Global Weekly Update May 2, 2011
The International Conference Deadline Is Today!
Register today for a fantastic summer experience! Join us at the 2011 International Conference, but make your move today! May 3 (today) is the last day before registration rates go up and the hotel get harder to come by. Need to know more before you make your decision? Visit the IC information page on our website to find out the latest details, as we update it regularly.
Ever want to experience the energy that comes from being with like-minded individuals united in a common goal? Ever feel isolated in your advocacy work and want to meet other powerful advocates? Do you think about meeting the face behind that familiar voice you know from conference calls? Want to learn a new skill, share stories of challenge and triumph, laugh a lot, and enjoy the buzz of Capitol Hill? Then look no further!
Informative plenaries and workshops, time for laughter and connection, training in advocacy best practices, time on the Hill advocating for the end of poverty . . . it’s all in store for you.
Coming on your own and need a roommate? No problem! You’ll find friends awating you in Washington. Visit our discussion forum, as a discussion thread has specifically been started for the purpose of helping you solve the roommate dilemma.
Top Action: Ask Your Member of Congress to Lead on GAVI Vaccinations
We have an opportunity to save 4.2 million children’s lives by 2015 with two new vaccinations to protect against rotavirus and pneumonia. Yes, it’s that simple; we can give these new vaccinations to kids in 44 countries (as, right now, these kids don’t have access to the vaccines), and we’ll see millions of children stay alive! Do you want a piece of this action? Read on.
There is a key moment coming up on June 13 when donor nations will meet in London to make pledges to GAVI Alliance, the organization with the plan to save all these lives. Pledges made at the conference will determine whether or not GAVI will have funds to roll out the rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines. We need to make sure that President Obama and others in the administration hear loud and clear that we want the U.S. to do it’s part to save these lives. A pledge of $450 million over three years at the London conference is what’s needed from the U.S. Here’s what you can do:
- Learn about the diseases and the vaccines. Check out this 4-minute video about rotavirus and learn about GAVI.
- Help with a sign-on letter. If you want to ask your member of Congress to lead on creating a sign-on letter to the President, please contact Ken Patterson or Lisa Marchal. We’d like President Obama to receive bi-partisan letters from both the Senate and the House with lots of signatures on them showing support for a bold U.S. pledge.
- Write a letter to the editor. Write a letter to your paper for Mother’s Day. No mother should have to watch her child die because of lack of access to vaccinations. Let your community and your members of Congress know your view. (They read the paper, too.) For more in-depth GAVI information you can share with your local paper, check out the GAVI editorial packet in our newsroom (available this week).
- Write to your member of Congress about GAVI. Use our action alert to write to your member of Congress about the need to fund GAVI adequately in 2012 so that the world can undertake this critical vaccine initiative.
Speak Up for Funding for Vital Foreign Assistance Programs in Our FY12 Appropriations Process
- Make a Call to Your Representative this Week. There are many members of Congress who understand how important foreign assistance is to the U.S. as well as how important it is to the individuals and families it ultimately reaches. Because foreign aid is not disappearing from our national budget, it is critical that even those who do not favor it insist that it be used in smart, effective ways. It is important that our representatives know that foreign aid is vital to our economy, our security, and our global leadership. Encourage your representative to support at least one of the effective solutions articulated in our appropriations requests (microfinance, TB, Global Fund, GAVI, Education for All). Our representatives must submit their requests electronically to the chairs of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee by May 20, so we need to act this week to give our representatives time to make the request. (The House is in recess May 16–20, but members can still make requests during that time.) Call and ask for the foreign policy aide, make the request to support funding levels for one of our priorities noted above, and follow up by sending appropriate information. Our action sheet can help you with this.
- Make a Call to Your Senators. The Senate must refuse the House’s approach to reducing our federal deficit. Let both of your senators know that we expect them to do better. The House of Representatives passed a budget for 2012 that would make draconian cuts to foreign assistance programs—the same programs that boost U.S. exports, according to the Chamber of Commerce, and make us safer, according to 70 retired military leaders. Cutting foreign aid as the House recommends risks our economy, our security, and lives.
We have a new, interactive online grassroots forum. The forum will enable activists to communicate and collaborate more directly. Click on My RESULTS, get your personalized sign-in name, and start collaborating.
May 2–8: Global Action Week for Education for All
May 11: Continuation of the current New Activist Orientation series. 9:00 pm ET. Call (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. RSVP for the remainder of the series (May 11, and May 25) or get more information by contacting Lisa Marchal.
May 14: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. (888) 409-6709. Featured speaker will be Tony Lake, executive director of UNICEF.
May 16–20: House recess
June 11: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET (888) 409-6709.
June 19–21: RESULTS International Conference