Global Weekly Update December 29, 2014

A New Year's Message by new advocate Amy Robinson

I never expected to be meeting with anyone from my congresswoman’s office. It just wasn’t on my radar. Sure, I would advocate human rights issues from afar through media letter writing and emailing state representatives. At most I was willing to join a team of people to meet with the congresswoman whom in turn would speak on my behalf.

But meet with someone by myself? Not me. However, that all changed when I took the plunge and scheduled a meeting. I was too passionate about saving millions of children from dying. I had to take it upon myself.

My stomach was in knots. But I was prepared; I had that on my side. I took a few deep breaths and walked in. Oh my goodness! There in the foyer was the district director talking with another constituent. This meant I had little time to prepare or collect my thoughts. Two, three minutes passed and the director was ready. We shook hands, I introduced myself and the meeting began. I went through everything I rehearsed the days leading up to this meeting. I used the EPIC format(engage, state the problem, inform on a solution, call to action) to grab his attention, and showing a quick video on my iPhone was also a way for me to get my message across even more. I began to see the district director agree with my points being made and show compassion for the issues I presented. Seeing this calmed my fears, and deeper into the meeting, I became more at ease. Towards the end of the meeting, the district director asked about my history with my town. This became a great ice breaker as well, because we found we had many things in common, ranging from the people we knew to personal battles with which we were both challenged.

I am very grateful to have met with a representative of my district. Nothing but positive results has come from it. My confidence level is at a new height knowing I accomplished a task I never saw myself doing. The relationship that I have created with my congresswoman’s office will continue to grow through the months and years to come. Since the initial meeting I have stopped into the office for a quick hello and to pass along updated materials, only to be welcomed with open arms. It’s a great feeling knowing that my single voice will be making difference.

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Thank you for the power of what you do.

Join us for the first national grassroots conference call of the year on Saturday, January 10, at 2 pm ET.

Dial in to (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call is to start and have our new individual and group planning materials on hand.

Happy 2015!