Liberty Lovers,
I am so excited to write you today. The Liberty Restoration Project has some big plans for 2009 and we want to share them with you! We have put in many exhausting hours into this organization over the past year and we feel we have paved the way for a very rEVOLutionary 2009! Once reading about our upcoming projects, please consider supporting us with positive thoughts, or time/ energy /financial contributions.

If you don’t know much about our organization, the Liberty Restoration Project (LRP) is compromised of a politically diverse group of concerned citizens who have decided to break down the arbitrary barriers (such as political parties) that divide us and work together as American Citizens to improve our country, starting as locally as possible.

The members of our organization care about freedom, liberty and the constitution and have been working in the Kansas City area for just under a year to restore all three.

This is document is rather lengthy and encompasses many of the plans we have for 2009; although I must admit a few additional ideas have cropped up in the past few days, so stay tuned for an amended version

Enjoy!

Yours in liberty,
Catherine Bleish
Executive Director
Liberty Restoration Project
Catherine@libertyrestorationproject.org
www.libertyrestorationproject.org
816-868-8806

Liberty Restoration Project: 2009

Liberty Work House
The leadership within the LRP takes great pride in thinking outside the box and feels this innovative idea will help channel positive energy into our local community, resulting in liberty minded changes throughout the Kansas City metro area.

By summer of 2009 we plan to obtain, through purchase, donation, or lease, a facility that will serve the following three functions:
1. House 5-6 volunteers – rent, utilities and food included
2. Provide office and meeting space for the LRP, storefront for our screen printing business.
3. Provide office and meeting space for any or all community groups

Volunteer Housing
There are many individuals across the nation struggling to eat and pay their rent while they fight to restore The Constitution in these United States. LRP realizes that this causes inefficiency for our movement and seeks to provide a solution. Through donations and the income provided by our t-shirt store (see later in document), we plan to house 5-6 volunteers who will dedicate 30 hours per week toward the Liberty Restoration Project.

Positions to be filled from within the Liberty Work House
Executive Director: Oversee the operation of the Liberty Restoration Project, strategic planning, fundraising, research, supporting all other volunteers in all the projects they are working on.

Assistant to the Director: The Assistant to the Director will help the Executive Director with a variety of administrative functions. Including but not limited to, maintaining a volunteer, supporter and donor database, helping with phone calls, and working on a variety of projects and events.

House Parent: The House Parent will be responsible for the routine operations of the house. This will include making sure the volunteer and public food pantries are stocked, overseeing volunteer schedule of daily, weekly and monthly duties (such as dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc..), oversee the community garden, maintain the meeting room schedule, and various other duties.

Other existing volunteer positions: Possibilities include Director of Community Outreach, granter writer/fund raiser, someone to run the screen printing business under our Director of Marketing, anyone that is willing to fill a current void!

Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteers will be recruited from all across the nation. Over the course of the past two years some very talented, motivated and driven leaders have emerged. Many of them would likely be interested in a situation where they can dedicate their energy solely to this cause without having to worry about the cost of survival.

Volunteers will be expected to
• Make a one year commitment to volunteering in the Liberty Work House
• Work thirty hours a week for the Liberty Restoration Project(one whole week off every three months)
• Be willing to help out in all areas of operation as we learn and grow
• Agree to and abide by a list of mutually agreed upon “house rules”

LRP Distributors Store front and operations
Inside our Liberty Work House we would like to run our screen printing business. This will include: screen printing, packing, shipping, and sales. This will likely be ran by a resident in the house with the aid of other volunteers. This is expounded upon later in this document.

Resource Library
We would like to provide the community with a resource library including informational DVDs, books, pamphlets, etc… Any organization would be welcome to contribute their materials and specific items would be for check-out only. We would like to include a video viewing room for people to plan documentary viewings, etc….

Food Bank/Clothing Closet
We know times are going to get tough very quickly and we want to make sure our fellow patriots are cared for. We plan to open a food bank and clothing closet made available to our members and supports to take care of emergency needs. We will be networking with all area support systems, such as food pantries and transitional housing organizations to make sure we can find immediate help for those in need. We would like to start a network of people willing to care for a patriot in distress. Please contact Catherine@libertyrestorationproject.org if you are interested in helping with such a project.

