Global Weekly Update October 14, 2013
Enjoy our new version of Everyday Heroes, featuring the power of YOU!
Top Action: Media Support Call Tonight at 8 pm ET! Plus, More Great Resources For Our Global Fund Media Push
The U.S. is the host country for the December 3 Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria replenishment conference, and so we must use this unique chance to make sure the U.S. continues its leadership and shows up with a $5 billion, 3-year pledge. Read on for resources that will help you get caught up on the Global Fund and focus your media efforts.
Call in Tonight, October 15, 8 pm ET for a Timely Media Support Call. This monthly support call for media generation will feature RESULTS ally and media consultant Jove Oliver. Perfect timing for the work we're doing! Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join this call.
Did You Miss the October 12 National Conference Call Focusing on Global Fund Replenishment? We welcomed special guest, RESULTS ally Carol Nyirenda, Executive Director of CITAM+ of Zambia. Listen to a recording of the call on our website.
Generating Media on the Global Fund: The October Action Sheet (in Word) focuses on getting a letter to the editor placed. And a full editorial packet on the Global Fund is here! Can you help us land at least a dozen editorials nationwide? Want to inspire your first editorial? Your timing couldn't be better.
Want to Hold an Education and Action Meeting in Your Community? Adapt our "meeting in a box" sample agenda and build your own powerful E&A meeting in support of the Global Fund, a meeting that will also showcase RESULTS in your town!
Did You Miss the October 3 Call Which Provided a Global Fund Update/Overview? Don't worry; it was recorded! You can access a recording of the call, plus the companion Powerpoint, on our blog.
World Food Day Call-in! Pick up the Phone October 16 to Help End Hunger
With many decisions to be made in Washington about the budget, the debt ceiling, and how to end the government shutdown, this Wednesday, October 16, is World Food Day, a day to bring attention to food insecurity, and nutrition here in the U.S. and around the world. Hunger and malnutrition do not wait for a budget deal; they put our most vulnerable populations at risk now. In any final decisions about government spending, we must prioritize programs that save lives and protect those living in poverty. Congress must protect poverty-focused programs here and abroad!
SNAP (formerly food stamps) effectively and efficiently helps more than 47 million low-income Americans put food on the table. As unemployment and poverty have remained high, the number of families at risk of hunger has not increased since 2008. 3.1 million preventable child deaths are attributed to malnutrition; that’s almost half of all child deaths each year. Simple solutions like promoting breastfeeding and providing micronutrients in the thousand days from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday have been proven to save lives.
On World Food Day, make a call to your members of Congress to let them know you want Congress to end cuts to SNAP and to protect global poverty and global health programs that protect our most vulnerable. Here are tips on how to call, and you can reach Congress toll-free at (800) 826-3688. ** Some offices have limited staff with the shutdown, so calling though to an aide that handles the Farm Bill or Foreign Affairs may not be possible, but you will likely still be able to leave a message with the front desk. **
Sample Script:
My name is __________ and I’m a constituent in Rep. __________’s district. As Congress debates their next steps in funding our government, it is important to remember that every night in the U.S. One in five American children is at risk of going to sleep hungry and every year 3.1 million child deaths around the world are attributed to malnutrition. Fortunately, SNAP (formerly food stamps) and global health investments are keeping hunger at bay for millions and we cannot afford to undermine these efforts. Hunger and malnutrition don’t wait for a budget deal and we can’t continue to put our most vulnerable at risk.
Push for a budget deal that replaces sequestration with a balanced plan and adequately funds programs serving those in poverty. Please weigh in with Farm Bill negotiators and urge them to reject the House SNAP cuts and to protect and strengthen SNAP in any final Farm Bill or other legislation. Also weigh in with leadership on appropriations to protect global poverty-focused development assistance and global health programs in budget negotiations.
If you are unable to call or can’t get through, send an e-mail to Senators to protect SNAP and urge House members to scale up child nutrition funding around the world. Thank you!
