Global Weekly Update November 26, 2012
Top Action: Join the National Call-in Day Tomorrow (Nov. 28) Urging Congress to Protect Those in Poverty
Congress returns to Washington this week after the Thanksgiving holiday. Item number one on member of Congress’ minds is deficit reduction and the so-called fiscal cliff. While much of the debate is on how congressional decisions will be affecting us here at home – a critical consideration – we also know that the decisions could very well affect the parts of our budget that go to support strategic, compassionate, poverty-focused foreign assistance. If Congress does try to craft a long-term “grand bargain” on deficit reduction, it could very well impact all the poverty-focused work RESULTS has spent decades on, both for people here in the U.S. and for people all around the world. It’s imperative that members of Congress hear from their constituents about the importance of sustainable programs and services that help transition people out of poverty and into dignified, fruitful lives.
Tomorrow, November 28, advocates from RESULTS and other like-minded organizations around the country will be calling Congress directly, urging them to protect critical anti-poverty resources in deficit reduction talks. Make sure you are part of the chorus! It’s an all-fronts effort!
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes tomorrow to call your representatives and senators, telling them to protect those in poverty during the deficit reduction negotiations. Dial toll free (888) 743-1097 to get connected to your House and Senate offices. Once connected, say:
In the budget and tax decisions ahead, please urge Sen./Rep. _______________ to explicitly protect “mandatory” anti-poverty programs including the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and SNAP (food stamps) in a deficit “framework.” In addition, please oppose further cuts to non-defense discretionary programs, especially those critical ones which are poverty-focused – including the lifesaving global health, education, and microfinance accounts – along with Head Start and WIC. Instead, please end irresponsible extra tax breaks for the wealthiest two percent and include additional tax revenue, balanced with responsible spending cuts, so that our country can reduce its deficits while investing in ending poverty in the United States and around the world. I would appreciate a response from the Senator/Representative to my request.
Thanks to AFSCME for providing the toll-free number.
World AIDS Day is Here! Make December 1 a Powerful Day in Your Community
1. How to Survive a Plague screenings. Almost 40 RESULTS groups/individuals are planning to screen the important documentary How to Survive a Plague, a raw look into the genesis of AIDS activism in America. We are thrilled that so many RESULTS folks are engaging in this powerful outreach to their communities. If you or your group are holding a screening, you’ll find many resources on our World AIDS Day Outreach Resources page. You’ll discover a sample meeting agenda and discussion guide, links to informational pieces you can print and share, top tips for hosting powerful outreach events, an action that attendees can take, and more. (And check out our blog in a day or so for a comprehensive listing of the RESULTS screenings happening all across the country!)
2. Other outreach events. If you are not holding a documentary screening, you and your group can still take a powerful action for World AIDS Day using our most recent World AIDS Day action sheet or our online action. Make your voice heard in support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and ask others to join you. Print out copies of the action sheet, Invite folks to meet for coffee, take the action, and then talk about the experience and what you might do in advocacy in 2013. Together we can stand for the end of AIDS.
3. Invite New Faces to an Introductory Call or a New Activist Orientation!
Folks who are hearing about RESULTS for the first time can join our last Introductory Call of 2012 on December 14, 1 pm ET. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
Folks new(ish) to RESULTS who want to really launch their advocacy can join our final New Activist Orientation of 2012! The orientation will be held November 28 and December 5 (first session repeated on those dates) and December 12 (second session), 9 pm ET. This two-session orientation is ideal for those who are activists with us but who are still relatively new and would like more information on RESULTS’ history and methods. Contact Lisa Marchal to RSVP and dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
4. Google+ Hangout. Whether you’re holding a screening, engaging in another outreach event, or speaking up through social media, put December 3 on your calendar! At 8 pm ET on Monday, December 3, join thousands all over the world for an interactive dialogue with the filmmaker of How to Survive a Plague, David France. Joining him will be singer-songwriter and activist Angelique Kidjo, celebrated AIDS activist Peter Staley (also featured in the film), and other special guests. Discussion will center on where we’ve been and where we’re going in the quest to end AIDS. It will be a spectacular conversation.
To join the event, go to http://surviveaplague.com/hangout on Monday, December 3 at 8 pm ET. Then tweet your questions by using hashtag #howtosurvive. Also, tweet your support for full funding of the end of AIDS by adapting this sample tweet: “@BarackObama, demand full funding for @PEPFAR and @globalfundnews. #WAD2012”
5. New World AIDS Day Report. Check out the ONE Campaign’s newly released report on the AIDS pandemic, The Beginning of the End? Tracking Global Commitments on AIDS.
Year-end Reporting: Help Us Take Stock of a Stellar 2012
Unbelievably, the close of 2012 will be here in a few short weeks. RESULTS will be taking stock of its 2012 successes and using them to help us strategize for a powerful 2013. Are you and/or your group caught up on your reporting? Log your lobby meetings and other powerful advocacy actions using our easy online forms.
Log other advocacy actions (media published, outreach events held, etc.).
Questions? Contact Lisa Marchal, Global Grassroots Associate.
Giving: It’s All the Rage!
You’ve heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Did you know that today has been the first-ever Giving Tuesday? Did you spot social media reminders from RESULTS about how to make a gift to RESULTS part of this new holiday tradition? Don’t be shy about sharing this opportunity once Giving Tuesday has passed. The gift of helping end poverty is never out of season. Also, our Thanksgiving sentiments continue as we are thankful for our partners who are working so hard on their upcoming fundraisers. Please help support them by spreading the word about them to your friends and family!
November 29: Cleveland, Ohio. Gathering at Applebee’s. Contact John Hosek for more information.
December 1: Albuquerque, New Mexico. House party with Allison Grossman, RESULTS Senior Legislative Associate, as special guest. Contact Sandra Duckert at 505-369-1012.
December 2: Austin, Texas. “Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday” reception with author Julie Clawson of “Every Day Justice: the Global Impact of our Local Choices” and Jos Linn, Senior Associate for U.S. Poverty Campaigns, speaking. Visit the RESULTS Austin event website for more information or to make a donation. Contact Anne Child for more information.
December 5: Olympia, Washington. House party with Dr. Laura Hart speaking. Contact Nancy Curtiss at (360) 463-3656 for more information.
“The global community has embarked on an historic quest to lay the foundation for the eventual end of the AIDS epidemic. This effort is more than merely visionary. It is entirely feasible,”
– UNAIDS, November 2012
1. November 28 and December 5 (first session repeated on those dates) and December 12 (second session), 9 pm ET. Final New Activist Orientation for 2012. This two-session orientation is ideal for those who are activists with us but who are still relatively new and would like more information on RESULTS’ history and methods. Contact Lisa Marchal to RSVP and dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
2. November 28, RESULTS Richmond (VA) Global Poverty Group Start, 6:30-8 pm ET. Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market, Community Room (4 North Thompson St.). Contact Nick Arena for more information.
3. November 30, 1 pm ET. RESULTS Introductory Call. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
4. December 4. Training Call on Year-end Congressional Budget Decisions. More information to follow soon.
5. December 8, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join.
6. CORRECTED DATE – December 10, 8 pm ET: RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. (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 for more information on this monthly group call.
7. December 14, 1 pm ET. Final RESULTS Introductory Call of 2012. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
8. January: Individual and Group Planning. More information to follow soon.
9. January 7, 9 pm ET. RESULTS Website Tour. More information to follow soon.
10. January 9, 9 pm ET. First RESULTS Introductory Call of 2013. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
11. July 20-23, 2013 – RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC. Dr. Muhammad Yunus and author/speaker Marianne Williamson are already set to join us. Mark your calendar now!