RESULTS Weekly Update May 9, 2023

Quote of the Week

“It is dangerous for House leaders to even hint that the United States will not honor its debts. It is cruel for them to do it on the backs of people experiencing poverty.”

– RESULTS Oakland volunteer Sue Oehser in a May 5 letter to the editor in the East Bay Times

Table of Contents

• Important Announcement!
• Media 150: 56 media pieces and counting – make yours the next one
• Co-sponsors needed for the End Tuberculosis Now Act
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund will hold an election this summer to elect two new Grassroots Members to the Board of Directors. Grassroots Board Members provide an important bridge between the grassroots network, Board, and organization. They connect the Board with our passionate and active grassroots members. We have three excellent candidates this year: Aaron Carrillo of the RESULTS Experts on Poverty, Allison Gallaher of RESULTS Cleveland, and Randy Rosso of RESULTS Virginia. As with any election, it is important to get to know the candidates before voting begins, So, please join our Grassroots Board Town Hall this Thursday, May 11 at 8:30 pm ET to meet the candidates, learn more about their priorities, and get information on when and how to vote. Two of these fine candidates will be your voice on the RESULTS Board for the next three years – please make time to see who best represents you. Register to attend the town hall today.

Media 150: 56 media pieces and counting – make yours the next one

As discussed on the May National Webinar, RESULTS volunteers get hundreds of media pieces published every year. For staff who track your successes, it is a thrill to watch your grassroots media totals get larger and larger. But it’s not the numbers themselves, but what they represent. These numbers mean change. Lawmakers pay attention to media. Constituents pay attention to media. Imagine the number of people who may have first learned that the Child Tax Credit cut child poverty in half from your letter to the editor. Or a lawmaker who signed onto the End TB Now Act because of your op-ed. When you get something published, you drop a pebble in the water, and the ripples keep expanding out.

And your media is really needed now. We need letters urging Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit. We need letters telling Congress to pass the End TB Now Act. And we need letters telling Congress to raise the debt ceiling with deep cuts to poverty programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.

RESULTS has a goal of getting 150 grassroots media pieces between April 1 and June 30. As of this morning, we have 56 pieces. We have seven weeks left to hit that goal. Let’s not only meet it, let’s crush it!

TAKE ACTION: Submit a letter to the editor today urging Congress to prioritize poverty in their 2023 agenda. We have three online media alerts to help you get started right now:

• Take action on the House budget/debt ceiling
• Take action on the Child Tax Credit
• Take action on the End TB Now Act

Use these tools to get started on your own letters to the editor. Please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]) with questions or for any media coaching needs. And remember, when you get published, let us know by completing our Media Report Form (see media already published here). Finally, if you want to up your media game from letters to op-eds, join our Writing an op-ed training on Wednesday, May 17 at 2:00 pm ET (see login details in the announcements).

Co-sponsors needed for the End Tuberculosis Now Act

The World Health Organization reports that TB deaths rose in 2020 and 2021, with new cases surging in a way not seen in years. You did crucially important work during appropriations to get global TB funding in front of legislators. Now we keep up the momentum. We next need to urge members of Congress to co-sponsor the End Tuberculosis Now Act. The COVID-19 pandemic robbed us of progress in stemming the tide of tuberculosis, a cruel disease of poverty. The End Tuberculosis Now Act calls on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to be ambitious in reaching and treating the populations most vulnerable to this disease. The legislation is open for co-sponsorship in both the House (H.R.1776) and the Senate (S.288). Make your requests today!

TAKE ACTION: Gather your group and take action with the May Global Poverty Action Sheet. The action sheet is designed to help you ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the End Tuberculosis Now Act. Then share our quick online action with others so they can ask their members of Congress to co-sponsor as well.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Ask your member of Congress to be a READ Act co-sponsor. At this time of year, academic years are closing and academic achievements being celebrated. Turn to the value of education. In that vein, we are working on securing co-sponsors for the READ Act (H.R.681, S.41) related to global education. This legislation focuses on enhanced strategies for the improvement of foundational literacy and numeracy, essential elements of a quality basic education. Make sure your members of Congress know how important this legislation is to you by making your co-sponsorship requests today.

Urge House Democrats to support the AFA. The American Family Act is an upcoming bill in the House that would restore the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to its 2021 levels, which resulted in historic reductions in child poverty. It is critical that the AFA is introduced with as many cosponsors as possible to send a clear statement that children should be prioritized in our tax code, regardless of parental income. Read this new RESULTS Blog post on how to get your representative to sign on.

Sign letter protecting SNAP and Medicaid. The recently-passed House budget plan includes devastating cuts to services, including SNAP and Medicaid as a condition for not defaulting on the U.S. debt. Show your support by signing your local RESULTS group onto this sign-on letter opposing the proposed cuts.

Media hooks for the week. Use the hook ideas below to submit a letter to the editor this week. If you need a template, use our online media actions to edit and submit your letter today.

