Both Chicago 2016 and No Games Chicago will be making a final push over the summer to recruit volunteers and supporters in anticipation of the International Olympic Committee’s announcement of the 2016 Summer Olympics host city in 125 days.
The bid will be announced Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Chicago 2016 recently released its latest volunteer numbers, boasting more than 18,500 registered volunteers, including 3,000 college students from more than 325 campuses nationwide, wrote Patrick Sandusky, spokesperson for Chicago 2016, in an e-mail. This represents an increase of about 500 college student volunteers in the past three weeks.
The summer will be a hot time for Chicago 2016 activity, especially with big events such as Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago and the World Cup qualifying match, Sandusky said. With the help of its volunteers, Chicago 2016 will manage booths at these events as well as at different parades and neighborhood festivals around Chicago.
Communication junior Kristie Marotta, who has been a registered Chicago 2016 volunteer for almost two years, said she plans to intensify her efforts, especially around August and September.
“I had an instantly excited reaction when I heard Chicago was one of the candidate cities,” Marotta said. “I’ll do anything – if it means helping out with events, if it means going around campus and passing out information – to push the bid. I don’t really care. I just want to make sure I do what I can to help.”
Student volunteers for Chicago 2016 can help the bid in a variety of ways, from going door to door in their dorms to working booths at summer events.
Not everyone is sharing in the excitement. No Games Chicago, the group opposing the bid, will continue rallying support despite continual problems with its nonexistent budget, said volunteer Tom Tresser. The group has been focusing on educating the public by hosting recent forums in Lawndale and Hyde Park and will continue to be a presence at forums throughout the summer, Tresser said.
No Games Chicago opposes the Olympics coming to Chicago mainly because of the games’ high price tag and negative environmental impact.
“We’re choosing to target forums because it’s where the people are,” he said. “No one is telling this side of the story. We’re going to try to educate the public about what a bad plan this is and hope that they will put pressure on the mayor and the president.”
With such limited resources, Tresser said No Games doesn’t even have the money to take ads out in local newspapers.
“It’s very frustrating,” Tresser said. “It’s total grassroots, one day at a time. The mayor’s power is pretty awesome, and dissent has been pretty shut down in this city.”
To sign up to volunteer, visit www.chicago2016.org or nogames.wordpress.com.
Related:Groups seek to sway International Olympic Committee 5/04/09Olympic bid supporters rally Sunday in Chicago 4/06/09
