U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | September 8, 2015

“Lisa needs these financial provisions so that she can go to work without having to worry about whether her kids will have food in their stomachs, a roof over their heads and everything they need for school.”

– RESULTS Houston volunteer Isabelle Soifer in a September 4 op-ed in the Houston Chronicle

“What do hard-working, low-income Utah families need to keep up? Cash. ”

– RESULTS Salt Lake City volunteer Debbie Baskin in a September 5 letter to the editor in the Park City Record (one of three she’s had published in the last week!)

In This Week’s Update:

• Got Two Minutes? Prepare for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday at 12:30pm ET
• Got Ten Minutes? Start Working on Your September Media Pieces (September Action)
• Got Twenty Minutes (or More)? Watch Important Events Tomorrow about Poverty in America
• Welcome RESULTS Memphis and Help Us Grow in Other Areas
• Quick News
• Upcoming Events

Quick Action: Urge Congress to Protect Working Families

Got Two Minutes? Prepare for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday at 12:30pm ET

The RESULTS U.S. Poverty Monthly National Meeting is scheduled for this Saturday. Now that the summer is over and Congress has returned to DC, this is an important time in drawing attention to the issue of poverty in America. Next week, the U.S. Census will release its annual poverty data for 2014. With Congress likely to make key decisions in the coming weeks on U.S. anti-poverty programs, using the Census data to generate media now will help shape the debate and hopefully lead to sound and effective policy decisions. On this weekend’s National Webinar, we’ll preview the Census data release and how you can use that information to generate editorials, op-eds, and letters to the editor this month. Please join us for this very important webinar.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday, September 12 at 12:30 pm ET. Coordinate with your group where you will meet for the call. We use Fuze Meeting for these monthly webinars; to join the meeting online, login at http://fuze.me/28130766. If you cannot join online, you can dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, meeting ID: 28130766#. Plan to log in or call in no later than 12:25 pm ET. If you have questions about Fuze or how to log in, please contact Jos Linn at [email protected].

Also, remember that we will do a partial rebroadcast of the webinar, along with a live Q&A with RESULTS staff next Wednesday, September 16 at 8:00 pm ET. The Census data will have been released earlier that day so we’ll be able to review some of the data on the rebroadcast. We urge all who cannot attend Saturday’s webinar to dial in next Wednesday, as well as anyone interested in learning what the Census data says to participate.

Got Ten Minutes? Start Working on Your September Media Pieces (September Action)

This fall could be a busy time in our work to save key provisions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), as Congress work to finalize a number of tax bills in the next two months. To ensure that congressional leaders do not leave working families behind, we are working this month to generate media about poverty in America and the EITC and CTC. Next week, the U.S. Census will release its 2014 poverty data, which will include both national and local poverty and income data. We want to use this event as a “hook” to generate media in your local papers. Here are things you can do to get started on your successful media month.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to start your working on the September Action (the action sheet will be available later this week). First, have one person in your group (preferably the Media Point Person) contact a local editorial writer or editor at your local paper, urging them to write a piece once the poverty data comes out (you can find media contacts in our Media Guide). Send our new editorial packet along to them (you can find it on our Newsroom page tomorrow morning) and then set up a time to follow up with a phone call to discuss the details. It’s best to start now and then follow up again when the data is released next week.

Next, each of your group members should start working on an op-ed you can submit to media outlets in your area (600-700 words). We encourage each of you to draft your own op-ed. For a superb example of using story, local data, and resources from RESULTS in an op-ed, see the September 4 op-ed, Combating poverty, one person and one policy at a time, by RESULTS Houston volunteer and REAL Change Fellow Isabelle Soifer. In drafting your piece, follow Isabelle’s lead by using local data and stories if at all possible (you can get data from the Census data release next week) to talk about the importance of the EITC and CTC in reducing poverty in America. End your piece with a strong request to your members of Congress by name, urging them to save key provisions of the EITC and CTC before they expire.

If you need help with reaching out to editorial writers, coming up with ideas for an op-ed, or editing your op-ed, please contact Jos Linn at [email protected].

Got Twenty Minutes (or More)? Watch Important Events Tomorrow about Poverty in America

Tomorrow, September 9, there will be some online events of interest to RESULTS volunteers around the country. First, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) and the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality will be hosting a conversation with Kathy Edin and Luke Shaefer about their new book, $2 a Day, Living on Almost Nothing in America. This book combines quantitative data analysis with in-depth qualitative research on families living on such low incomes, providing a devastating account of what it’s like to live in such extreme poverty in America. You can read an adapted excerpt from the book this article in The Atlantic. Tomorrow’s event will also include remarks from Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and a panel discussion. The event runs from 8:45 – 11:30 a.m. ET and you can watch it online.

