Global Weekly Update November 12, 2012

World AIDS Day Outreach . . . Make December 1 a Powerful Day!

Wednesday, November 14, is the final day to request a free DVD of the important documentary How to Survive a Plague, a provocative look into the genesis of AIDS activism in America. Peter Staley, founding director of Treatment Action Group, is a key figure featured in the documentary, and he and Linda Mafu, Head of Civil Society and Political Advocacy for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, were our special guest speakers for the November national grassroots conference call (which you can now listen to online). Take some time to listen and be inspired, and then follow the steps below to request a DVD that you can screen in your town.

How to Survive a Plague is a powerful look at the genesis of AIDS activism at the start of the pandemic. It shows us the passion of everyday people when lives are on the line. Some of the tactics are different than RESULTS uses today, but the enthusiasm is the same. We know that we want to go beyond surviving the plague to ending it around the globe, and so this movie is great inspiration for our work. Let us know if your group would like to participate in this outreach opportunity by providing the following information to Allyson Goldsmith, Outreach and Advocacy Associate by the end of the day on November 14:

• Date, time, location of your event(s)
• An estimate of the number of people you’ll be gathering for the screening
• Contact person responsible for receiving and returning the DVD (and the address to which we’ll be mailing the DVD)
• Short description of the event(s)

Considerations:

• We have a special licensing agreement, so please only request the DVDs if you are organizing a real outreach event and inviting people to join you.
• You cannot charge to see the movie as this would violate our licensing agreement.
• The DVDs must be returned to us in a timely fashion.
• Let us know if you would like a movie no later than November 14.

We’ll provide you with the following:

• A DVD and return envelope
• A sample meeting outline and discussion guide
• An action you can ask people to take
• Guidance on how to make the most of your outreach event

Want to Write for World AIDS Day? Have We Got an Offer for You!

1. Partner with an International Advocate on an Op-ed. Consider working with a newly trained international Global Fund media advocate on a World AIDS Day op-ed! Allies from Burundi, Kenya, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia can be paired with you or your group to write an op-ed that, with their stories, can bring the global perspective to your local story. Contact Ken Patterson, Global Grassroots Manager, for more information on this cool opportunity.  

2. “200 children are dying of TB every day. Most people do not know this.” Those words of Desmond Tutu underscore the importance of the latest report, launched November 13 by our friends at ACTION, on children and tuberculosis. Read and share this latest report, and utilize the information in any World AIDS Day media you pitch or write. 

3. Take advantage of the 2012 World AIDS Day Outreach Resources page. This page is being continually updated with helpful tools like sample outreach meeting agendas, the November action sheet and laser talk focusing on World AIDS Day, links to the How to Survive a Plague trailer, and more. (Soon a sample agenda for a How to Survive a Plague screening and companion flyer will be available.)

World Pneumonia Day, New RESULTS Groups, and More

1. Did you know that November 12 was World Pneumonia Day? This day relates directly to the work we’ve been up to for quite a while, namely promoting support for childhood vaccines and frontline healthcare workers. Check out the blog post by Crickett Nicovich, Senior Legislative Associate, about the day, take an online action to support a resolution on frontline healthcare workers, and check out the Twitter chatter about World Pneumonia Day at hashtags #promiserenewed and #WPD2012. 

2. RESULTS groups have now launched in Birmingham (AL) and Nashville (TN)! We welcome these folks into the RESULTS advocacy family and look forward to the good work you will undoubtedly be doing.

3. Do you know folks who would like to hear what RESULTS is all about? Feel free to invite them to a short 30-minute RESULTS Introductory Call and have them RSVP for the call time of their choice online! Participants can dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join their chosen call.

4. Have new advocates in your group who want to fill in some of the gaps in their RESULTS knowledge? Then the RESULTS New Activist Orientation is just the thing for them! The next orientation (held over two sessions) will be November 28 and December 5 (first session repeated on those dates) and December 12 (second session) at 9 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal to RSVP and dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.   

5. On December 2, RESULTS Austin hosts Julie Clawson for a powerful fundraiser, and on December 5, RESULTS Olympia’s house party fundraiser will feature Dr. Laura Hart. Contact Anne Child for more information about Austin’s event, and contact Nancy Curtiss at (360) 463-3656 for details about Olympia’s event. Contact Cindy Levin or Beth Wilson, your grassroots fundraising coaches, for help planning your own great event.

6. Want to participate in a holiday run/walk or celebrate a special milestone, all the while helping RESULTS raise funds for its important year-round advocacy work? Contact Cindy Levin, Grassroots Development Associate, for information on our Race to End Poverty and RESULTS Celebrations online fundraising sites.

I Will Have a New Legislator in 2013. What Now?

Many of our advocates are facing a changing of the guard when 113th Congress takes it seats in January. How does one start getting to know a these new representatives and senators and prepare for future advocacy work with their offices?

1. Begin your research by using online tool available on RESULTS’ website to research the background and overall voting record of your legislators.

2. Check out the 112th Congressional Scorecard on our Global Poverty Actions and News page. This scorecard is updated with information on how your legislators voted on our issues and if they participated in important sign-on letters. 

3. Look at the US Global Leadership Coalition’s 2012 Election Analysis for even more in-depth discussion of what might play out with Congress, both in terms of individual members and Congress as a whole.  

“If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do . . . how would I be? What would I do?”

– R. Buckminster Fuller 

1. November 14, 9 pm ET: RESULTS Introductory Call. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.  

2. November 19, 8 pm ET: RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS). Are you a RESULTS activist with our global poverty campaigns, living in a town with no RESULTS group?  You are alone no more! Contact Lisa Marchal for more information on this monthly group call.

3. November 28 and December 5 (first session repeated on those dates) and December 12 (second session), 9 pm ET. Final New Activist Orientation for 2012. This two-session orientation is ideal for those who are activists with us but who are still relatively new and would like more information on RESULTS’ history and methods. Contact Lisa Marchal to RSVP and dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.  

4. November 28, RESULTS Richmond (VA) Global Poverty Group Start, 6:30-8 pm ET. Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market, Community Room (4 North Thompson St.). Contact Nick Arena for more information.  

5. November 30, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.  

6. December 8, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join.  

7. July 20-23, 2013 – RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC. Dr. Muhammad Yunus and author/speaker Marianne Williamson are already set to join us. Mark your calendar now!