Global Weekly Update September 9, 2013

Take Action Today: Two Important Invitations for September 12!

10-Minute Action: Invite Your Local Newspaper Editor to a Call on the Global Fund

Invite your editors and health writers to a virtual press conference with Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul; UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria Ray Chambers; Global Fund Board member Lucy Chesire; and RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter.

The call will take place at 9 am ET on Thursday September 12. Journalists must RSVP to Katy Kydd Wright to attend. The call will feature the release of the report titled Cost of Inaction, which follows recent scientific and health delivery breakthroughs which demonstrate that the world could completely control the HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria epidemics, but only if financial investment in the fight is scaled-up now. On this conference call, the global health officials will discuss data laying out the investments required to defeat these diseases, and the humanitarian and economic costs if we fail to act. Journalists will receive an embargoed copy of the report if they RSVP at least 24 hours in advance of the call.

Find a media advisory you can send to your editors. Below is a laser talk/e-mail message you can use for your inviting:

Do you remember what the world looked like in 2000 when AIDS was running rampant. Well, we’ve come a long way since then. Experts are actually talking about how the world could completely control the HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria epidemics with proper funding. Personally, I find this amazing. This is a good-news story your readers will want to hear about. I want to invite you to a virtual press conference for the release of Cost of Inaction, a report being released by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. On the call you’ll hear from Executive Director of the Global Fund, Mark Dybul; UN Special Envoy for Financing of the Health-related MDGs, Ray Chambers; Global Fund Board Member, Lucy Chesire; and Executive Director of RESULTS, Joanne Carter. If you RSVP for the call you can receive an embargoed copy of the report. The call will take place on Thursday September 12 at 9 am ET. If you want a better sense of why this is important, check out this 3 minute video. Can you or one of your colleagues make this?

10-Minute Action: Invite Your House Aides to a Child Nutrition Briefing

Please invite your representative’s foreign policy aides to a child nutrition briefing on Thursday, September 12 at 5 pm in Room 2168 (Gold Room), Rayburn House Office Building. RSVPs for the briefing should go to Deborah Banks at the US Fund for UNICEF.

You can find the briefing invitation on our website, find the names of your congressional aides, use this sample laser talk/e-mail message to do your inviting. (You can create the email address of your congressional aide like this: [email protected].)

I’d like to invite you to a briefing to learn how we can end preventable child deaths in a generation. The briefing will be held this Thursday, September 12 at 5 pm in Rayburn Room 2168. Since 1990 the world has drastically reduced child mortality from 12 million children under the age of five dying every year of preventable causes to under 6.9 million children. With U.S. leadership, we can meet the bold goal set at the June 2012, Child Survival: A Call to Action to end preventable child deaths by the year 2035. Please join this briefing hosted by the Congressional Global Health Caucus to hear from UNICEF, USAID, and leading implementers on what steps are needed to keep us on track for the 2035 deadline. The briefing will also preview UNICEF’s second annual A Promise Renewed report that will be released on September 13, which includes the latest global, regional, and country-level statistics on child mortality, and a detailed analysis of both progress and challenges in reaching the goal of ending preventable child deaths. Will you be able to attend the briefing?

Ask Your Rep. to Cosponsor the Education for All Act and Nutrition Resolution

August recess is over and Congress is back in session! Ask your representative to cosponsorship of two important items in the House—the Education for All Act of 2013 (H.R. 2780) and H.Res. 254 which supports child nutrition.

If your representative has already cosponsored, ask him/her to invite their favorite colleague from across the aisle to cosponsor? If we want to break the partisan log jam, we'll have to be extraordinary in our advocacy. We are going for 100 cosponsors on both pieces of legislation, and we want a true bipartisan showing. Neither will receive serious consideration without strong bipartisan support.

Utilize our comprehensive blog post on both pieces of legislation to get briefed on the issues, and make cosponsorship requests of your representatives. Also, get great tips on reaching out to challenging members of Congress through the recording of our recent coaching call on the subject featuring former Congressman Lee Hamilton (D-IN).

• 5-Minute Action: Send a letter to your Rep. requesting he/she cosponsor the Education For All Act or the Child Nutrition Resolution. (Remember to personalize your letter.)
• 15-Minute Action: Read the action sheet on the EFA Act or Child Nutrition Resolution, then call the foreign policy aide and ask that your representative cosponsor. Use the Congressional Switchboard number (202 224-3121), or find the number online. Send the aide follow up fact sheets.

