RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update July 7, 2020

Quote of the Week

“A global pandemic needs a global response.”

– June 23 editorial in the Palestine (TX) Herald-Press (generated by RESULTS Detroit volunteer Mary Albertson)

Table of Contents

• Global Poverty Campaigns Update
• U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
• RESULTS Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Global Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on prioritizing global health and education during the COVID-19 crisis

Got Ten Minutes? Prepare to attend the RESULTS National Webinar

Note the July 11 RESULTS National Webinar on your calendars. It’s one you surely won’t want to miss, as our global campaigns guest is Dr. Jim Kim, former World Bank president. It will be a terrific conversation. We’ll also revisit the powerful International Conference, giving space for the telling of stories about how we were impacted by the conference. It all starts at 1:00 pm ET for U.S. poverty campaigns, then moves at 1:30 pm ET to the Grassroots Cafe and, at 2:00 pm ET, to the section on global poverty campaigns. Come join us as we look ahead to what is next.

TAKE ACTION: Remind your fellow advocates of the RESULTS National Webinar and make plans to attend. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828. You can also join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828.

Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Follow up on your International Conference activity

The joy of the International Conference is still being felt across our network. But don’t let the memories fade. During this congressional recess (which extends to July 20), follow up on the good work done during the conference and the Week of Action!

1. Revisit the conference. Enjoy playbacks of select conference sessions.
2. Keep getting lobby meetings. Schedule meetings with those legislators with whom you couldn’t meet during our Week of Action. Your voice is still important and effective. (Need help? Read our activist milestone for top tips.)
3. Follow up on the lobby meetings you had during the Week of Action. Your reports are important to us in many ways, as they help us track progress and point to what to do next. Please report your meetings. And personalize our email template in order to follow up on the requests you made in each meeting. Be persistent until you get clear responses to your requests.
4. Contact your senators and representative. As Congress considers emergency COVID-19 funding, urge them to prioritize the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; and funding to stave off hunger and malnutrition. Reach out via lobby meeting or action alert. Call on Congress to speak to Senate and House leadership about ensuring that the U.S. includes a global pandemic response of at least $20 billion – with our priorities – in their next COVID-19 emergency spending bill.

TAKE ACTION: Follow up on your Week of Action meeting requests and fill out your lobby report forms. Then take more action by contacting Congress about dedicating at least $20 billion toward the global COVID-19 pandemic response.

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

Get a letter to the editor published. The recent bill in the House of Representatives failed to include any international funding to fight coronavirus and its fall out. It’s clear that a global pandemic requires a global response, so it now falls to the Senate to make sure that happens. The U.S. can and must play a role in slowing COVID-19’s spread globally and protecting access to other health services and education. Make sure your senators get that message loud and clear in their local paper.

July Action Sheet forthcoming. Watch for the July Action Sheet later this week. It will help you and your fellow advocates get published in your local paper. When Congress works on another COVID-19 emergency response bill, we must make sure that low-income partner nations are not left out. Have you raised your voice on this issue in the media?

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Tell Congress to fund emergency rental assistance

Got Sixty Minutes? Join this Saturday’s RESULTS National Webinar

Our first RESULTS National Webinar since the 2020 RESULTS International Conference is this Saturday, July 11 at 1:00 pm ET. We’ll spend some time highlighting what happened at the Conference, and even giving you time to share your experience with other volunteers. During our U.S. poverty section on the webinar, Children’s Health Watch will speak to us about the importance of stable housing to the health of children and families. We will also discuss using the momentum from the Conference to push Congress to protect those experiencing housing instability and poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Jim Kim, former head of the World Bank, will speak during our global poverty section on improving health care systems in the wake of COVID-19. You’ll also have the chance to hear from candidates vying to fill two of four Grassroots Board members seats this summer. Please join us.

TAKE ACTION: Take sixty minutes to join the RESULTS this Saturday, July 11 from 1:00-2:30pm ET. To join the webinar, login at: https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828 or dial by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828. Again, here is the schedule for the webinar:

• 1:00-1:30pm ET: U.S Poverty Campaigns with Children’s Health Watch
• 1:30-2:00pm ET: RESULTS Grassroots Actions and Inspiration
• 2:00-2:30pm ET: Global Poverty Campaigns with Dr. Jim Kim

The slides for the webinar will be available on our National Webinars page on Friday afternoon.

Got Fifteen Minutes? Keep the pressure on Congress to act

According to the federal jobs report released last week, the U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, with the majority of gains occurring in the restaurant, tourism, and hospitality industries. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Black men increased for the second month in a row, to 16.3 percent, widening the gap between White workers and Black workers by 5.3 percentage points. Though advocates for re-opening the economy are celebrating the news, another round of closures and shutdowns caused by a surge in COVID-19 cases may prove the 11 percent unemployment rate temporary (which is already artificially low).

Our senators and representatives must remember that the economy is made up of people – workers, families, consumers – and if they aren’t healthy, safe, and confident that the pandemic is under control, then the economy cannot recover. With eviction moratoria ending, 29 percent of families reported being food insecure just two weeks ago, and a looming expiration of increased unemployment benefits later this month, members of Congress need to ask – is a slightly lower unemployment rate still a win when we think about the economic fallout to come?