• U.S. Poverty: Leaders in Washington are meeting this week to discuss raising the debt ceiling to avert a financial catastrophe next month. Congressional Republicans are demanding deep budget cuts in exchange for not defaulting on our debt. Submit a letter to the editor urging Congress to raise the debt ceiling now without enacting devastating cuts to core anti-poverty programs.
• Global Poverty: What has education meant to your life? Opportunity? Better health? Community connection? Security? Global access to quality basic education is essential to thriving. Tell your story. Use your connection to education as a hook to illustrate the importance of Congress co-sponsoring and ultimately passing the READ Act on global education.

Announcements

Join Disrupting Biases on Poverty & Classism webinar tonight. Ending poverty is not possible without addressing oppression and centering the voices of those with lived experience of poverty. In this workshop, RESULTS Experts on Poverty will unpack and facilitate discussions around stereotypes and biases surrounding those who live in poverty. The knowledge and tools provided in this session will help you build more transformational relationships and create inclusive, welcoming environments in your groups with trauma-informed advocacy in mind. The webinar is tonight, May 9 at 8:00 pm ET. Learn more and register today.

Give to RESULTS. This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating the dedication, ingenuity, and resilience of parents around the world, including our volunteers. Read about the powerhouse mother-daughter duo of of Nancy and Casey Gardiner and consider making a gift to RESULTS in honor of your mother and all parents today (www.results.org/donate).

Register for May policy forums. Join our May Policy Forums on Thursday, May 18. On the U.S. Forum at 8:00 pm ET, RESULTS Emerson Hunger Fellow Gabe Haferman will lead an interactive discussion on how the tax code affects us all. On our Global Forum, RESULTS Manager of Global Health Partnerships Selamawit Bekele will continue our important discussion about combatting tuberculosis around the world. Register for the U.S. Forum and the Global Forum today.

In-person events support. Connection and growth are vital to the RESULTS grassroots network. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic challenged many aspects of our sense of togetherness and put some of our aspirations on hold. We have many new resources to help support our volunteer groups across the country as they make plans to gather in community this year. First, review our new in-person events resource guide. Second, join us May 12, 19, or 26 at 12:00 pm ET to ask your event creation questions (see details below). Finally, RESULTS staff will host a webinar on Wednesday, June 7 at 8:00 pm ET to discuss resources and strategies for events that enhance our goals for leadership development, outreach, fellowship, awareness, and skill-building. Register today.

RESULTS Fellows go to Washington. From April 29-May 2, dozens of RESULTS Fellows traveled to Washington, DC for their annual Policy Summit. After several days of training and instruction, they took their formidable lobby skills to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress on TB, housing, and child poverty. Watch this new video from RESULTS Fellows in Florida about their experience.

The RESULTS Champion Scale with RESULTS Founder Sam Daley-Harris. Have you ever thought, “My member of Congress is opposed to our bills, what’s the point of meeting with them?” or “My member of Congress is good on our issues, there’s no reason to meet with them?” RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris will lead a workshop on “Moving Your Member of Congress Up the Champion Scale” from opposed, to neutral, to supporter, to advocate, to leader and eventually to champion. Join Sam for the fun on Wednesday, May 31, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: May 8-14. The House and Senate are in session.

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

Tuesday, May 9: Disrupting Biases on Poverty and Classism, 8:00 pm ET. This webinar will be facilitated by RESULTS’ Experts on Poverty. Learn more and register today.

Thursday, May 11: Global Allies (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) Webinar, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Thursday, May 11: Grassroots Board Town Hall meeting, 8:30 pm ET. Meet the candidates for the upcoming Board election. Register to attend!

Friday, May 12: Event Planning Office Hour, 12:00 pm ET. Bring your questions about planning in-person RESULTS gatherings. No registration required. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/99349167795 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 993 4916 7795.

Tuesday, May 16: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET. Contact Jos Linn for information on how to join.

Tuesday, May 16: Together Women Rise partnership webinar with RESULTS, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Wednesday, May 17: Action Network Managers webinar, 12:30 pm and 8:00 pm ET. (Choose your time.) Join the 12:30 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/93288388695. Join the 8:00 pm ET session at https://results.zoom.us/j/91531456676. No registration required.

Wednesday, May 17: Media Office Hour – Writing an Op-ed training, 2:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494. No registration required.

Thursday, May 18: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register today. 

Thursday, May 18: Global Poverty Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register today.

Friday, May 19: Event Planning Office Hour, 12:00 pm ET. Bring your questions about planning in-person RESULTS gatherings. No registration required. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/99349167795 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 993 4916 7795.

Tuesday, May 23: Diversity & Inclusion 101, 8:00-9:30 pm ET. Read more about this learning opportunity and register today.

Thursday, May 25: Group Leader Office Hour, 7:30 pm ET. No registration needed; join any time during the hour at https://results.zoom.us/j/6602641580.

Friday, May 26: Event Planning Office Hour, 12:00 pm ET. Bring your questions about planning in-person RESULTS gatherings. No registration required. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/99349167795 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 993 4916 7795.

Wednesday, May 31: The RESULTS Champion Scale with RESULTS Founder Sam Daley-Harris, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

Saturday, June 3: Monthly National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.

Wednesday, June 7: In-person Event Planning webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].

Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our Volunteer Information Form to add or edit volunteer info and to sign up for updates and alerts.

If you have a story about advocacy that you feel might inspire others, use our online form to tell us your story.

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.

RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.