RESULTS Weekly Update September 24, 2024

Quote of the Week

“Nutrition is critical during pregnancy and the first two years of life. Fortunately, there is a plan.”

– RESULTS Austin volunteer Rebecca Brownlow in a September 24 letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News

Table of Contents

• Double/50 Media Campaign – a great start!
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Double/50 Media Campaign – a great start!

Earlier this month, we kicked off our Double/50 media campaign. As part of our overall Election Engagement Campaign, this push will use local media to make poverty an election issue. In the run up to the election and the seating of a new Administration and Congress, we must keep critical issues of poverty front and center. We can use letters to the editor and op-eds to make it hard for candidates to ignore child poverty, hunger and nutrition, child and maternal health, and homelessness.

Remember, our goal is to double our 2024 media (from 300 to 600 pieces) by the end of the year (that’s the double). We also want at least one media piece in all 50 states (that’s the 50). You’ve already gotten off to a great start. RESULTS advocates have published 27 media pieces this month in 9 different states. Congratulations! See where you’ve been published in our updated Media Map and 2024 media list.

But to get 300 new pieces by December 31, we need to accelerate our output. And we are here to help you do just that.

TAKE ACTION: Start working on your first or next letter to the editor today. Below are some hooks you can use this week for the issues you care about. We include links to letter to the editor templates with each one:

Global tuberculosis. Last week, the Senate passed the End Tuberculosis (TB) Now Act. Now we need the House to do the same. Use the End TB Now Act’s Senate passage as a hook for letters to the editor (LTEs) urging the House to pass the bill ASAP.

Child poverty. The 2023 US Census Bureau poverty data released this month showed that child poverty increased. However, if we had an expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), it would have dropped. Use this as a hook for letters urging lawmakers and candidates to support a CTC expansion.

Global malnutrition. The Gates Foundation declared global malnutrition an “imperative” to address immediately. It is essential that the U.S. make a bold pledge to Nutrition for Growth (N4G) during the current UN General Assembly. Submit a letter urging the Biden Administration to announce a bold N4G pledge now.

U.S. hunger. The Census Bureau poverty data also shows that SNAP helped 3.4 million people keep themselves out of poverty. Write letters urging lawmakers to protect SNAP from proposed cuts in the new Farm Bill.

You can also write letters about vaccines and housing. If you have questions or need help with your media, please contact RESULTS staff. You can find LTE templates in the RESULTS Action Center, and when you do get published, please let us know in our media report form. Good luck and thank you!

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

End Tuberculosis Now Act passes in Senate! Read our new press release about S.288’s passage as we next urge action in the House.

Incredible work on the House global nutrition letter! 106 signers! You helped us eclipse our goal (100 signers) on the recent House global nutrition letter to the Administration so that we could have impact during the United Nations General Assembly. This will create important momentum in the run-up to the Nutrition for Growth summit in 2025. The story of how you achieved this feat is pretty wonderful. Read our new blog post!

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. This year, 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. The time is now! 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.

Listen to the United States of Hunger webinar. If you missed “The United States of Hunger” webinar, a robust discussion about the state of hunger in America and the policies needed to address it, you can now view the recording and slides.

Congress to avoid a government shutdown. Over the weekend, congressional leaders announced a spending deal that will keep the government running for an additional three months. The continuing resolution (CR) will maintain current funding levels for programs and agencies through December 20. The House is expected to vote on the deal tomorrow; the Senate will follow this weekend. The fiscal year ends on September 30.

Announcements

Join tomorrow’s 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 tomorrow, September 25, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar today.

Ask for coaching on getting to candidates. We are 42 days from election day. Members of Congress will head home to campaign later this week and other candidates are already on the campaign trail. Use these next six weeks to educate candidates and our community on the reality of poverty and the policies to end it. You can find election engagement online resources on our website. Also, you can get direct coaching from RESULTS staff at our election engagement office hour. Join us tonight, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET. There is no need to register; simply join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/97873811515.

Make sure you are registered to vote. Our democracy thrives on participation. If we don’t vote, we cede our civic power to others. Voter registration deadlines are fast approaching. Go to www.vote.org to confirm you are registered to vote in your state. If not, register 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.

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.

Tuesday, 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.

Monday, October 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day. RESULTS Office closed.

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.