Community Garden
On our facility we plan to have a large organic community garden. This garden will serve several purposes.
1. To feed the residents of the Liberty Work House
2. As a training ground to show others how to grow their own food
3. As a place for local food banks and homeless shelters to “teach a man to fish”
Other foods obtained for consumption by our volunteers will be purchased by local companies such as Farm to Market Bread in an effort to support the local economy.

Meeting Rooms
We would like to provide meeting rooms available to the public on a first come first serve basis.

LRP Distributors (T-shirt store)
To complete our educational and programmatic goals for 2009 we need to secure a steady stream of revenue. This will help ensure the success of our efforts and the longevity of our organization.

The idea of a T-Shirt store makes perfect since for our organization.

The objective of this store will include the following:
1. Provide a revenue stream for the Liberty Restoration Project
2. Provide the liberty movement with access to affordable printing services
3. Educate the public through witty and creative representations of the issues that we feel the most passionate about.

Through partnerships with local liberty-minded screen printers, we have negotiated a rate that will afford us the opportunity to begin our store through utilizing a third party’s printing services. After the initial investment of money into this program, we plan to save our funds to purchase our own screen printing equipment.

To be specific: from the initial investment of $300, 75% of the generated revenue will be earmarked for future screen printing investment, while 25% will go into general fund. We have set our three month goal of raising $2,500 ($625 into general fund and $1875 for future t-shirt investment).

If our designs prove to be desired by the public, we will grow our business by moving from online sales only to obtaining a storefront and selling at booths at festivals weekly throughout the summer months.

Timeline
January 14, 2008: David presents draft t-shirt designs (Images will be loaded to the website in the upcoming days – stay tuned!)
End of January: Online store will open at www.libertyrestorationproject.org
April 1, 2009: Evaluate the success or failure of t-shirt store and consider expansion, deletion, or simply maintaining the program. (ie: did we meet our goal, is investing in equipment worth it?)
Summer 2009: if successful, obtain storefront/business location; begin participating in fairs/festivals.

Topic Expert Program
In an effort to cultivate local leaders while simultaneously working to educate the public on the various critical issues facing American Citizens today, the Liberty Restoration Project has developed the Topic Expert Program. The objective of the Topic Expert Program contains the following points:
1. Foster and support local leaders within the liberty movement.
2. Educate the masses, starting in Kansas City, one person, one group at a time.
3. Minimize the burden of research and duplication of research/education efforts for the liberty movement.
4. Provide the movement and our community with a set of informed, peer reviewed, speakers available to present all over the country.
5. Serve as a bridge, or point of collaboration, between LRP chapters in various cities/states.
6. Provide a rally point for groups who span across the entire political spectrum.

After extensive research and planning, Topic Experts will make presentations on their issue in a variety of settings. For people who have a basic understanding of their issue, the Topic Exerts will provide an in-depth lecture that will ALWAYS end with a clear plan of action for citizens interested in contributing their time, energy or finances to that particular issue. For citizens or groups who have little to no knowledge of the specific issue, the Topic Experts will provide an introductory level course which, too, should end with a call to action. Courses can be designed to last over multiple sessions or to fit into a one-time slot. Once the program is in full swing, Topic Experts will be available to speak to groups all across the country. A list of all topic experts from all cities and states will be made available on our website, speaking requests may require financial assistance for travel in order for the request to be fulfilled.

Topic Expert Expectations
A.Choose an LRP “issue” (http://www.libertyrestorationproject.org/issues/ ) or submit their Topic expert Idea to the Executive Director for approval.

B.Blog about their topic of interest (current events, interesting historical facts, etc..)

C.Create and maintain a resource page on our website. This should have a very easy to understand explanation of the topic and how it impacts citizens in our city, state or country (lets try to keep it as local and focused as possible) and should also include an in depth resource list for people interested in doing their own research on the topic. If there are multiple topic experts for a specific issue, they will work together to develop and maintain this.

