U.S. Poverty Weekly Update January 27, 2015
U.S. Poverty CampaignsWeekly Update | January 27, 2015
In This Week's Update:
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Quick Action: According to a new report from OxFam America, the wealthiest 1 percent of the world population will possess more wealth than the bottom 99 percent combined by 2016. Meanwhile, a new Pew poll shows that 54 percent of wealthy Americans think “poor people have it easy.”
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Got Two Minutes? Follow Up on Your Meeting Requests (January Action)Now is the time to set up meetings with your members of Congress. Last week at the State of the Union speech, President Obama talked about income inequality and the need to do more for working Americans. He proposed increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for workers without children, an issue we have talked about for several years now. And one that seems to have bipartisan support in Congress. As Congress begins work on the FY2016 budget in the coming weeks, meet with your representatives and senators and use these areas of common ground to push them to not only increase the EITC for childless workers, but also make the 2009 EITC and Child Tax Credit (CTC) improvements permanent. Follow up on your face-to-face meeting requests this week – get the conversation started now on how we can end poverty in America. TAKE ACTION: To two minutes to follow up on your requests for face-to-face meetings with your members of Congress. Call the schedulers to check on the status of your request and ask for a meeting during the February recess (Feb 12-22). If you have not made your request yet, it’s not too late to send it in now. The January Action has information to help with your requests and you can use our updated online request letter to e-mail or fax your request in today. You can find scheduler names and contact information on the Elected Officials page of the RESULTS website. If you need help or guidance with your requests, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]) for assistance. Once you confirm a lobby meeting, please contact Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) to set up a call to help you prepare. |
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Got Ten Minutes? Send in Your Group Plans (January Action)Thank you to those groups and Free Agents who have sent in the 2015 Group Plans. We have about 40 percent of the plans in so far (see list below). Our goal is to get all the group plans in this month. If you have not sent in a copy of your group plan, please do so as soon as possible. If you have not set up your meeting to do group planning, please do so as soon as possible. The quicker we get your plans, the faster and better we can support you in achieving your 2015 goals. TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to finish up your 2015 Group Plan Summary and send a copy to RESULTS Grassroots Manager Jos Linn at [email protected]. If you are having trouble completing your plan or sending it to Jos, please contact him and he will work with you to get it done. The January Action has helpful tips for your planning and you can find all the 2015 Group Planning resources on our Group Resources page of the RESULTS website, Our January National Conference Call also has resources to help you as well. Here are the groups who have submitted their plans to date: Albuquerque, Aurora (CO), Charlottesville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Des Moines, Gig Harbor (WA), Indianapolis, Iowa City, San Diego, Santa Fe, St. Louis, and the Twin Cities. |
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Got Twenty Minutes? Invite People to the February 14 RESULTS Nicholas Kristof EventWe’re less than three weeks from the big RESULTS event with New York Times columnist and best-selling author Nicholas Kristof. Mr. Kristof will join us for a webinar on February 14 at 2:00 pm ET to discuss the importance of grassroots advocacy in addressing poverty in America and around the world. In his new book, A Path Appears, Mr. Kristof lauds the work of RESULTS in creating change. This is a tremendous opportunity for you to hear from a leading voice on the issues you care about. This event is also an opportunity to introduce new people to RESULTS and invite them to get involved. The kind of world we are all working to create depends on as many voices as possible speaking up. RESULTS volunteers like you have proven time and again that you can make a difference in addressing poverty through public policy. Enlisting others to join you and your local groups in this work will only serve to hasten the eradication of poverty in our world. Events like the Nicholas Kristof event make it easy for you to do that. All you need do is invite people you know to show up. RESULTS will help you. TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to start inviting people you know to the big RESULTS event with Nicholas Kristof on February 14 at 2:00 pm ET. Here is a list of resources to help you with your outreach:
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Outreach Update: Welcome Evansville, Help Us Grow in Other Areas, Join Intro Call on FridayRESULTS staff are working in targeted areas to start new groups and recruit new volunteers in our work to end poverty in America. Last week, Jos Linn traveled to Indiana and Kentucky and met with RESULTS volunteers in both Indianapolis and Louisville. He then traveled to Evansville, IN to present at a local Circles USA meeting. Out of that meeting, 9 people formed a new RESULTS group and will start their new group training on February 3. We appreciate the RESULTS Indy and Louisville volunteers meeting with Jos on his trip and we thank Circles Evansville for all they help they provided in setting up the meeting there. Welcome, Evansville! If you know people who might want to get involved in the RESULTS groups in Indiana and Kentucky, please contact Jos at [email protected]. RESULTS U.S. Poverty Organizer Kristy Martino is also working to start groups in the South. She will be holding a training webinar for people interested in getting involved in the RESULTS Birmingham, AL group and will be doing a “group start” meeting in Atlanta in February (for both events, date and time TBD). Kristy and RESULTS will also join MomsRising in presenting a short film night and training on the EITC and CTC on February 26 at Full Frame Theatre in Durham, NC. For more information, please contact Kristy at [email protected] and please share the info with others you know in these areas. RESULTS is working to start new groups in the following states (in order of priority): Utah, Oregon, Wisconsin, Alabama, Wyoming, and Mississippi. If you know people in these areas, please contact Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) to get them connected to our efforts. Finally, if you are new to RESULTS, join our next RESULTS Introductory Call this Friday, January 30 at 1:00 pm ET. RESULTS Intro Calls give you a brief and inspiring overview of RESULTS and our work. It’s a great introduction to being a powerful advocate. We repeat these calls twice per month. You can register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website. |
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Upcoming Events(See a complete calendar on the RESULTS website) Upcoming Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: February 14-22 (House recess goes through Feb. 23). Request face-to-face meetings. RESULTS Introductory Call, January 30 at 1:00 pm ET. Register for the call on the RESULTS website. Training Webinar: Moving New RESULTS Advocates Along the Ladder of Engagement, February 11, 9:00 pm ET. Join online at https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/f2988286/27334410 or by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 27334410. National Outreach Event with Nicholas Kristof, February 14 at 2:00 pm ET. Listen to previous conference calls online. RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Call, February 17 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join online at: http://fuze.me/27491886. Join by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 27491886. Training Webinar: Advocacy 101 – How to Have an Effective District Lobby Meeting, February 17 at 9:00 pm ET and again February 18 at 1:00 pm ET. Join online at http://fuze.me/27334614 or by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 27334614. RESULTS International Conference, July 18-21 at the Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC. Register TODAY! Find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website. |