Washington D.C. – Today, WakeUpWalMart.com celebrated its one year anniversary by announcing more than 210,000 supporters have joined America’s campaign to change Wal-Mart in its first year – including 25,690 in just the last month alone. As part of the first year anniversary celebration, WakeUpWalMart.com also released a new 8-minute grassroots video/DVD, entitled, “”America’s Campaign to Change Wal-Mart.”” The video/DVD will be a key organizing tool for grassroots supporters and will be used to launch our new monthly, local community meetings called WakeUps to reach out and recruit new supporters.
In addition, WakeUpWalMart.com announced a new goal of reaching 1 million supporters by the end of 2008.
“”Thanks to our supporters, we had an incredible first year. With 210,000 supporters, we have made Wal-Mart a key public issue, exposed the negative impact Wal-Mart is having on its workers and our communities and forced Wal-Mart to respond. If we could accomplish this with 210,000 people, imagine what we will be able to do with 1 million Americans united to change Wal-Mart,”” said Paul Blank, campaign director, WakeUpWalMart.com
Since the campaign’s launch on April 5th, 2005, WakeUpWalmart.com has become one of fastest growing social movements in America. WakeUpWalmart.com has led the national campaign to change Wal-Mart by running 15 separate mini-campaigns on themes such as “”Stop the Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis,”” scrutinizing Wal-Mart in the national, state and local media, conducting extensive research on Wal-Mart’s business and employment practices, and holding thousands of grassroots actions in dozens of cities and states all across America.
“”During the next year, our supporters are going to grow WakeUpWalMart.com into the most powerful force for change Wal-Mart has ever seen. On behalf of the American people, we will not stop and we will not rest until Wal-Mart changes into a responsible and moral corporation. We can only hope Wal-Mart finally wakes up and pursues the kind of real change the American people are waiting for,”” added Blank.
We launched many mini-campaigns over the last year, including : the “”Fair Share for Health Care”” campaign, where one brave Wal-Mart worker, Cynthia Murray, helped pass Fair Share Health Care legislation in Maryland; a 5-week Holiday Campaign with over 1,400 actions in at least 25 states; our “”2006 March Madness-Tournament for Change”” membership drive, where over 25,000 new supporters joined our campaign; our “”Nothing’s Scarier than Not Having Health Care”” campaign, where over 113 Halloween candy fundraisers were held in 91 cities in 31 states to raise health care money for Wal-Mart workers; the “”Send Wal-Mart Back to School”” campaign, where WakeUpWalmart.com joined with America’s two largest teachers organizations, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers; the “”Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care”” campaign, where grassroots supporters held 120 house parties in 38 states and community leaders held nine press conferences in 9 different states; the “”Stop the Wal-Mart Nazi Ad”” campaign, where our grassroots supporters forced Wal-Mart to apologize for using a Nazi image; and the “”Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart”” campaign, where over 21,000 supporters pledged not to buy their Mother’s Day Gifts from Wal-Mart.