Canvassing in a Year Off: Locals Meet Neighbors While Partnering with Athens for Everyone

Marilyn Cole, 38, from Savannah, Georgia, and Jim Ford, 74, from Pasadena, Maryland, go door to door in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Cole began canvassing in 2014 for Michelle Nunn, and Ford has never canvassed before. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

Jim Ford, 74, from Pasadena, Maryland, holds flyers for Stacey Abrams and Deborah Gonzalez in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Ford is currently retired but previously worked at the University of Georgia conducting research on military families. “I’m not retired. I’m taking a year off,” Ford said. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

Corey Griffin, 41, from Miami, Florida, talks to Jim Ford in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Griffin works as a driver’s helper for UPS, and he hasn’t decided how to vote. “I’ll have to see how it goes. One side wants to balance the checkbook, and the other side wants to reduce crime,” Griffin said. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

181103_wRhonda Lattimore, 41, from Athens, Georgia, shakes hands with Marilyn Cole, 38, in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Lattimore is going to start working at Niche Pizza Co. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)cc_a4e_006

Marilyn Cole, 38, from Savannah, Georgia, and Jim Ford, 74, from Pasadena, Maryland, check their list of houses in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Cole has been canvassing for four years, and Ford has never canvassed before. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

Marilyn Cole, 38, from Savannah, Georgia, speaks with Miranda Eberhart, 43, in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Cole is the director of engineering at Seller Labs and has been canvassing since 2014. ” feel like it’s one of the few things you can do to affect change, you know?” Cole said. (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

Jim Ford, 74, from Pasadena, Maryland, hands out a flyer in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Ford is a Vietnam veteran and served in the U.S. Air Force. “I’ve meditated every day for 13 and a half years,” Ford said. “The beauty of it is it starts you from a certain baseline every day.” (Photo/Whitley Carpenter, wcc53060@uga.edu)

Whitley Carpenter is a senior majoring in Journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.