D.Produce, or help produce, informational fliers about their topic to be used at booths, events, etc…. If there are multiple topic experts for a specific issue, they will work together to develop and maintain these.

E. Develop a beginner and advanced educational curriculum regarding their topic. If there are multiple topic experts for a specific issue, they will work together to develop, update, and improve these training courses.

F.Before becoming an official Topic Expert, trainees will practice their training course(s) in front of representatives of LRP and toastmasters and use their constructive criticism to improve their course in anyway possible. Depending on the clarity of the course, there could be anywhere from 1-5 critiques before the trainee is graduated to an official Topic Expert position.

G.Commit to providing their course to the public at least three times per year.

H.Utilize creative forms of communication, such as You Tube, to reach out to all learning styles.

April 1st is the deadline to submit courses to the communiversity schedule through UMKC ( http://www.umkc.edu/commu/) for their summer schedule. I would like to see at least three topic experts signed up to provide a training course during the summer of 2009.

Timeline for first and second wave of Topic Experts:
• Immediately: First round of Topic Expert Trainees begin blogging.
• January 31st: First round of Topic Expert Trainees complete initial drafts of their resource page for the website by.
• February 15th: First round of Topic Expert Trainees complete initial drafts of their first informational pamphlet/handout/flier.
• Month of March: First round Topic Expert Trainees will present their training courses to members of LRP and/or toastmasters.
• April 2009: First round of Topic Expert Trainees who graduated to Topic Experts will sign up on the communiversity schedule and their information will be listed on the website as a Topic Expert available to make presentations!
• May 31st: Second round of Topic Expert Trainees will complete their resource page (or have begun collaborating with existing experts if there are multiple people working on the same issue)
• June 15th: Second round of Topic Expert Trainees will complete initial drafts of their first information pamphlet/handout/flier.
• Month of July: Second round of Topic Expert Trainees will present their training courses to members of LRP and/or toastmasters.
• August 2009: Second round of Topic Expert Trainees who graduate to the Topic Expert level will register to teach in the Fall 2009 communiversity schedule.

As this program grows, the research and materials developed during the initial stages (now) can be shared with individuals and groups across the country to utilize in their own local educational efforts. This will have many benefits, including a reduction of duplicate efforts and building cross-country activist coalitions.

To anyone interested in becoming a topic expert, please contact Adam Gross, our Director of Community Outreach, asap to get the ball rolling. You don’t have to live in Kansas City to participate in this program. You can email him at: info@libertyrestorationproject.org or by telephone at: 816-305-9980.

Project Participation
The Project Participation Calendar will serve as one central point for Kansas City residents to find political groups and events they are interested in. No matter the political party affiliation or issue advocacy position, all political events will be included on this calendar.

The objective of the Project Participation Calendar includes the following points:
1. Provide an answer to the question, “how can I get involved?”
2. Raise awareness for liberty minded groups, issues and events through their inclusion on this public calendar
3. Increase attendance at liberty minded events by trafficking the general public as well as the liberty movement to this calendar

Currently there are many events that span the political spectrum included on this calendar and we hope to grow the content by giving local leaders direct access to include their events on our calendar. Currently, our calendar includes approximately three events per day spanning from city council meetings, to pachyderm meetings, to anti-war protests, to republican/democrat/libertarian/constitution party meetings and everything in between. For the liberty lovers out there, but sure to keep your eye out for Hope For America Coalition, Campaign for Liberty, Legislators Against Real ID, Students of Liberty (KU) and Iraq Veterans Against the War (KU) events!

Once the calendar is “beefed” up with information, we plan to present our calendar to 96.5 the Buzz to be included on their Rock the Vote page. We already have been included on their Rock the Vote page for event specific purposes and hope this is an idea that is appealing to them!