Then later in the day, our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) will be hosting a webinar about the new U.S. Census poverty data released coming next week. Jared Bernstein, former economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden and also a speaker at the 2015 RESULTS International Conference, will be a featured speaker. The webinar will talk about what we might expect from the Census data and walk you through how to find local poverty information for your area when the data comes out. This webinar is always interesting and informative. The webinar is tomorrow, September 9 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET. You can register on the CHN website.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes or more to watch the CBPP/Georgetown poverty conversation about $2 a Day (watch here) and the CHN poverty data webinar (register here) tomorrow, September 9, 2016. Use the information you learn in your media actions this month.

Welcome RESULTS Memphis and Help Us Grow in Other Areas

RESULTS REAL Change Fellow Carl Schneider and RESULTS U.S. Poverty Organizer Kristy Martino held an exciting group start on September 3 in Memphis, TN. There were 13 people at the event and 12 of them signed up to start a new RESULTS U.S. Poverty group in Memphis. Special thanks to Carl for all his hard work in bringing together the community to put Tennessee on the map to fight poverty! Their next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 20. If you are in Memphis and would like to get involved, please contact Carl at [email protected] so you can join this fantastic new group. 

On October 15, RESULTS will be launching a new group in Raleigh, NC as well. Please invite any Raleigh/RTP area friends to the group start event; contact Kristy at [email protected] for more details. 

TAKE ACTION:  Kristy is working to start groups in North Carolina, Alabama (Birmingham, Mobile, Auburn), Atlanta, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and New York City this fall, and Jos Linn ([email protected]) is working to restart groups in Kansas City and Chicago. If you know people in these areas, please let Kristy or Jos know. Also, please don’t forget to invite anyone who might be interested in RESULTS to an upcoming RESULTS Introductory Calls – these are the perfect starting point for new activists. Our next Intro Call is tomorrow, September 9 at 9:00pm ET. All are welcome! Sign up for this call (or another upcoming one) on the RESULTS website.

Quick News

The Nuns Are Back on the Bus. The Nuns on the Bus are heading out on the road again this week, traveling to areas in the Midwest and South over the next few weeks. The tour is designed to coincide with Pope Francis’ trip to the U.S. this fall. Find a list of their upcoming events on the NETWORK website and please plan to attend.

Sign Up for VolunteerMatch Webinar Featuring RESULTS and the Alliance to End Hunger. On September 16, RESULTS Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns will join the Alliance to End Hunger and the Alliance for Justice on a special VolunteerMatch webinar at 1:00 p.m. ET focused on advocacy and service organizations. Read more and register for the webinar here.

Senate to Start Work on Child Nutrition Reauthorization Next Week. On September 17, the Senate Agriculture Committee will begin marking up a child nutrition reauthorization bill. Child nutrition programs, which include school breakfast and lunch programs, will expire this fall and need to be reauthorized. At this point, Congress is expected to pass an extension of these programs, either by continuing the current law or passing a new one.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events.

Congressional Recesses: House: September 12-15 and 19-23, October 10-19; Senate: October 10-18. Request face-to-face meetings.

RESULTS Introductory Call, September 9, at 9:00 pm ET. If you want to learn more about RESULTS, register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, September 12 at 12:30 pm ET. Join the meeting online at http://fuze.me/28130766 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, meeting ID: 28130766#. Listen to previous conference calls and meetings on our National Conference Calls page.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, September 15 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join online at: http://fuze.me/27491886; or by phone at (201) 479-4595 and enter Meeting ID: 27491886. For more information, contact Jos Linn ([email protected]).

Rebroadcast of National Webinar with Live Q&A, September 16 at 8:00 pm ET. Join the meeting online at http://fuze.me/28130766 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, meeting ID: 28130766#.

2016 RESULTS International Conference, June 25-28, 2016 in Washington, DC. Save the dates!

Find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Nominate RESULTS Grassroots Board Member. Send nominations Jack McLaughlin at [email protected] or call 202-783-4800 x152 no later than September 15.

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Lydia Pendley at [email protected]. You can download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report at: https://results.org/about/annual_report/.