Grassroots Updates

International Conference Survey. It was great to see so many last month at the 2013 RESULTS International Conference! As we begin the planning process for the 2014 International Conference, it’d be helpful to hear from you about your experience here in Washington, D.C. Please click to complete a short survey about your experience at the conference.

Fall 2013 Youth Advocacy Training. The Global Campaign on Education, U.S. invites young leaders to learn how to advance Education for All legislation! The training will take place from November 1–5, 2013, and the application is due September 27, 2013. Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25 at the time of the training, must permanently reside in the U.S., must be able to attend the entire training (from dinner on November 1 to departures on November 5), and must complete the entire application and submit a letter of recommendation from a person that can speak to their involvement on campus or in their community. The training will culminate in Capitol Hill visits and a reception on Monday to advance the Education For All legislation. Engage youth in your community; this is a great opportunity.

Grassroots Board Member Nominations Close on September 24. Dr. Scott Leckman, Chair of the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, has announced a position available, starting November 2013, for a RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund (REF) Grassroots Board Member. Lydia Pendley is completing her three year term as a Grassroots Board Member, making this spot available, and our sincere gratitude goes out to her for her three years of service! Candidates for the Grassroots Board Member seat must be engaged in an active RESULTS group, and if elected, will serve for a term of three years and represent the volunteer body on the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee of the Board of RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. More details on responsibilities and expectations of the Grassroots Board Member position are available from Jack McLaughlin. Nominations of candidates for the open Grassroots Board Member position must reach the RESULTS office by September 24. You can e-mail your nomination to Jack McLaughlin or fax it to (202) 466-1397.

Outreach and Fundraising Working Together on September 21 to Strengthen RESULTS? Absolutely!

We have a sample script you can use for both outreach and fundraising to close out your gathering on September 21 for Sam Daley-Harris’ book party conference call to celebrate the 20th anniversary re-release of Reclaiming Our Democracy. This script offers you a way to thank people for coming and button up the evening with an ask for folks to get engaged by taking action or donating to us. (Need donation envelopes? Contact Cindy Changyit Levin, Grassroots Development Associate.)

Remember, the book party conference call will be held at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on Saturday, September 21. Check out our guide to creating a book party, which includes the details on how to join the call and on how to purchase book copies. (The book is now available online, and there is an e-version of the book, too!) Also, check out our recent webinar on recruiting returned international volunteers to RESULTS. Our goal is to have 35 groups hold book parties and inviting 250 new people to join RESULTS!

Dr. Muhammad Yunus will join Sam Daley-Harris and RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter for this exciting event. Need more information on this great outreach and fundraising dual opportunity? Check out all the information on our blog, and take a listen to the September National Conference Call for inspiring information on the book roll-out from Sam himself! (Dr. Farmer’s remarks made on the call are also great to share with new or inquiring folks!)

For me, an area of moral clarity is: you’re in front of someone who’s suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it, and you act.

—Dr. Paul Farmer

The RESULTS DC office has moved! The new address is 1101 15th St., NW, Ste. 1200, Washington, DC, 20005.

1. September 11, 9 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.

2. September 12. Global Fund call for journalists. See details in this weekly update.

3. September 12. Congressional Briefing on Child Survival. See details in this weekly update.

4. September 17, 8 pm ET. Media Support Call. Want to be part of the on-going support that’s available to help you reach your media goals? Then this is the call for you! Join monthly for inspiration and ideas to keep you going. The Cameron Duncan Media Award is given to a deserving journalist at the annual International Conference, and we want to create professional media champions worthy of this award! This month, we’ll share highlights from the Media 101 workshop at the International Conference; also, bring your stories of success to share! Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join this call.

5. September 21, 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Outreach Conference Call to Re-launch Reclaiming Our Democracy. To celebrate the release of the 20th anniversary edition of Reclaiming Our Democracy by RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris, Sam will be joined on a conference call with Dr. Muhammad Yunus and RESULTS Executive Director Joanne Carter. Use this call, and the companion planning guide, to creating a great book party for outreach in your community.

6. September 23 (special date), 8 pm ET. Next RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. Dial (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, Senior Global Grassroots Associate, for more information on this monthly group call.

7. September 27, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.

8. October 5. World Teacher Day.

9. October 12, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join!

10. October 16. World Food Day.