant. After Greg's doctor said he wasn't well enough to fly, United
refused to refund the cost of Greg's ticket. More than 1,500 people signed
a petition started by a family friend of Greg's, and United reversed its
position and refunded the airfare in full.

*3-year-old with rare condition will receive life-saving surgery she needs
from a world-renowned expert.*

It looked like Evangeline Burrors would have to settle for less-than-expert
care for her life-threatening brain disease. But after more than 700 people
signed a petition started by a family friend asking Kaiser Permanente to
cover her care with a renowned expert just two miles way, Kaiser relented
-- and Evangeline will get the treatment she needs close to her home.

*Prescription companies in Alameda County, CA are now responsible for
proper disposal of medications.*

Instead of letting old medications contaminate waterways or endanger people
who abuse prescription drugs, the companies that make these drugs will now
have to dispose of them properly. Thanks to the 500 people who signed a
petition on Change.org, people can now send their medications back to the
manufacturer for proper disposal.

*The University of Michigan Hospital becomes a safer place for Latex
sensitive patients.*

Frances Janis was alarmed when her son -- who has a life-threatening
allergy to Latex -- was almost exposed to it, again and again, while he was
admitted at the University of Michigan Hospital for major surgery. Frances'
petition helped get the hospital to create a safe Latex-free medical
environment for patients who are allergic to the substance.
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