Global Weekly Update May 27, 2013
Top Action: Get your Legislators to Sign on in Support of Child Nutrition!
On June 8, 2013, the UK Government and Brazil will host an historic event – Nutrition for Growth, a global nutrition pledging event intended to mobilize new policy and financial commitments to fight malnutrition. This event presents a key opportunity for the U.S. to deepen its commitment to nutrition and enshrine it across all U.S. development, food security, and global health efforts. If we are silent, our communities will not know about this leadership moment, and the White House will not likely step forward as it should.
We have two letters circulating on Capitol Hill – one in the House and one in the Senate – urging leadership on June 8. You have the opportunity to invite your representative and senators to show leadership for children around the world by signing a letter that calls on the president to pledge boldly at the Nutrition for Growth conference.
1. Deadline for signers on the House letter has been extended to June 4! Take action today using our online alert, and then follow up quickly with a phone call.
We have 39 signers on the House child nutrition letter as of the evening of May 29. Is your representative on this list? Can we get 50 signatures?
Betty McCollum (D-MI), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Aaron Schock (R-IL), Ami Bera (D-CA), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Andre Carson (D-IN), Lois Capps (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Raul Grijalva D-AZ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rick Nolan (D-MN), Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Dennis Ross (R-FL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Smith (D-WA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Fredrica Wilson (D-FL), Frank Wolf (R-VA)
2. Deadline for signers on the Senate letter is June 4. Take action using our online alert, and then follow up quickly with a phone call! We will offer a list of current signers as soon as it's available.
When you call to follow up on your requests by phone, try this: "I'm calling to ask the representative/senator to sign a bipartisan letter asking for US leadership at the upcoming Nutrition for Growth conference that will be held in the UK. The representative's/senator's signature will send a message to President Obama that we must eliminate the problem of child undernutrition. Proper nutrition during the first 1000 days of every child's life will prepare them for a productive future, and this pledging conference will be key to making that a reality." Let them know you can provide a copy of the letter, leave your name and contact details, and ask for a reply.
Let's make it happen!
Next Action: Child Nutrition Media
We've proven that media works for creating change. In recent campaigns on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI), and World Bank education policy, media helped educate and create pressure. At last year's International Conference, USAID Administrator, Raj Shah called out some of your media pieces by name! Media matters.
Don't wait; write today so that your piece has a chance of being published before the June 8 child nutrition pledging conference in the UK, Nutrition for Growth, and being included in a comprehensive media packet we're putting together. Our goal is generate at least 40 letters to the editor and 10 opeds or editorials. We're doing our best to keep up with all the great media you've so far. We also want some new activists to generate some media so we all develop these critical advocacy skills. We'll compile a packet of all your media work and leverage it with our our members of Congress and the Administration. Will your area of the country be represented in the packet? Use Father's Day as a hook and write!
1. Got just five minutes? Use our action alert to help you write your letter to the editor.
2. Got 15 minutes? Use our longer, more comprehensive May action sheet, which includes other hook ideas, to support your letter-writing.
3. Got 30 minutes? Craft a compelling op-ed of your own, or pitch your paper’s local editorial writer or editorial board, using our new editorial packet! (Get quick support in writing your op-ed and in making your pitch to your paper through our online activist milestones.)
4. Got a couple of hours? Organize an education & action (food & fun?) meeting with your group or in your community, and engage others to join you in writing letters to the editor. Use this handy guide to build your meeting agenda.
Bookmark this page for complete resources related to our child nutrition campaign!
The 2013 International Conference: We're Saving a Seat for You!
Registration is open! What are you waiting for?
REAL Change Scholarships. Encourage young emerging leaders age 18–28 to apply for our REAL Change conference scholarship program (extended deadline is June 10). This scholarship empowers newer advocates to come into a cohort at the conference for extra learning and networking above what they'll experience as a full conference participant. Help us cultivate the future of RESULTS and share the application today!
Lobby Day. Have you booked your Hill meetings with your members of Congress for Tuesday, July 23 yet? Report them!
Lobby Day Reception on Capitol Hill. For the culmination of our big lobby day on July 23, we’ll once again be hosting a reception on Capitol Hill and Prof. Yunus will join as our special guest. We’d like to have as many members of Congress also attend, so please start sending your invitations. You can find a customizable invitation on our website.
Building Bipartisan Champions. Do you have a story of a successful meeting with a member of Congress you thought would be significantly opposed to our issues? By contrast, do you have a member of Congress you're working with, but you're struggling for talking points that help you gain common ground? We'd like to talk with you! Contact Lisa Marchal, Senior Global Grassroots Associate, for help and for ways that your stories and questions can help others at the International Conference and beyond.
Nominations for the 2013 Cameron Duncan Media Award EXTENDED. This award, which will be presented at the RESULTS International Conference this July in Washington, DC, is given each year to a journalist who has demonstrated outstanding reporting on issues related to poverty and hunger. While there is no requirement for the journalist to accept the award in person, we will invite, and cover all costs, for the winner to attend our conference and receive the award in person. Along with a one to two paragraph nomination letter/email, please submit two relevant clips from the past 12 months that demonstrate the journalist's dedication to our issues. Send nominations and questions to Blair Hinderliter, Director of Operations and Communications, by Friday, June 7.
Use this helpful International Conference checklist to help you prepare and organize for your trip to DC.
Grassroots News You Can Use
End Poverty Through Bowling? Let's Get Rolling!
Right now is a great time to start planning your fundraising activities for the remainder of the year. Why not consider something new like "Pins for Poverty" bowling event or a simple "Party in the Park"? Use your creativity and think outside the box because you might just have the next $10,000 idea! Don't hesitate to reach out the RESULTS fundraising coaches for support or to brainstorm ideas. We are always here to help.
Cindy Changyit Levin, Grassroots Development Associate, can be reached at (777) 236-7758, and Jen DeFranco, Fundraising Events Associate, can be reached at (773) 688-8707.
RESULTS and the New York Times
There is a great piece on RESULTS and Citizen Climate Lobby in the NY Times. Go to the article and share it with friends and colleagues via e-mail straight from the newspaper's website. Also share it via Twitter and Facebook! Ideally, we will create enough buzz by e-mailing it, etc., that it will be cited as a top article!
“If we act today, we have the opportunity to create a world for our children which is defined not by stark inequities but by soaring opportunities. A sustainable world where all households have access to clean energy. A world where everyone has enough to eat. A world where no one dies from preventable diseases. A world free of poverty.”
-Dr. Jim Kim, president of the World Bank, April 2013
1. May 24-June 2. Congressional Recess. Why not try for a last-minute face-to-face meeting while your member of Congress is home?
2. May 31, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.
3. June 8, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. The focus will be child nutrition. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join!
4. June 10. REAL Change application deadline (International Conference scholarship for young adult activists. See update for full details.)
5. June 12, 9 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Heard of RESULTS and want to know more? Join us for this 30-minute introductory call. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join.
6. June 17, 8 pm ET. Next RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. Dial: (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS). 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, Senior Global Grassroots Associate, for more information on this monthly group call.
7. June 18, 8 pm ET. Media Support Call. Want to be part of the on-going support that’s available to help you reach your media goals? Then this is the call for you! Join monthly for inspiration and ideas to keep you going. Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join this call.
8. July 20–23. RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC. Registration is open!