RESULTS Weekly Update September 17, 2024

September 17, 2024

Quote of the Week

“We’re approaching the end of the year, but our advocacy is just heating up.”

– Associate Director, U.S. Poverty Policy, Michael Santos, in a new blogpost on the U.S. Census Bureau poverty data, inspiring us to get published on our issues

Table of Contents

Election and media engagement: Incredible hooks abound

Your phenomenal work over the past several weeks paid off. Signatures on a late summer House letter on global nutrition skyrocketed in the final days before the deadline. Thanks no doubt to your advocacy, the letter closed with 106 signers. But why this letter at this time? This letter, which has already made its way to the Administration, calls for a bold, early pledge to the Nutrition for Growth Summit (to be held in March) to help end malnutrition around the world. U.S. leadership can make a crucial difference and can inspire other countries to step up. Well done!

In the meantime, the U.S. Census released its annual poverty data for 2023. (We have an analysis summary of the data on our blog.) According to the more accurate Supplemental Poverty Measure, poverty rose by 0.5 percent to 12.9 percent in 2023. Child poverty also increased by 1.3 percent to 13.7 percent. This shows that Congress is not doing enough to help the millions of families still struggling to make ends meet. Fortunately, the Child Tax Credit lifted 2.4 million people and SNAP lifted 3.4 million people above the poverty line last year. However, these numbers are still only a fraction of the people helped when the expanded CTC and increased SNAP benefits were in place in 2021.

Keep looking for opportunities to talk to candidates directly about our anti-poverty priorities. And use these issue talking points toward our “Double/50” media campaign. “Double/50” is part of our broader election engagement campaign to make poverty an election issue. Between September 1 and December 31, we aim to double the number of media pieces for the year from 300 to 600 and get at least one media piece published in all 50 states. We know the power of media. If we want candidates and the new Congress to take our issues seriously, we need to make them unavoidable.

TAKE ACTION: Use our Community of Change page (under “Make Elections about Poverty”) to take action now and get candidates and incumbents on the record on our issues. And join the “Double/50” media campaign by submitting your letters to the editor and op-eds now. Remember, we want to get 300 additional media pieces by the end of the year and get at least one piece in all 50 states. Use our online media templates to get started. If you have questions, please contact RESULTS staff.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Join U.S. Poverty Forum: “The United States of Hunger.” On Thursday, September 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET, join us for “The United States of Hunger”, where we will discuss the persistent issue of food insecurity. Nutrition is one of the essential pillars of basic needs, yet millions of American still struggle to access healthy, nutritious food. This RESULTS U.S. Poverty Forum will look at current government dietary guidelines and economic reality. Attendees will get an insight into how food insecurity affects public health and health outcomes. Please join us to explore and discuss the root causes of hunger in our communities. Register today.

Can you help us get more Gavi co-sponsors? We are continuing to gather co-sponsors for resolutions supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This is in advance of the full pledging conference in 2025. At a recent pre-conference gathering, the Biden Administration pledged at least $1.58 billion for Gavi over five years. We need more co-sponsors to the House and Senate Gavi resolutions to help us see this through. We don’t want to stall! Please 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.

Announcements

September Election Engagement Office Hours available. As we are less than two months away from Election Day, we must educate candidates and our community on the reality of poverty and the policies to end it. In addition to our election engagement online resources, get direct coaching from RESULTS staff at an election engagement office hour. Join September 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET and September 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET. There is no need to register; simply join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/97873811515. We must be ready to boost campaign messages that uplift the needs of people experiencing poverty!

Join the Building Resilience as Advocates webinar. As dedicated advocates, we often need to harness the skills to navigate stress, anxiety, and frustration. Join us to learn and practice these skills at our workshop, “Building Resilience as Advocates, from a Trauma Informed Care Approach.” This interactive workshop invites you to further develop resilience while facing the difficulties of advocacy work from a trauma-informed perspective. Participants can build upon previously learned effective coping strategies that are essential for surviving in today’s chaotic world. Please join us. The webinar is Wednesday, September 25, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar today.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: The House and the Senate are both in session this week.

Find these and other events on our website Events Calendar.

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.

Thursday, September 19: Election Engagement Office Hour, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET. Drop in any time to https://results.zoom.us/j/97873811515; no need to register. 

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

Tuesday, September 24: New Advocate Orientation, 1:00 p.m. ET. Registration is open.

Tuesday, September 24: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, September 24: Together Women Rise Advocacy Chapter, 8:30 p.m. ET. Read more.

Thursday, September 24: Election Engagement Office Hour, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET. Drop in any time to https://results.zoom.us/j/97873811515; no need to register. 

Wednesday, September 25: Building Resilience as Advocates, from a Trauma Informed Care Approach, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET. Register today.

Saturday, October 5: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Guest: Grecia Lima from Community Change Action. Register for the webinar.

Wednesday, October 9: Motivational Interviewing training, session 2, 8:00 p.m. ET. Register now for this terrific series.

Thursday, October 10: 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, October 10: Global Allies (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) Advocacy Partnership Webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more.

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

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