RESULTS Weekly Update August 27, 2024

Quote of the Week

“Persistence usually pays off!”

– Beloved slogan of Director of Grassroots Impact Ken Patterson who is retiring at the end of this week after 19 years with RESULTS. (Best wishes, Ken!)

Table of Contents

• The clock is ticking on the global nutrition letter and Gavi resolutions
• Election engagement during the waning days of August recess
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

The clock is ticking on the global nutrition letter and Gavi resolutions

In advance of the United Nations General Assembly which meets in September, we are gathering signatures on a global nutrition House Dear Colleague letter. The letter is open through August 29. The letter calls on the U.S. for a bold, early pledge in advance of the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris in March 2025. If the U.S. shows strong, positive pledging signals early, it will inspire increased commitments from others. Additionally, we are continuing to gather co-sponsors for resolutions supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This is in advance of the full pledging conference that is also expected to be in 2025. At a recent pre-pledging conference, the Biden Administration pledged at least $1.58 billion for Gavi over five years. We need to see it through. These actions form a powerful combination. They help address needless suffering due to poverty-related causes like wasting, stunting, and lack of access to basic vaccinations. These are things we can do something about. Don’t wait. Call U.S. leadership into action!

TAKE ACTION: Urge your representatives to sign the House Dear Colleague letter of support for the Nutrition for Growth Summit. We need as many signatures as possible by August 29. Then ask your legislators to co-sponsor the Gavi resolutions (S.Res.684 and H.Res.1286). Use our online action today to make your Gavi resolution requests.

Election engagement during the waning days of August recess

We have just a couple of weeks left in this extensive late summer recess. Congress will come back September 9. But you’ve already been hard at work. Currently, RESULTS is deep into our Election Engagement campaign, which runs through the November election. Why not take advantage of these remaining weeks to ask lawmakers to take a strong stand on our poverty-related campaigns? We can set the table for real change post-election.

For this Election Engagement campaign, here are our tools to help you:

• Election engagement guide. This helpful resource has tips on finding candidates and preparing for public events. It also has sample U.S. and global poverty questions to ask candidates.
• National webinars. Until November, our National Webinars will focus on election advocacy. Come along for information and tools to help you make poverty an election issue. Preview upcoming webinars and find recordings and slides from past webinars on our National Webinars page.
• Resources on lobbying and media. The RESULTS website has a plethora of resources for almost any advocacy situation. See our Lobbying How-To’s and Media How-To’s for step-by-step guides on taking action.
• Ask RESULTS. If the above resources don’t have the answer you need, reach out to RESULTS staff directly. We are happy to answer questions you have or set up an individualized coaching session. E-mail us at [email protected].

TAKE ACTION: Don’t wait to take action to make the 2024 election about poverty. There is still time to take advantage of this extended recess to meet with candidates, attend public events, generate media, speak to people in your community, and more. The more we push poverty during election season, the closer we get to making poverty history. Use the above resources and others found on our Community of Change page (under “Make Elections about Poverty”) to take action now.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Read about removing the stigma of government assistance. Read RESULTS Fellow William Engfer’s blog post on the vital function government benefits provide to society and the need to re-examine how we view them.

Read (and watch) about the importance of Nutrition for Growth. As we work to build support for the House global nutrition letter, read a blog post from RESULTS’ Dorothy Monza on the critical opportunity to end malnutrition through Nutrition for Growth. And watch the recent policy forum on global nutrition, also led by Dorothy Monza.

Child Tax Credit update. Your work to build bipartisan support on the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is working! Check out this Politico article explaining how both presidential campaigns are supporting a CTC expansion.

Announcements

Join the September webinar with Rep. Derek Kilmer. For the September National Webinar, we are thrilled to welcome Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6). He will speak about how we can enhance and execute on our continuing election engagement, getting our poverty policy priorities in front of candidates. We’ll also highlight new opportunities to use the media to make poverty an election issue. Come along and join your fellow advocates for what’s sure to be an invigorating conversation. The webinar will be held Saturday, September 7 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Register today!

Read new blog post on summer outreach advocacy. Our summer push for outreach and meetings has been a great success. To celebrate activities around the county, read Part I in our new blog series celebrating these volunteer-driven community meetings. And know that it’s not too late to hold your own local meeting. Find helpful resources on our Community of Change page. After your meeting, please let us know how it went by completing our new Outreach Report Form.

Register for the Motivational Interviewing series. Want to build bridges with lawmakers? Want to effectively talk to people who disagree with you? Please join us for our updated “Motivational Interviewing: Getting unstuck with your members of Congress” series. We are thrilled to welcome back Dr. Dave Christian, Ph.D., P.C., who has trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI) for years. In six monthly sessions, you will gain skills using MI for effective dialogue with lawmakers you struggle to move into action. These trainings include new and impactful research conducted on MI, so even if you have taken the MI training before, you’ll learn something new. Says long-time Group Leader and Regional Coordinator Craig Roshaven: “I’ve been doing the kind of advocacy we do at RESULTS for a number of years. I thought I was doing a good job at presenting our issues in a meaningful way to my members of Congress and staff. But when I was introduced to the techniques of Motivational Interviewing, I immediately saw that its techniques had the potential to significantly improve my effectiveness.” Register today!

“The United States of Hunger.” Join this important U.S. Poverty Policy Forum at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 19. The webinar will explore food insecurity, current government dietary guidelines, and economic reality. Please join us to explore and discuss the root causes of hunger in our communities. Register now.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: The House and the Senate are on recess until September 9.

Find these and other events on our website Events Calendar.

Monday, September 2: Labor Day. RESULTS offices closed.

Saturday, September 7: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Guest: Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6). Register for the webinar.

Wednesday, September 11: Motivational Interviewing training, session 1, 8:00 p.m. ET. Register now for this terrific series.

Thursday, September 12: Outreach and Event Office Hour, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET. Drop in at https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 940 0474 8060.

Thursday, September 12: Centering Lived Poverty Experience in the Media, 8:00 p.m. ET. Registration is open.

Thursday, September 12: Global Allies (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) Advocacy Partnership Webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more.

Tuesday, September 17: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Wednesday, September 18: Action Network Manager Calls, 12:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. No registration required. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/95416781155 or call 312-626-6799, meeting ID 954 1678 1155.

Wednesday, September 18: Media Office Hour, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494.

Wednesday, September 18: RESULTS Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship Information Session, 6:00 p.m. ET. Register today.

Wednesday, September 18: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 p.m. ET. Registration is open.

Thursday, September 19: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum – “The United States of Hunger,” 1:00 p.m. ET. Register now.

Monday, September 23: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 p.m. ET. Contact Lisa Marchal.

Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Grassroots Resources

• EOPs: Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
• Actions and volunteer resources: Visit our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].
• Please report your actions. Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our form to add to/edit your info and to sign up for updates and alerts.
• Share your story. If you have an inspiring story about advocacy, please tell us about it. Also, if you want to celebrate the actions of a new volunteer, sharing about the experience.
• Questions for the Board? If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
• Staff and jobs: RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.