Global Weekly Update May 7, 2012

May National Conference Call This Saturday: Eliminating Preventable Child Deaths

Every child goes through a series of “firsts” in their first 5 years – first smile, first step, first birthday, and first day at school, to name a few. These are exciting milestones that we all celebrate in the life of a child. But there are still 7.2 million children every year who don’t reach one milestone: their fifth birthday. It’s time to change this.

RESULTS and other child survival advocates will be working to bring attention to USAID’s “Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday” campaign leading up to the “Child Survival: Call to Action” two-day meeting in mid-June. The vision for both the campaign and the meeting is to create a path to ending preventable child deaths. We’ll bring attention to the event by generating media, education our communities, and informing our members of Congress.

Next Steps:

• Join this Saturday’s national grassroots conference call focused on our powerful child survival/childhood vaccines work.Call (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before 2:00 pm ET to join activists from all over the country for inspiration and information.
• Bring attention to the possibility of ending preventable child deaths. Watch for a helpful editorial packet and action sheet on child survival that will be available in a few days to assist you in your powerful advocacy.

May 15 is the Deadline for the REAL Change Program of the RESULTS International Conference!

• The International Conference REAL Change program (for 18-25-year-olds) application process will close May 15, and other financial assistance options are drawing to a close as well. Check out the details at the Financial Assistance tab on the right side of our International Conference webpage. This is an excellent opportunity to come to Washington, DC at little cost and gain valuable advocacy skills and experience. We don’t want you to miss out on something good!

• Customizable letters are now available so you can begin inviting your members of Congress to our spectacular conference reception! You can also begin scheduling your Lobby Day meetings and letting us know the details online!
• Get ready to use our “IC preparation checklist (coming soon) 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!
• As our list of exciting plenary speakers continues to grow, don’t forget about the engaging workshops and issue sessions you can attend at the IC! This year we are offering more options than ever before! Besides issue-specific sessions, there will be over 20 workshops that will teach you how to improve your fundraising, social media and general media, and organizing skills. Do you want to learn how to pitch a story to your local media? We have a workshop for that! Or how to reach out to others to expand RESULTS in your area? We have a session for that too! Read all about the sessions here. 
• Check the RESULTS blog later this week for a great entry on money-saving tips for the conference.
• Register today!

Global Action Week for Education Round Up

Throughout our base of grassroots activists . . . around the country . . . around the world . . . people spoke up for access to education for all during Global Action Week (April 22-28)! Check out our latest blog entry featuring compelling photos, videos, and descriptions of all the great advocacy that took place, and expect to hear a great story or two on an upcoming national conference call. And don’t forget to ask your House member to cosponsor the Education for All Act of 2011. And if he/she is a cosponsor, request that they ask their colleagues to cosponsor. Right now the legislation has 65 cosponsors. We are over halfway to our goal of 100, and momentum on this legislation will mean that more and more members of Congress will know about the vision for a Global Partnership for Education.

Staying Informed:

• Our blog is constantly being updated with new inspiring information about things like our our education work, our strategic plan, and other behind-the-scenes bits.  Check it out! 
• Also check out the My RESULTS Forum where you can ask questions and get smart answers from the RESULTS network on topics of interest to you. The more we use it, the more it is a real resource. Check out the questions on our new strategic plan.

Three Different Ways for (New) People to Get Involved with RESULTS . . . 

 1. Are You Hearing About RESULTS for the First Time? Come along to a RESULTS Introductory Call, a snappy, 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. Are You Now a RESULTS Activist But Still Relatively New? Join our two-session RESULTS New Activist Orientation series on May 7 and 21! Dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 at 9 pm ET to get more details on how RESULTS works and how to bring your powerful advocacy work to life. For more information, contact us.

3. Are You a RESULTS Activist on Your Own Because You Don’t Have a Group In Your Town? We have created two new groups for RESULTS “Free Agents.” These groups will bring individual activists like you from around the country together in a group-like setting on a monthly basis to provide you the same support our local RESULTS groups get. For those interested in U.S. poverty campaigns, the call will be held on Tuesday, May 15 at 9:00 pm ET. For those interested in global campaigns, the next call will be held Monday, May 21 at 8:00pm ET. To participate in one of these calls, dial (218) 486-1611 and enter passcode RESULTS# (7378587#).

“The combination of [recent technological] advances and capabilities plus some new data and modeling indicate that if we think seriously about this and if we make some pretty significant changes in the way we work to eliminate preventable child death – we can eliminate preventable child death and we can bring the rate of under-five mortality in developing countries down to something that approximates the current OECD . . . country average and that would account for saving about six million kids a year . . . Seeing a child die of a preventable disease is the greatest fear of parents the world over. No family should have to live this fear, and no child should have to suffer that fate.”

                                                             – USAID Chief Administrator, Rajiv Shah in a Voice of America editorial, 4/29/12

March-May: Global Poverty Project 1.4 Billion Reasons presentations

May 12: National grassroots conference call for global campaigns. 2 pm ET. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call. (Check out our conference call archive, too!)

May 15: RESULTS Free Agents domestic poverty group call. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

May 18: RESULTS Introductory Call. 1 pm ET. Contact us with any questions and RSVP for the call.

May 21: RESULTS Free Agents global poverty group for activists in towns without RESULTS groups. 8 pm ET, (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587. Contact Lisa Marchal with questions.

May 21: Second session of our two-session RESULTS New Activist Orientation, 9 pm ET. New activist with RESULTS? Then join our two-session orientation to learn the basics of who we are and how we work together to become vibrant advocates for the end of poverty. To RSVP, contact Lisa Marchal. To call in, dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.

June 6:  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

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