Global Weekly Update May 28 2012
Child Survival: Four Cool Actions You Can Take Now
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. You can help eliminate the suffering experienced by parents needlessly losing their babies. Here’s what you can do next:
1. Learn more by reading this inspiring blog entry by our founder, Sam Daley-Harris, on our legacy of work in child survival.
2. Use our latest editorial packet titled, “Saving the Other Half: How the World Can End Preventable Child Deaths” and our latest laser talk to pitch the idea of a June child survival editorial to your local paper. Find your media contact information here. Help us reach our goal of 12 editorials. The “Child Survival: Call to Action” two-day meeting in June 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. You can listen to a recent child survival media brainstorming call if you want help generating ideas of how to get started.
3. Plan on gathering your group and/or other friends and allies for the Saturday, June 9 conference call at 2:00 pm ET when we will welcome guest speaker Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Ms. Stern has held this position with UNICEF since 2007, and we will benefit from hearing her perspective on the gathering global strategy to achieve our child survival goals. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call.
4. Use our May action sheet to write a letter to the editor about saving children’s lives. Share the action with others, along with copies of great media already being inspired and published around the country by our skilled advocates, like letters to the editor appearing in the Salt Lake City Tribune, the Tacoma News Tribune, and the Bloomington Herald-Times. Way to go, Scott Leckman, Phyllis Bjorkman, and Steve Arnold!
Mark Saturday June 9 on Your Calendar – Global National Conference Call!
Gather with your RESULTS group and dial in to the monthly global 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. Other ways to engage people might be:
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, do so and encourage your friend to do the same! Use our May Action Sheet or online action to help with the letter to the editor.
RESULTS 2012 International Conference News!
1. Have you heard the news about the new speakers who are slated to be at the conference this year? Buck Buckingham, current Director of the Office of Global Health and HIV for the Peace Corps, has worked on the domestic and international response to the AIDS epidemic for over 10 years. He will be speaking at a session highlighting how our past progress against HIV/AIDS can inform our future work. We will also welcome Barbara Ehrenreich, is an award-winning columnist and essayist who has also written over 21 books, including Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Ms. Ehrenreich has recently helped launch the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, which will work with unemployed or underemployed journalists to produce original material on this country’s crisis of poverty and economic insecurity. She will be speaking at a session about tax credits for working families. Plus, have you seen the promotion that author and activist Marianne Williamson has been doing on her website for our conference? Check it out!
2. We are thrilled to report a full slate of applicants for our 50 REAL Change youth scholarship slots. These conference participants will all be between the ages of 18 and 25 and will receive a bit of extra training and attention at our conference as emerging leaders. Thanks to all who helped recruit these terrific young people!
3. Customizable letters are now available so you can begin inviting your members of Congress to our spectacular conference reception!
4. 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.
5. You can begin scheduling your Lobby Day meetings and letting us know the details online! Find guidance on setting up your meetings here.
6. 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!
7. Check out our RESULTS blog for a great entry on money-saving tips for the conference.
Grassroots News You Can Use: Helping RESULTS Grow, and Grow Stronger
1. If you or someone you know are hearing about RESULTS for the first time, a RESULTS Introductory Call is perfect for you! An introductory call is a snappy, inspiring, 30-minute meet-and-greet call during which new folks can get a taste of who we are. We offer two of these calls each month, and anyone can RSVP online to find dates and get all the details.
2. If you’re not new but still getting acquainted, you can sign up for our August New Activist Orientation Series. Dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 at 9:00 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.
3. If you are active with RESULTS but don’t have a group in your town, be a RESULTS Free Agent! We have started two free agent groups to bring individual activists like you from around the country together in a group-like setting on a monthly basis to provide you support. For those interested in global campaigns, the next call will be held Monday, June 18 at 8:00pm ET. To participate, dial (218) 486-1611 and enter passcode RESULTS# (7378587#).
“Every woman, whoever she is, wherever she lives, should be able to give birth without the fear she’s going to lose her baby or that her baby will lose her mother.”
– Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, on USAID’s “Every Child Deserves at 5th Birthday” website.
June 6: RESULTS Introductory Call. 9 pm ET. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.
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 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.
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