RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update December 2, 2020
Quote of the Week
“To uphold American leadership and authority, we must fight COVID here at home and overseas.”
– RESULTS Contra Costa, CA volunteer Jim Driggers in a November 24 letter to the editor in the East Bay Times
Table of Contents
- Global Poverty Campaigns Update
- U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
- RESULTS Announcements
- Upcoming Events
- Grassroots Resources
Global Poverty Campaigns Update
QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on prioritizing global health and education during the COVID-19 crisis
Got Ten Minutes? Make a call to Congress on an emergency COVID-19 response
In this post-election period, the need for our advocacy continues. Globally, resources normally allocated to treat and prevent infectious diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria, or leading childhood killers like malnutrition, pneumonia, and diarrhea have been diverted to address COVID-19. As a result, we are seeing a secondary pandemic of poverty, hunger, and sickness caused by COVID-19. People here at home are struggling mightily as well. As you may have seen in the news, there are rumblings on Capitol Hill about a new relief package, but there is no talk of international development assistance in the negotiation, so acting now is important for ensuring that global funding is part of the discussion.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your members of Congress with a request that they urge Senate and House leadership to act now to pass a COVID-19 relief bill that includes at least $20 billion in international development assistance. After your call, send the comprehensive global poverty campaigns media compilation to your members of Congress with a note pointing out any pieces that you and/or your group got published. This compilation is also available on our Media Tools page under “I want to see what other RESULTS volunteers have published.” Find out the foreign policy aide names for your two senators’ offices and your representative’s office via our Legislator Lookup. Make your calls. Then send the global poverty media compilation to the aides with whom you spoke. As you send this media compilation, ask your legislators again to speak to congressional leadership about a minimum of $20 billion for a global health and nutrition emergency response.
If you want more inspiration and information on this call to action, don’t forget to join our national webinar this Saturday, December 5, at 1 pm ET. (It’s a 1 pm ET start for all, as our speakers, Dr. Madhukar Pai and LaShon Marshall, will be addressing the whole network.)
Got Ten Minutes? Get ready for the December 5 national webinar
We are thrilled to welcome Professor Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD to our Saturday, December 5 national webinar. He will speak about the impact of COVID-19 on poverty and health and the need for urgent action, as well as the possibilities available to us in our 2021 advocacy. Be sure to log on at 1 pm ET to hear his remarks to the whole network. We’re also very fortunate to be able to hear from RESULTS Expert on Poverty LaShon Marshall of RESULTS Detroit, sharing about her pandemic experience. This month’s webinar will include a policy update and information on our First 100 Days Campaign, as well as a kickoff for our 2021 Group Roadmaps (our planning process). The webinar will be shorter than normal so that groups can get to work on their group planning.
TAKE ACTION: Be ready to join the national webinar at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 5 so that you can hear speakers Dr. Madhukar Pai and LaShon Marshall. Join the national webinar at https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828. You can also join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828. Please register for the webinar to receive the password to login if you haven’t registered for previous webinars.
Then get ready to plan. The national webinar on December 5 will be a bit shorter than usual, so immediately after the webinar would be a perfect time to gather for group planning. Get ready to build out your group’s ideas and aspirations for 2021 – particularly for the First 100 Days Campaign. A 2021 RESULTS Group Roadmap form will be emailed to group leaders this week, and additional support materials like the Roadmap Guide and Individual Planning Form can be found on our website under “My group wants to make our plans.” If you are a group leader, read through the Roadmap Guide to prepare. If you are a group member or a free agent, fill out the Individual Planning Form.
QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY
Nutrition News. On December 9, 10-11 am ET, there will be a Twitter chat celebrating the new Country Nutrition Profiles and Nutrition for Growth Commitment Tracking by the Global Nutrition Report. Follow along and chat about this new and vital information at hashtag #DigestTheData.
Appropriations Update. To avoid a government shutdown, Congress will need to come together to pass a bill by December 11—whether this is another Continuing Resolution or FY21 appropriations bills that the House and Senate agree on. Have you been wondering what the status is of the FY21 appropriations bills? We have a recent blog to update you on the state of play.