Request Bipartisan Cosponsorship for the Education For All Act & the Child Nutrition Resolution
We are making progress. The Education for All Act of 2013 (H.R. 2780) and the Child Nutrition Resolution (H.Res. 254) will improve how we spend existing foreign aid resources. In order for these measures to receive serious consideration, though, we need to generate a significant number of cosponsorships from both parties. We are at 35 cosponsors for the Education for All Act and 40 cosponsors for the nutrition resolution! Our goal is 100 cosponsors for each measure, and we're getting there! Here’s what you can do today:
1. Five-Minute Action: Send letters to your rep. requesting he/she cosponsor the Education For All Act and the Child Nutrition Resolution. Remember to personalize your letters with a brief statement of why you care about these issues.
2. Ten-Minute Action: Use the Education for All laser talk or the child nutrition laser talk to call the foreign policy aide in your representative’s office and request cosponsorship. Find the name and contact information of your representative's aides through our website or call the office using the Capitol Switchboard number ((202) 224-3121). When you call, ask for your congressperson first, then the foreign policy aide. Use your laser talk to make the request.
Not sure if your representative has cosponsored either piece of legislation yet? Find the Education for All Act and Child Nutrition Resolution cosponsorship lists through another handy online tool (scroll to the Cosponsor Search at the bottom).
(And be inspired by Malala Yousafzai, young education activist making headlines for surviving an attack by the Taliban because of her advocacy for girls' right to education.)
Vote for Grassroots Board Member, Then Get Ready to Feast & Fundraise
From board chair Dr. Scott Leckman. Vote today for a new board member to represent the grassroots on the boards of RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund. This is a very important decision, and we have great candidates. Now we just need your vote by midnight ET on Wednesday, November 6th.
RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund is looking to fill one grassroots board position to serve a term of three (3) years beginning in November of 2013. (There are four grassroots board seats in total.) Grassroots board members represent the volunteer body on the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee of the Board. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to work with the Executive Director in shaping the direction of RESULTS, and to advise on major policy for the organization, as well as providing fiduciary oversight. Thank you to all who nominated dedicated volunteers as candidates to serve on the board, for your nomination was recognition of their commitment and leadership skills. And thanks to the nominees who agreed to be considered. We’re honored!
Our grassroots board candidates include Frank Gilbert, Roger Hudson, and Lydia Pendley. You may vote for one candidate. Remember voting ends Wednesday, November 6 at midnight ET.
Candidate bios and statements are online. Read and consider them, and then click here to vote. Please share this with other active RESULTS members. For assistance, particularly if more than one person is voting from the came computer, contact Jack McLaughlin at (202) 783-7100.
Virtual Thanksgiving Feast for Fundraising. Join RESULTS for a Virtual Thanksgiving Feast! For the month of November, we will run an online fundraising campaign highlighting RESULTS' work to combat hunger in both of our domestic and global campaigns. Invite your friends to give online and help those suffering from hunger during a time of plenty. Hold an actual fundraising feast or just do an easy online campaign! We'll even give you a handy resource of Facebook and Twitter posts to use. Visit our online site to register. Contact Cindy Levin, Grassroots Development Associate, at for help setting up a personal fundraising page.
Upcoming fundraising events for October/November include an October 23 event in Austin, an October 25 event in Houston, an October 27 event in Bremerton/Kitsap (WA), an October 27 event in Martinsville (NJ), and a November 3 event in Ann Arbor. Congratulations, all!
"The AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest challenges to our society today. It is a fight that we cannot afford to lose."
—Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID, NIH
1. October 15, 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. Special guest will be Jove Oliver, RESULTS ally and media consultant. Dial (218) 862-1300, passcode 682494 to join this call.
2. October 16. World Food Day Call-in (See update)
3. October 21, 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.
4. October 25, 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.
5. October 28, 8 pm ET. Building Bipartisan Champions Cohort Call. Dial (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 to join. This cohort meets every other month to brainstorm ways to move the needle on our issues in more challenging Congressional contexts.
6. November 9, 2 pm ET. RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join!
7. November 13, 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.