I joined Casino-Free Philadelphia in the fall of 2008 — I may seem experienced to some of you, and a newcomer to others.

I got involved because my friends and neighbors asked me, and I suspect that many of you also joined because other folks you knew were involved. For a couple of years, I had seen the creative, effective campaigns of Casino-Free Philly hold off a seemingly invincible foe, one that had what looked like all the levers of power allied behind it.

Three years later, I've seen Casino-Free have some big successes, and fall short in other places. Yet at its core, it's been this network of friends and neighbors propelling the organization forward.

I've acted as a volunteer, a part-time staffer, a campaign planner, a direct action trainer, Thomas Jefferson declaring independence from casinos, a painter-of-signs and a driver-of-cars-to-Harrisburg.

But more than anything, I've been a part of a community, you and me and an organization that became more than the sum of its parts.

We have a fantastic campaign in the form of fighting quicksand credit at SugarHouse, and keeping an eye on whatever might become of the Foxwoods site — but we need your support to get to where we need to be in 2012.

Please join me in making a year-end, tax-deductible donation to Casino-Free Philly.