Bread for the World Institute Webinar. On Monday, December 7 at 9 am ET, the Bread for the World Institute will be hosting Looking Forward to 2021: Food Systems that Nourish. This webinar will feature Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA-2), among other thought leaders. To register, go to www.bread.org/lookingforward.
U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
QUICK ACTION Use media to push Congress to pass COVID relief for renters
Got Ten Minutes? It’s now or never on COVID relief in 2020
Congress has returned to DC this week and none too soon. Currently in the U.S., an American dies every minute of COVID-19. Food pantries around the country unable to meet the dramatic increase in need. And at the end of this month, millions of Americans will face eviction.
The wave of evictions anticipated in January is particularly troubling. New research shows that between March and September of this year, evictions in the U.S. contributed to an additional 433,700 cases and 10,700 deaths from COVID-19. Plus, a new report estimates that the public cost of eviction-related homelessness during the pandemic is between $62 billion and $129 billion (the wide range is because we don’t know how many renters will be able to continue to pay rent).
Americans are struggling every day to get through this pandemic. With closed schools, sick relatives, lost jobs, overworked health systems, and countless other tragedies and disruptions, no one is immune from COVID-19’s impact. Except maybe Senate leadership. A group of senators unveiled a new bipartisan COVID proposal yesterday, which includes $25 billion in rental assistance (for the first three months of 2020) and a boost in nutrition benefits, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) quickly rejected it. Politicians may have the luxury of time, but everyday Americans do not. It is time for the Senate and the White House to act!
TAKE ACTION: Join advocates from around the country today demanding Congress take action now on COVID relief. We have several ways you can call: use our online action alert to call your senators now, use MomsRising’s call-in line: (888) 754-9091, or text RELIEFNOW to 747464 to connect to your Senators’ phone lines. Please urge everyone you know to call as well.
In addition to calling Senate offices, work with other RESULTS advocates to directly email housing and agriculture aides, particularly Senate Republican staffers, and tell them that America needs a strong COVID relief package now that includes $100 billion in rental assistance and a 15 percent increase in the maximum SNAP benefit. In your e-mail, include our updated U.S. Poverty COVID media packet that shows broad grassroots support to pass a bill now. If you need help drafting your e-mail to aides, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.
Be sure to join our RESULTS December 2020 National Webinar this Saturday, December 5 at 1:00pm ET to learn the latest on COVID negotiations and to start planning your 2021 advocacy agenda. Read more about the webinar below.
Got 60 or so Minutes? Join the National Webinar this Saturday at 1pm ET
Please join us for our monthly National Webinar this Saturday, December 5. We are thrilled to welcome Professor Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD as our guest speaker. He is Canada Research Chair in Translational Epidemiology & Global Health at McGill University. He will speak about the impact of COVID-19 on poverty and health and the need for urgent action, as well as the possibilities available to us in our 2021 advocacy. Dr. Pai will be the main speaker for all grassroots who are joining, so please log on at 1:00 pm ET to hear his remarks. We’ll also hear from RESULTS Experts on Poverty LaShon Marshall of RESULTS Detroit, sharing about the impact of the pandemic on her family. We’ll also update you on our U.S. and global poverty campaigns and highlight our 2021 First 100 Days Campaign. Finally, we’ll kick off your 2021 Group Roadmap process with tips for your planning meetings this month (see more about planning in the Announcements below).
TAKE ACTION: Join us on Saturday, December 5 at 1:00 pm ET for the RESULTS National Webinar. We urge everyone to join at 1:00 pm ET and stay on for the duration of the webinar (the webinar will be shorter than normal so groups can do 2021 planning). To join the webinar, log in at https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828 or dial by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828. If you did not register for our previous monthly webinars, please complete our webinar registration form to receive the password at the end of the week. The slides for the webinar will be available on our National Webinars page on Friday afternoon.
QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY
Sign on to eviction moratorium extension. Please sign your local RESULTS group onto a letter urging the CDC to prevent a wave of evictions in 2021 by extending the national eviction moratorium (it expires December 31). Sign on here. The deadline is December 15.
New Census wealth inequality data released. The U.S. Census has released new wealth inequality data showing that in 2017, the media wealth of homeowners was 89 times larger than the median wealth of renters. In addition, non-Hispanic White Americans had a median household wealth of $171,700, compared with $9,567 for Black American households and $25,000 for Hispanic American households. To combat this growing divide, the Urban Institute has a new paper on how to build Black wealth through homeownership.
CHN webinar on pandemic and kids. Listen to the recording of the Coalition on Human Need’s recent webinar on how the pandemic is impacting low-income children and families. Featured on the webinar is RESULTS Expert on Poverty LaShon Marshall, who will also speak on this weekend’s RESULTS National Webinar.
RESULTS volunteers speak on local radio show. RESULTS Detroit volunteer Mary Albertson hosts a month internet radio show “We Get Results”. On November’s show, she welcomed RESULTS Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns Meredith Dodson and RESULTS Expert on Poverty Rachael Fox on why it is imperative Congress pass COVID relief now. Listen to the show here.
RESULTS Announcements
It’s Group Roadmap month! This month, we want you to focus on family, festivities, and…. group roadmaps! That’s right, our annual planning push is starting a month early so we can hit the ground running when the new Congress and Administration take office in 2021. That means meeting with your groups this month to set roles and goals for your group. If you have not done so already, please set a date for your group to meet in December to talk and complete your 2021 Group Roadmap. Be sure to invite all members of your group to participate, especially new people who have been introduced to your group in 2020. You can find our 2021 Roadmap Guide and Individual Planning Form on our Outreach and Planning page (under “My group wants to make our plans”). Online roadmap forms have been e-mailed to group leaders this week. If you have questions, please contact Jos Linn.
Register for the First 100 Days Kickoff! We’re excited to help set a bold agenda against poverty with our 2021 First 100 Days campaign. Our goals are simple and bold – meet with every single Senate office and three quarters of House offices to lay out a winning strategy to fight poverty. Plan to attend our First 100 Days Kickoff Event on Saturday February 6. This is the normal date of the National Webinar, but this event will include much more than our normal 90 minutes. Stay tuned for more details but make sure to register for this free event today.
GivingTuesday success! Thank you to everyone who helped make yesterday’s GivingTuesday fundraiser a great success. With your donations, we surpassed our goal and raised nearly $7,000 to help to fund our work to end poverty as we enter the critical first 100 days of the new Congress. Thank you again!
RESULTS is hiring. RESULTS is seeking a highly motivated individual to fill the newly created position of Grassroots Impact Associate. If you are interested, please check out the job posting on our website.
Receive action alerts via text. If you’d like to receive RESULTS alerts via text, please text RESULTS to 50457 to sign up.
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule. Members of Congress are in session. Submit your remote meeting requests today.
Saturday, December 5: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/994444828. You can also join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 994 444 828. Please register for the webinar to receive the password to login.
Tuesday, December 8: New Advocate Orientation, 12:00 pm ET. Sign up online.
Monday, December 14: Global Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 and 8:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/464361707 or, by phone, (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 464361707.
Tuesday, December 15: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 and 8:00 pm ET. For information on how to join, please contact Jos Linn.
Wednesday, December 16: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Sign up online.
Friday, December 25-Friday, January 1: RESULTS holiday break. All RESULTS offices will be closed. Happy holidays!
Saturday, January 9: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET.
Saturday, February 6: RESULTS First 100 Days Kickoff Event, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.
Grassroots Resources
Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
To update volunteer info (e.g. subscribe to the Weekly Update or action alerts, add new advocate information, update an existing advocate’s information or preferences), use our Volunteer Information Form.
Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page, including our anti-oppression resources.
Remember to please report your recent grassroots successes in lobby meetings, media pieces, and outreach activities.
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Lindsay Saunders at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports. Including our new special edition 2019 Annual Report.
RESULTS Staff directory.