Global Weekly Update June 4, 2012
Join in This Saturday on the National Conference Call for Global Campaigns!
Gather with your RESULTS group this Saturday, June 9, and dial in to the monthly national conference call. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before 2:00 pm ET. This terrific call will feature Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. She will offer her perspective on what must be done if we truly want to end preventable child deaths. We’ll also discuss how to take advantage of this moment of focus on child survival. Considering inviting people you’ve informed about RESULTS to join your group for the June call. Child survival is an issue close to all of our hearts. Here are two things you can do next:
1. Invite someone interested in our issues to check out USAID’s “Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday” campaign leading up to the “Child Survival: Call to Action” two-day meeting in mid-June and post your age five photo! This site is a fun, creative way to share the importance of child survival advocacy with family and friends. Have you considered asking your member of Congress to post his or her picture? They can join other senators, representatives, and other notables!
2. Organize a child survival conversation. Start by inviting friends and colleagues to tune in for part of the webcast of the Child Survival Call to Action meeting being held June 14 and 15. Then gather for coffee or at your RESULTS group’s next meeting to discuss. Or fire off a letter to the editor in response to what you heard and encourage your friends to do the same!
We’re on a Roll with Our Media Work for Child Survival
Did you know that there are still 7.6 million children every year who don’t reach their fifth birthday? But there is a plan to change this: June 14 and 15, the U.S., India, Ethiopia, and UNICEF are convening world leaders for a two-day Child Survival Call to Action meeting in Washington, DC. The goal of the meeting will be to create a roadmap for ending preventable child deaths in our lifetime. Leading up to the Call to Action meeting, the convenors want to engage the public and others through their “Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday” campaign.
Our role now is to bring attention to both this campaign and the June meeting. We need to to let the media, our communities, and our members of Congress know that ending preventable child deaths is now possible. Engaging them now will help us generate the political and public will necessary to follow the child survival roadmap that comes out of the meeting.
We’ve already begun having success with our media campaign. Check out the latest pieces inspired or published by our grassroots on our blog.
Before the June 14-15 Call to Action meeting in Washington, D.C., use our editorial packet, titled “Saving the Other Half: How the World Can End Preventable Child Deaths,” and the companion May laser talk to pitch the idea of an editorial to your local paper.
After the June 14-15 Call to Action meeting, we will be refreshing our editorial packet to reflect what was discussed and promised at the meeting. You can then use the June laser talk to pitch the idea of a child survival editorial highlighting this critically important meeting and its impact. You can also utilize and share the June action sheet to get letters to the editor published and to find tips on amplifying your media success by sharing your pieces and other national press through social media. Remember that when letters and relevant articles are published, it is smart to share them with the RESULTS office (if you have written them), on Twitter and Facebook, and with your members of Congress.
Help us reach our goal of 12 editorials. We have already landed three, so we’re a quarter of the way to our goal!
The Child Survival: Call to Action two-day meeting coming up will be a powerful moment for our campaign to save children’s lives, and we don’t want our local media to miss the opportunity to cover it. RESULTS is one of few organizations bringing attention to this issue through the media, so our media work is critical. Let us know if you need support making this request. Find your media contact information here. You can also listen to a recent child survival media brainstorming call if you want help generating ideas of how to get started.
International Conference News: Nominate a Journalist for the Cameron Duncan Award!
1. It’s time once again to submit nominations for the Cameron Duncan Media Award. This award, which will be presented at the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference in Washington, D.C., is given each year to a journalist who has demonstrated outstanding reporting of issues related to poverty and hunger. While there is no requirement for the journalist to accept the award in person, we will try our best to get the winner here to D.C. for the International Conference. Along with a nomination of one or two paragraphs in a letter or e-mail, please submit relevant clips fromt he past 12 months that demonstrate the journalist’s dedication to our issues. If you have any questions, please contact Blair Hinderliter, Communications Manager.
2. Customizable letters are now available so you can begin inviting your members of Congress to our spectacular conference reception!
3. Need a roommate? Want to ask advice from previous attendees? Anxious to chat with other folks who are coming to DC? Check out our International Conference discusson thread on the My RESULTS forum.
4. You can begin scheduling your Lobby Day meetings and letting us know the details online! Find guidance on setting up your meetings here.
5. Use our IC preparation checklist, as well as our official conference hashtag, #RESULTSConf (search for it on Twitter), to keep track of and contribute to the buzz before, during, and after the conference!
6. Check out our RESULTS blog for a great entry on money-saving tips for the conference.
7. Help someone else get to a future International Conference by donating any amount to the Karen McQuillan Fund.
Whether you’re an experienced advocate or new to advocacy, there are conference sessions for you. From developing media skills to challenges you might face when when lobbying, you’ll learn it at the International Conference. Register before rates increase on June 15!
Grassroots News: Reminder to Report, and Invite Your Congressional Aides to a DC Fundraiser June 13
1. There are new online forms for reporting your 2012 lobby meetings and other advocacy actions. Let us know what amazing actions you are taking! (Please note that the links to these forms under “QuickLinks” in the Weekly Update will be fixed soon.)
2. Can a mojito, an IPA, and a Chardonnay fight poverty in the U.S. and around the world? You bet! Mad Hatter will donate $1 from each drink purchased to benefit our advocacy work. Tell your friends, relations and congressional aides in DC we look forward to seeing them there!
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 5:30-7:30 pm
Place: Mad Hatter
Address: 1321 Connecticut Ave NW
RSVP online!
“My wish is that all kids can live healthy, prosperous lives and have the opportunity to be empowered to pursue their passion and dreams.”
-Mia Hamm, USAID’s “Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday” website
June 9: National grassroots conference call for global campaigns. 2 pm ET. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call. Join us for a terrific call featuring Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. She will offer her perspective on the gathering global momentum for the achievement of child survival. (Check out our conference call archive, too!)
June 15: RESULTS Introductory Call. 1 pm ET. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.
June 18: RESULTS Free Agents call. 8 pm ET. Dial (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS) to join. 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 for more information on this monthly support call.
July 11: RESULTS Introductory Call. 9 pm ET. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.
July 21–24: RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC
August 6 and 20: New Activist Orientation. Dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 at 9 pm ET on August 6 and 20 to get more details on how RESULTS works and how to bring your powerful advocacy work to life. For more information, contact us.
Click here for a printable online version of the Weekly Update.