Congress is on recess through July 17. After that, negotiations on a new COVID-19 bill will begin in earnest. Your continued advocacy during this recess is critical in ensuring that your members of Congress, particularly your senators, do the right thing Americans experiencing deep financial hardship when they return to DC.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to push members of Congress to make housing and poverty a priority in the next COVID-19 bill. Be sure to coordinate with your group on who is responsible for these actions:

• Request meetings for those you haven’t met with. If there are any congressional offices you have yet to meet with, please contact schedulers to see if you can get meetings during the current recess. Also, if you’ve only met with staff, request virtual face-to-face meetings for the recess, especially with senators. It is imperative they hear from you about the critical need for emergency rental assistance and a national moratorium on evictions.
• Follow up from your Conference meetings. Follow up with aides you met with recently to check in on the status of your housing, SNAP, and tax credit Use our template follow-up e-mail as a starting point (please personalize it before sending).
• Generate media. Keep up the drumbeat for helping low-income renters by getting letters to the editor published while members of Congress are home. Personalize our updated online media alert and submit your letter today. Please remember to mention your members of Congress by name in your letters. When you get published, let us know at tinyurl.com/RESULTSMedia.

Find all the resources from the International Conference, including meeting requests, lobby materials, and workshop resources on the Conferences Resources page.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Strengthening SNAP must in next COVID-19 bill. In the most recent Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census, nearly ten percent of adults polled said there was sometimes or often not enough food to eat in their household in the last seven days. That’s approximately 23.6 million people. The good thing is that SNAP, formerly Food Stamps, was designed for crises like this. Not only does it help families put food on the table when times are tough, it also provides a critical economic boost to local economies (SNAP benefits typically get spent quickly and locally). Remind Congress how important SNAP is to our recovery. Call or e-mail your members of Congress today telling them to boost the maximum SNAP benefit by at least 15 percent in the next COVID-19 bill.

Join webcast with Nikole Hannah-Jones on July 7. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition is hosting a conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project for the New York Times, for a “conversation on how our housing and homelessness response to COVID-19 must center racial equity and address systemic inequities and discrimination.” The webcast is Tuesday, July 7 at 2:00 pm ET. Register here to attend.

RESULTS Announcements

Vote for your next Grassroots Board members. RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund are looking to fill two of the four grassroots board positions to serve a term of three years beginning in August 2020. Grassroots Board Members represent the volunteer body on the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee of the Board. For information on candidates and how to vote, check out the RESULTS Blog. Voting ends July 18.

Wednesday, July 15: Hit “Send”: Write and Submit a Letter to the Editor in an Hour, 9:00 pm ET. Join grassroots writing and publishing leaders for this informative and inspirational workshop. Bring along access to a local newspaper, a copy of our EPIC format worksheet, and a copy of a recent editorial packet. You’ll learn about finding and utilizing great hooks for your writing and the power of the EPIC format to enhance your writing, as well as get positive feedback before submitting your letter for publication. All in an hour! Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/390106571 or dial in to (929) 436-2866 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 390 106 571.

Fill out the International Conference survey. Please offer us your feedback about the 2020 RESULTS International Conference so we can make next year even better. Five lucky survey respondents will receive a limited-edition RESULTS merchandise item featuring our 40th anniversary logo.

Fill out the lobby report form. Please take time to let us know what happened in each of your recent lobby meetings at: www.tinyurl.com/RESLRF. Please be as detailed as possible when completing the form.

Join book discussion on racism on July 21. In our ongoing effort to address racism and other forms of oppression, the RESULTS Anti-Oppression Grassroots Group is hosting its next book discussion on So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. With many Americans looking to deepen their knowledge of how racism impacts our lives, our communities, and our policies, join us for this conversation on how to better recognize, understand, and dismantle racism in America. The discussion begins Tuesday, July 21 at 9:00 pm ET. Join by logging in at: https://results.zoom.us/j/390106571 or dialing (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID: 390 106 571. Also, consider joining our group of volunteers and staff working to implement our anti-oppression values personally and collectively. If you are interested in joining, please contact Jos Linn for more information.

Watch International Conference recordings. If you were unable to participate fully in the International Conference – or if you’d simply like to revisit something you heard –  take a look at the International Conference agenda for individual playback links for select sessions.

Receive action alerts via text. We are setting up a system to send some of our action alerts via text. If you’d like to receive text action alerts, please text RESULTS to 50457 to sign up for text action alerts.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are on recess until July 20. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Saturday, July 11: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828. You can also join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828.

Wednesday, July 15: Hit “Send”: Write and Submit a Letter to the Editor in an Hour, 9:00 pm ET. Read more about the grassroots-led training here. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/390106571 or dial in to (929) 436-2866 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 390 106 571.

Monday, July 20: Global Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/464361707 or, by phone, (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 464361707.

Tuesday, June 21: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID 324 294 681.

Tuesday, July 21: So You Want to Talk About Race book discussion, 9:00 pm ET. Login at: https://results.zoom.us/j/390106571 or dialing (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, meeting ID: 390 106 571.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Do you have a new person in your RESULTS group or info to update? Use our Volunteer Information Form to add them.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page, including our anti-oppression resources.

Remember to please report your recent grassroots successes in lobby meetings, media pieces, and outreach activities.

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.

RESULTS Staff directory.