Global Weekly Update March 22, 2010

Great Work on Congressional Appropriations Letters! Stay Tuned for One More!

Congratulations! During a very difficult and busy time when everyone in Congress was consumed with the pending health care vote, last week you still managed to build on your strong relationships and get a great number of reps to sign letters supporting increased funding for the Global Fund, microfinance, and basic education. Read the final letters and see if your members signed by visiting our appropriations page. Thank your members if they signed on, or find out why they didn’t if you made the request. Both thanking and inquiring are great ways to deepen relationships with congressional staff.

We are still expecting both House and Senate letters supporting increased funding for TB, so check your e-mail and with your group leader for action alerts!

One Last Chance to Get Your Editoral Writers on the Tuesday’s World TB Day Call!

Be sure to call your editorial writers one last time on Tuesday morning to try to get them to participate in the World TB Day media call happening at 12:00 noon ET. The call features big names from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Yale University School of Medicine, and our own Joanne Carter!

Send the advisory and recent news clips on the World Health Organization’s M/XDR-TB 2010 Global Report on Surveillance and Response, use the March laser talk to pitch the call, and see what other resources we have to help you with your outreach.

Some members of the grassroots have had success in pitching the call by providing local information on TB that they have obtained by calling their state health department or state TB control office.

After the call, if your media contact participated, call and thank them. Be sure to ask if they need any additional information. If your contact was unable to participate, e-mail them the transcript and call later in the afternoon to follow up that they received it (the transcript should be available around 4:00 pm ET). Along with the transcript, we’ll be providing the names and contact information of those on the call in case your contacts have any further questions.

Great luck with pitching the call and please e-mail Blair Hinderliter if you have any questions.

Start Planning for Congressional Spring Recess: March 27–April 13

March 27–April 13 is the congressional spring recess, when reps and senators will be back home. It’s the perfect time to set up a face-to-face meeting to inspire them to take action on our issues — call them today to schedule a meeting, since two weeks flies by and time fills up quickly! April is a month for education action, so keep on the look out for education requests to take to your member of Congress!

Use our Activist Milestone #7 to guide you, and find a sample letter to send to your scheduler.

Education Global Action Week is April 19–23!

The Global Action Week for Education for All is the third week of April (19–23). What are your plans to make a splash in your community? Check out the Global Campaign for Education’s website to read more about the week and resources you can use to educate your community and decision-makers. We’ll be providing you with additional information and resources in the next few weeks, so get ready!

March 23: TB Media Conference Call

March 24: World TB Day.

March 27-April 13: Congressional recess.

April-May: New Activist Orientation. Four sessions: April 5, April 19, May 3, May 17. Call (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. Contact Lisa Marchal to sign up and for more information.

April 6–10: Microcredit Summit Campaign Africa and Middle East Regional Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

April 10: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. Call in at (888) 409-6709.

April 19–23: Global Campaign for EducationGlobal Action Week.

June 20–22: International Conference, Washington, DC.