All efforts are made to include every event we can find online, but it helps reduce the date entry burden on our volunteers greatly when the organization signs up for direct access. All that is needed is a google calendar account and you can be given access to post your events directly to the Project Participation Calendar! Please email Catherine@libertyrestorationproject.org if you would like to be included on this calendar!

http://www.libertyrestorationproject.org/calendar.html

City Council
LRP would like to support at least 6 candidates running for City Council in the upcoming election in Kansas City, Missouri. We can not work with your campaign, but if you have principals in line with ours, please let us know of your intention to run so we can fully support you in a manor consistent with our 527 status!

Why Support us?
Successes and Lessons Learned
As a group, the Kansas City area liberty movement has accomplished a lot! Before the Liberty Restoration Project came into fruition, we were a loosely affiliated group of activists working on the Ron Paul Campaign. As a team, we fought against a slanted system and found many great successes and learned from each experience. Here are a few examples:

Delegate Process: The Liberty Restoration Project was formed by the team of individuals who successfully overthrew the Republican Jackson County Caucus (the chairman walked out half way through!), elected a full slate of liberty loving delegates, fought the challenges thrown at us from the MOGOP, and sent 3 delegates and one alternate to the 2008 RNC.

This effort took the contribution of a significant amount of energy from a core team about twelve in size. Our strategy meetings happened almost nightly, our training classes 2-3 times per week, and our effort enormous.

We learned a lot about the processes within the Republican party, about our skills, strengths and weaknesses as a group, and we learned a lot about inter-personal communication.

Freedom Tour: The Liberty Restoration Project successfully hosted the Kansas City leg of the 2008 Freedom Tour, with liberty loving Marc Scibilia. As a group we learned the joys of working with a band (change of KC tour date) and how to work together to turn lemons into lemonade.

Anti-Bail Out Rally: Two television stations were present at the event and for the first time we found liberty loving patriots shaking their fists in the air right next to old school republicans.

END the FED Rally: A trans-party collaboration. A successful turnout with some fantastic speakers. We learned the lesson of not testing the electricity before the day of the event. We also learned a lot about the processes of marching and rallying in the city of Kansas City

Proven Leadership
The Executive Director, Catherine Bleish, has contributed a significant amount of her time and energy into this movement during the past 18 months. To let you know that this organization is ran by competent hands, we would like to provide a list of the experience and activities Catherine has contributed to during the course of this rEVOLution.
• Kansas City area Grassroots Leader for the 2008 Ron Paul Presidential Campaign
• Elected Secretary at the 2008 Jackson County Republican Caucus
• Elected Delegate to the 2008 District, State and National Republican Conventions
• Co-Founder and Executive Director Liberty Restoration Project March 2008
• Communications Director for the Revolution March (www.revolutionmarch.com) summer 2008
• Lieutenant Marshall (Logistics Assistant) for the Revolution March summer 2008
• National organizer for all Ron Paul supporting delegates and alternates to the 2008 RNC
• Guest Speaker at Park University MPA program fall 2008 (topic: grassroots mobilizing)
• Head Marshall for the Kansas City END the FED rally
• Invited guest speaker to the December 2008 Constitution Party National Committee Meeting held in Orlando (topic: trans-party collaboration and local organizing)

Expected Budget

2009 Expected Expenses

Travel: New Jersey (David and Catherine) 1000
Travel: Minnesota (David, Catherine, Bryon) 439
Travel: Revolution March (David) 600
Rent: Ed Kendrick 6 mo LRC 300
Supplies: Printing, etc.. 3000
Infrastructure: Website 200
T-Shirt Store: initial funding 300
T-Shirt Store: Silk Screen Equipment 4,000
Infrastructure: PO Box 160
Infrastructure: Cell Phone 900

Sub Total 10899

Housing: Rent 9000
Housing: Electricity 1200
Housing: Water 1200
Housing: Gas 1200
Housing: Insurance 1200
Housing: Food 6000

Total 30699

We have a lot on our plate this upcoming year and this is just a peak! Stay tuned for our plans to reach out to high school and college students, to support the upcoming Continental Congress, as well as a second END the FED rally!

Your feedback and support are both desired.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 1:19 am and is filed under General LRP Items, Kansas City, LRP Distributors, Liberty Work House, Project Participation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.